Please read on for the following suggestions: just sit, go to retreats and take classes, help out and learn with volunteer practice positions, know who the practice leaders and teachers are, go to dokusan and practice discussion, take up mentorship, consider taking Jukai at some point, and entering into formal teacher-student relationships. Simply coming to Red Cedar regularly to sit down in silence with the other sangha members is a powerful and complete option. In our school of practice we have a deep trust that simply making space in the structured and supported way the zendo provides supports the natural opening of the heart and clarifying of the mind. Over time you will naturally learn and start to embody the Zen Forms as well. We offer an array of retreats and classes every year. Note that for Red Cedar Zen members classes are no charge and retreats are heavily discounted.
You will be invited to give a separate dana (generosity) donation directly to the teacher. See the website and bulletin boards for upcoming events. Our most challenging and rewarding retreats are the multi-day silent meditation retreats called sesshin (“meeting the heart-mind”). These are offered in early March (3 days), mid-June (7 days), mid-September (5 days at Seattle Soto Zen), and early December (4 days). At sesshin we maintain silence, get up early and spend the day alternating sitting and walking meditation with work period, healthy vegetarian meals, Dharma talks, private interviews with the teachers, and rest periods. It’s an immersive experience of practice in community. In Zen we see our actions as just as central to the practice as zazen (seated meditation). By volunteering to care of the sangha and the building you enter more fully into the “mandala” of practice. There is much to learn from interacting with each other and from watching our minds as we take on even simple tasks like cleaning and shopping. Supported by our Clear Communication Guidelines (see the important document on this) we also see interpersonal challenges as potentially beneficial for our path towards greater awareness and kindness. Some of these volunteer “Practice Positions” include the performance of ritual actions – such as being the doan who rings the bells during our services. There can be deep opportunities in taking on these positions for learning about our minds, hearts, and patterns. Further: a fuller engagement with the ritual life of the community can support us in our healing in many ways. Zen is more than seated meditation: it’s a rich “ecosystem” of ritual movement, sound, and interaction in community.Įxamples of volunteer Service Positions include being the Shopper, serving on an ongoing workgroup like the Membership Workgroup or Website & Technology Workshop, or joining the pool of members who sign up to help with the Doan-ryo: timing zazen, ringing bells, and leading chants.
Who are the Teachers here? (“color coding”!) On the website under the “Business” header there is a page for “ Volunteers” which gives some of the options and it’s helpful if you initiate: ask Practice Leaders what the sangha needs help with. When you look around the zendo during practice you’ll see that everyone wears dark subdued clothing with shoulders and knees covered and a minimum of distracting writing or graphics. In addition, some may be wearing practice robes.
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