Sangha News

Zen Retreats and News

Fall Zazen-Kai
The next two day zazen-kai with Eshin will be held November 17, 18 and 19 at the 3rd Avenue location. The Friday evening session is open to the public, with all day Saturday and Sunday for Zen students. Please contact Edward on Tuesday evening or email    if you would like more information, or to register.

Friday Morning Zen
Zen practice will be offered from September to May on Friday mornings from 6-7:30 a.m. at the 3rd Ave. location. Doors open 5:45, doors locked 6 a.m. Formal practice will start promptly with a tea ceremony after the doors are locked.

Tuesday Evening Zen
Zen practice continues as usual on Tuesday evenings.

Zen Group Thriving
Thanks to a more central location and a very active year, with many well publicized public events, a new web site launch, and a real effort to get brochures distributed regularly, the Zen group is now thriving. Special thanks to Edward for always being willing to help out with workshops and ecumenical activities, for organizing monthly 1/2 day zazen-kai over the summer, and for planning the two day zazen-kai in November. Both Edward and Larry took responsibility for opening the zendo on Tuesday nights all summer.

Half day retreats with a formal lunch will continue to be held, usually on the last Sunday of each month. See the website event schedule for advance notice of dates.

I am offering Zen practice at Prince George Regional Corrections Centre. We have assembled a full set of buddha statue, butsudan, bell, incense, zafu, etc., etc. to facilitate this offering. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

Group Forming To Attend Galiano Seshin In Early 2007
Larry and I attended sesshin on Galiano island in May. We have tentative plans for several Prince George Zen Group members to attend sesshin on Galiano together in the spring of 2007, probably February 17 -24, but perhaps May 5 - 12. This would be a good opportunity for anyone who feels ready to do their first sesshin, and would like to do this with the supportive presence of other Prince George Zen group members. At the moment the date is somewhat flexible, so please let Edward or myself know as soon as possible if you wish to go with the group, then you can be included in the decision making. Application forms are available from the Zen Centre of Vancouver web site.

Roshi 100 Years Young This Spring!
Joshu Roshi, who founded our North American lineage, will be 100 years old this coming Spring. I completed two sesshin led by him this past July, one at Mount Baldy and one at Rinzai-ji in Los Angeles. I encourage anyone who can to practice with him. At almost 100 years of age Roshi is still exceptionally sharp and vital. His influence on our culture is now wide reaching as many people have taken the time to study with him. Students in North America include poets Judy Grahn and Leonard Cohen, and Theravaden teacher Shinzen Younge. Some of you may have read Shinzen's recent article in Tricycle about combining zen and theravadin practice, some of his students were at sesshin with Roshi in July.

Roshi leads sesshin at Mount Baldy Zen Center, Rinzai-ji temple in Los Angeles and Bodhi Manda Zen Center in New Mexico. These are unique opportunities to study with a mature, Japanese trained Zen Master who has dedicated himself to teaching westerners for over 40 years. If you take advantage of the opportunity you will find yourself rubbing shoulders with students from many parts of the world, not just North America. Application forms are available from the relevant web sites. Here is a link to Mount Baldy Zen Center's web site to get you started. You will need to obtain a supporting letter from Eshin or other clergy before going to sesshin with Roshi.

Vipassana Retreats and News

January Retreat With Dr. Adrianne Ross
There will be a weekend retreat at UNBC in January with Dr. Adrianne Ross.

Four Week Meditation & Self Knowledge Course
John DeGrace will teach a four week meditation and self knowledge course at UNBC from mid February to mid March. Details will appear at the UNBC web site on the continuing education page.

Contact  if you are interested in either of these activities.

Vipassana Group Growing Steadily
The central location has increased Monday night attendance. In spite of the usual summer slow down the Vipassana group is growing steadily and members are working well together. A few people made "spiritual journeys" this summer. John attended two retreats: April 20- May 1 at the Barrie Center for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts, and August 18-31 at the Cloud Mountain retreat Center near Castle Rock in Washington. Both retreats were led by Leigh Brasington who is a dharma heir of Ayya Kemma, entrusted with teaching the jhanas. Lynda Cowan and Marie DeBow visited Birken monastery together for 4 days.

Change Your Mind (CYM) Day  An afternoon of free public dharma teaching, meditation and yoga was held at the Civic Center from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. June 3 2006. This was a success, with 30-40 people who participating in a variety of introductory presentations, in spite of a changed location, and a last minute change to our phone number. Special thanks to Edward for taking over at the last minute when I left town to be with my father, who is recovering well from his heart attack although bypass surgery is not possible and the future is uncertain. My thanks to all the people who encouraged me and took an interest in my father's health, to Carla, Vernaye, Sarah, John and Edward who represented their traditions on the day, and to everyone who attended and added their energy to the event.

World Religions Conferences Prince George, Prince Rupert and Terrace

This year the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is hosting three World Religions Conferences in our area. We are supplying speakers to represent Buddhism at all three. Rizwan Peerzada, the Organizer, makes a real effort to find representatives from diverse religious traditions. This is an excellent opportunity to promote harmony between people of different religions, and to learn about how other spiritual traditions function. Free refreshments are provided.

The Buddhist talks will be posted on our articles and archives page after the events. Here is the information you will need to attend the conference in your area:

My thanks to Eshin for assistance with preparing talks.

News from Jim Bell

Jim, who was active in both Zen and Vipassana groups moved to Nanimo last year. He writes that he enjoyed the Nanaimo Buddhist Meditation meeting which takes place weekly in a "house where the second floor is an entire Vietnamese Zen meditation hall." Jim has also been accepted for the one-week Vipassana retreat on Salt Spring Island in September. It's good to hear from old friends.

New Newsletter Editors

Both Gerry and Larry have expressed willingness to take over newsletter production, so this is the last newsletter I will write. I hope Gerry and Larry have fun, and get lots of help from people contributing their news. You can send news to  or  .