Jizo-an Zen Community
Meditation - Mindfulness - Benevolent Service - Community
Jizo-an Zen Community now makes its home in Cherry Hill, NJ, offering all our events at the new Zendo. Please see below for the latest information on In-Person and Livestreamed Zendo Events, and other ways to connect. You can also keep up with us through our Newsletter, our podcast, as well as Patreon and social media. If you are not currently receiving our Newsletter, you can add your name to our mailing list.
All of the following programs are offered at low cost or without a fee requirement. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so through the registration process, or via our Donation Page. Thank you for your support!
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Please note that if you are planning on attending any program in person, you can pay the program registration fee in person at the door. Registration online is only required if you will be attending the program online via Zoom. In-person registration can be paid by cash, or check made out to The Zen Society.
Upcoming In-Person & Online Zendo Programs (Zoom) for May 2025
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THE EASE AND JOY OF MORNING MEDITATION
(Virtual Meditation Online Only)
Livestream Meditation Schedule:
Every day (7 Days/week, at 5:30am Online)
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Zazen is the dharma gate of great ease and joy
— this is the standard that Master Dogen lays down.
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Join us for a morning of meditation where we sit with ease and intimacy. We spend this time together in self-exploration and investigation. It is ideal for beginners, intermediate, and experienced meditators who wish to deepen their practice. The Ease and Joy of Mornings is open to everyone.
We come together as community to sit Zazen, or silent illumination, for 25-30 minutes. On some mornings, Zazen is followed by a short reading and reflection, and we close with a recitation of the Four Great Vows and the Benefit for All. ​
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REGISTRATION NOT REQUIRED. DONATIONS WELCOME AND APPRECIATED.
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THE EASE AND JOY OF EVENING MEDITATION
​Virtual Meditation and a brief Evening Dharma Discussion
(Online Only)​
Tuesday & Thursday Evenings 7:00pm - 8:00pm
EVERY WEEK OF THE MONTH
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Practice and enlightenment, the masters have long said, are both solitary and social endeavors. We need each other for reflection, encouragement and inspiration. Though some may have a strong capacity for seclusion, Sangha is one of the three precious gems for a very good reason—we depend on each other to wake up. "We Are More Together Than Alone."
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Guidelines for Participating (Zazen) Meditation Over Zoom:
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Please join sittings a few minutes before the scheduled time, so as to be seated and settled in place before the period of zazen begins.
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Please keep your microphone muted until the very end.
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The group leader will ring three bells to begin zazen & one bell to signal the end of zazen.
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REGISTRATION NOT REQUIRED. DONATIONS WELCOME AND APPRECIATED.
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​CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE 7:00PM MEDITATION
ZEN STUDIES PROGRAM- ONLINE and *IN-PERSON
Wednesday MAY 7th 2025, 7:00PM - 9:00PM
Join SENSEI RICHARD EMYO BIZUB for one of our monthly Dharma talks...
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​WAR, WISDOM AND COMPASSION...
It's been 50 years since the fall of Saigon, the moment that ended the Vietnam War. The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, signaled the end of South Vietnam. In the chaos leading up to that day, hundreds of thousands fled, many by sea, in search of safety and a future. The total loss of human life from the war is staggering. According to the Buddha, the mind is the source of all actions. It is most dangerous when we believe that our way is the only way for humankind. If we see deeply into the fact that all beings are interconnected, we will stop blaming, arguing, and killing. To practice nonviolence, we first need to create true harmony within ourselves.
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Join us for an evening of Zazen, (seated meditation) Kinhin (walking mediation) chanting of the Sutras and a Dharma discussion...both in-person and online.
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REGISTER FOR ONLINE EVENT (click here)
*IN PERSON NEED NOT REGISTER
ZEN STUDIES PROGRAM- ONLINE and *IN-PERSON
Wednesday MAY 14th, 2025, 7:00PM- 9:00PM
Join REVEREND ORLANDO DONEN NIEVES for one of our monthly Dharma talks...
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EMBRACING GREAT DOUBT WITH GREAT FAITH...
For many traditional religions, doubt is often seen as a weakness, a lack of faith, or the very antithesis of faith. Seen in this way, mere belief can harden into unquestioned dogma or doctrine. However, in Buddhism, and perhaps especially in Zen, Great Doubt is one of the foundations of practice, and is interconnected and inseparable from Great Faith.
The great Zen Master Boshan taught that unlike the hindrance of skeptical doubt, we must always arouse Great Doubt in our practice, for it holds our continuous practice upright and awakens our sense of wonder. We will look at the significance of Great Doubt in our life, and its interconnectedness with Great Faith, not as dogma or doctrine, but as a living and unfolding experience.
Join us for an evening of Zazen, (seated meditation) Kinhin (walking mediation) chanting of the Sutras and a Dharma discussion...both in-person and online.
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JOIN THE ONLINE EVENT (CLICK HERE)
*IN-PERSON NEED NOT REGISTER
​HALF-DAY ZAZENKAI- ONLINE and *IN-PERSON
Saturday, MAY 10th, 2025 9:00am - 12:00pm
Join the Monks of Jizo-an Zen Community, for an extended period of Zazen
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HALF-DAY ZAZENKAI
Zazenkai is the coming together of the Sangha as well as anyone with an interest in Zen and to experience Zazen in the Meditation hall. It allows those who have never sat for an extended period to do so with other practitioners so as to give support and a conducive space for that purpose. It seems also that without these extended periods of meditation, finding ease and joy in Zazen can take a very long time.
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JOIN THE ONLINE EVENT (click here)
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*IN-PERSON NEED NOT REGISTER
ZEN STUDIES PROGRAM- ONLINE and IN-PERSON*
Wednesday MAY 21st 2025, 7:00PM - 9:00PM
Join us for REVEREND RICHARD DAIKO SMYKLA... one of our monthly Dharma talks..
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BREATHING INTO SILENCE...
Attending to the breath​ is the simplest of instructions for marshaling our attention into the current moment. Yet we tend to fall back again and again into thinking about, musing, judging and projecting our wants and needs upon our experience of it. Fortunately we can train the mind with a simple hint to maintain our focus and deepen our practice of zazen — stealing our attention back from the wandering mind and into the silent source of being.
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​​Join us for 2 periods of Zazen (seated meditation), Kinhin (walking meditation), and chanting of the sutras...followed by a short talk given by one of the Monks.
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REGISTER FOR ONLINE EVENT (CLICK HERE)
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*IN PERSON NEED NOT REGISTER
