Dear Friends of Great Wave Zen Sangha,
If you’re like me, you are probably both numbed and shocked by world events—from the breakdown of civility in our culture to the UN’s recent prediction of the extinction of one million plants and animals in the next twenty years. On a more personal level, you may, like most Americans, feel overworked and stressed out. These are uncertain, volatile times.
It was under similar conditions that Zen grew to ascendency in ancient China. It presented a life-path originally formulated by Shakyamuni Buddha, a way of being at peace in an unstable world. It is a path that does not depend on escapism or denial but penetrates into the enduring root, or the source, of reality. Serenity with engagement, peace of mind within daily life—this is what the Zen tradition offers, and it is why I’m appealing to you to register today for Great Wave’s brand new Zen Fundamentals course.
The Zen Fundamentals course will take place at Kyoseikan Dojo, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on four consecutive Sundays, starting May 12, 2019. (Details can be found here.) I and a senior student will provide instruction in breathing meditation, Buddhist scripture and ceremony, Zen ethical precepts, and the student-teacher relationship. Discussion, refreshments, print materials, and a class certificate will be offered. Once you have completed the course, you’ll be in a position to go deep with Zen practice and to settle for yourself the “great matter of life and death.”
Seating for the Zen Fundamentals course is becoming increasingly limited, so please complete the Event Registration Form as soon as possible, preferably today or tomorrow.
I look forward to practicing the Way of Reality with all of you.
In Gassho,
Gendo Roshi
