Welcome to San Angelo Zen!

We are a Sangha (or community with a common purpose) dedicated to the practice of Zen and we welcome any individual interested in learning this practice to come sit with us.

We invite practitioners of any religion (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc.) and those who practice no religion to experience the freedom that is found by turning the “point of the angle” towards oneself. Shunryu Suzuki says,

Usually when someone believes in a particular religion, his attitude becomes more and more a sharp angle pointing away from himself. In Zen, the point of the angle is always towards ourselves. As long as you have a particular goal, directed towards some object, the practice of Zen will not help you completely. If you limit your activity to the present moment, then you can express fully your true nature, the universal Buddha nature."

What is Zen?

Zen is the pure experience of life as it is in this moment. It is not a philosophy. It is not a metaphysical way of explaining the world. Zen is practice. So although we use and respect academic study, teaching, and ritual; we emphasize practice. When we are walking, we walk; we when are sitting, we sit; when are drinking tea, we drink. This is Zen practice.

What is Zazen?

Zazen is a form of meditation expressed through our Zen practice. Zazen is typically referred as sitting Zen, or literally zazen means ‘seated meditation.’ Zazen is the expression of one’s true nature, or Buddha nature. Suzuki Roshi says the following in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind,

While you are continuing this practice, week after week, year after year, your experience will become deeper and deeper, and your experience will cover everything you do in your everyday life. The most important thing is to forget all gaining ideas, all dualistic ideas. In other words, just practice zazen in a certain posture. Do not think about anything. Then eventually you will resume your own true nature. That is to say, your own true nature resumes itself."

San Angelo Zen Practice

For now we will be meeting once a week. If you are new to Zen please come by and use one of our sets of pillows (zabuton-big, thin pillow and zafu-smaller, thick pillow) that we have available. If you are experienced in any other form of meditation and have your own pillows, please bring them. We will have a small library of books that relate to our practice and anyone is welcome to check them out. Also, we recommend our orientation to those who are new to this practice. Although zazen practice is similar to other styles of meditation, it does have a form of its own and we would like you to have the opportunity to learn the basics of this form prior to practicing it.

San Angelo Zen is affiliated with the Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas, TX. If you are interested in more rigorous Zen practice, MKZC offers an all day sitting once a month and three to five day long retreats throughout the year. The Maria Kannon Zen Center is a lay Zen tradition in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage.

Times

Saturdays: 9:00 - 10:00 AM

Orientation

Part 1
February 13, 2010 (Saturday)
9:00 - 10:30 AM

Part 2
Coming soon

Location

San Angelo, TX

Contact

info@sanangelozen.com
Jon at 512-636-8708