Jizo-an Zen Community
Meditation - Mindfulness - Benevolent Service - Community
Jizo-an Zen Community now makes its home at our new facility 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 September 2023
Please note that all in-person events in September are temporarily being held at the UU Church on 401 Kings Highway North in Cherry Hill, while building repairs are made.
The Ease & Joy of Morning Meditation (Virtual Meditation Online Only)
Livestream Meditation Schedule:
Every day (7 Days/week, at 5:30am Online)
EVERY WEEK OF THE MONTH
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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 & Joy of Evening Meditation & Dharma Discussion
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Virtual Meditation and a brief Evening Dharma Discussion (Online Only)
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Livestream Meditation: 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 THIS LINK TO JOIN THE 7PM MEETING
ZEN STUDIES PROGRAM - Online and In-Person*
Wednesday September 6th, 2023, 7:00PM
Join Rev. Sensei Emyo for one of our monthly Zen Studies discussion
The Ceaseless Flow of Endless Time:
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What could be more obvious than time? Time is the medium in which we function. Yet on a closer examination, what time is, and how we are to understand it, is not so obvious.
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Are we separate from time, or is time somehow part of our being? Does past time cease to exist? Does the present moment have its own identity or is it utterly determined by the past?
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Long before Albert Einstein delved into these questions, Dogen Zenji (1200-1253), the founder of the Soto school of Zen, wrote about time in his text Uji (Being-Time), which is part of his collection of essays known as Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye). Tonight we will explore the Buddhist concept of time.
Join the Monks of Jizo-an for an evening of Zazen, chanting of the Sutras and contemplation of the Dharma.
* IN-PERSON- We will be meeting temporarily at the Unitarian Universalist Church on 401 Kings Highway, Cherry Hill NJ 08034
REGISTER FOR ONLINE EVENT
ZAZENKAI- HALF DAY MEDITATION Online AND IN-PERSON*
Saturday September 9th, 2023, 9:00AM- 12:00PM
Half day Zazen and Liturgy
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Zazenkai​- Half Day Silent Meditation and Liturgy
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The awakening process always happens when you stop chasing it. Zazenkai is simply a means of learning to 'see' what is beyond this illusion of 'I’ . Settling into longer periods of Zazen (silent meditation) allows one to drop away body and mind as Zen Master Dogen taught. It is all in the showing up.
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Periods of seated medition (zazen) as well as periods of walking meditation (kinhin) followed by our monthly Liturgy .
Join us either in-person or online.
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* IN-PERSON-We will be meeting temporarily at the Unitarian Universalist Church on 401 Kings Highway, Cherry Hill NJ 08034
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ZEN STUDIES PROGRAM - Online and In-Person*
Wednesday September 13th, 2023, 7:00PM
Join Rev. Orlando Donen Nieves for one of our monthly Zen Studies discussion
The Paramita of Renunciation
Renunciation is often a word that takes on negative connotations or images in our mind. We automatically associate it with 'giving up' something that we have, or of our personal traits (outlook, beliefs). But the view of renunciation from a Buddhist perspective is quite different.
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The Theravadin teachings on the ten Paramitas or Paramis includes renunciation, and points to the importance of understanding and cultivating this quality in daily practice and daily living. Tonight we will explore the Buddhist view of Renunciation.
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Join the Monks of Jizo-an for an evening of Zazen, chanting of the Sutras and contemplation of the Dharma.
* IN-PERSON- We will be meeting temporarily at the Unitarian Universalist Church on 401 Kings Highway, Cherry Hill NJ 08034
REGISTER FOR ONLINE EVENT
ZEN STUDIES PROGRAM- Online and In-Person*
Wednesday, September 20th, 2023 at 7:00PM
Join Rev. Kevin Genjo LeBlanc for this monthly Zen Studies program
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Do You Know HOW To Feel?
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From a very early age, feelings are tricky!!! For most humans, not only are we not taught about feelings and how to handle them, but most of us are shamed or scolded for showing them. Or, the feelings that arise from experiences were so heavy, we couldn't imagine being able to face them...there are many many different aspects of this, but the point is that almost nobody learns what they are and their intended purpose. So, it makes sense that when we begin looking within ourselves, more often than not we are not even sure of what we feel, let alone how to let it go.
The Buddhist path and the countless teachings from both the historical Buddha and the many enlightened ones, offer us a boundless collection of insights to the keys within...the keys of liberation, cutting through the afflictive emotions and the ignorance that makes them feel so real.
The Abhidharma (higher dharma) is one such teaching. It places at it's core the recognition of our feelings and the causes that continue them or let them go.
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Join the Monks of Jizo-an for an evening of Zazen, chanting of the Sutras and contemplation of the Dharma.
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* IN-PERSON-We will be meeting temporarily at the Unitarian Universalist Church on 401 Kings Highway, Cherry Hill NJ 08034
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CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE EVENT
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SUNDAY MORNING MEDITATION AND REFLECTION Online Only
Sunday September 17th, 2023, 9:00AM- 10:00AM
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Sunday Morning Meditation and Reflection
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Join us for an hour of meditation where we will sit with ease and intimacy. In addition, we will reflect on a teaching of Shantideva, the great Buddhist Master of the eighth century AD. The hour will conclude with the Four Great Vows and a Benefit for All.
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