Chinese calligraphy for Dana by Steve Crisman - all rights reserved

Calligraphy for "dana"
by Steve Crisman

Welcome to Dharma Sangha Boulder, and our practice home, the Boulder Zen Center at Our Wonderful Boulder Hotel, the Briar Rose B and B

Notices

One-Time Schedule Adjustment

Next weekend we are having a seminar at Chautauqua with Zentatsu Baker Roshi. As a result, there will be no organized zazen on Saturday, January 28. Our regular schedule will resume with zazen on Monday morning.

2012 Seminars with Zentatsu Baker Roshi

We are pleased to announce dates for the 2012 Boulder Seminars with Zentatsu Baker Roshi at Chautauqua: The Challenges of Zen in the West, January 27–29, and The Dynamics and Practices of Self, May 4–6. Please see the seminar information below for more details, including online registration.

Zazen and Discussion for Women

We are now offering a Discussion Group for Women. (Follow the link for schedule details and contact info.)

Ongoing Financial Support

One strong way to offer ongoing financial support would be to sign-up for recurring monthly donations online, using the support button at the upper left. Any amount would be appreciated! Committed ongoing donations are a boost, not just materially. We are deeply grateful for your support.

Introduction

We have now become Dharma Sangha Boulder, with the Boulder Zen Center at the Briar Rose as our home, formalizing our connection to Dharma Sangha/Crestone Mountain Zen Center, and Shunryu Suzuki Roshi's and Zentatsu Baker Roshi's lineage. A number of us have practiced there for many years now. Zentatsu Baker Roshi is our first abbot and head teacher, although he does not live in Boulder. Within our regular practice, we learn from one another through engaging in this ancient practice together. The BZC has no formal dues or membership. We deeply appreciate donations toward paying off our the considerable debt we took on to create our wonderful practice space.

our new zendo
(click here for a larger image of the zendo) Note that the zendo has undergone several improvements. We now have beautiful shoji for the two doors you see at the rear, and rice-paper shades for the other windows. The altar has been upgraded with the addition of another table, so that we now have a kobaku (granular incense burner) in addition to the stick incense burner. There is also a ceiling fan to help with air movement when it's warm. Finally, we built a nice new fence, and created a lovely little garden in the area you see outside the back doors.

 

Orientation

On Saturdays you may arrive at 8:45 (15 minutes early) for a very brief orientation. This will be helpful if you are new to sitting with us (or want to refresh you memory), but it isn't required. This will introduce you to a few basics of the forms, so that you won't feel awkward joining us. Our forms may seem precise, but we are very laid-back. In other words, don't worry about making mistakes!

 

Sangha Work-Practice Day

We have not yet scheduled dates for 2012.

Working together is an important aspect of Zen practice. These work days bring us together as a sangha. They are also very supportive for those of us who are committed to keeping up the daily practice schedule. We hope you will join us.

Please see the schedule for details.

It is wonderful to share the entire day of practice together, for those who are able to stay through the entire schedule. This helps create a stronger integrity of the practice throughout the day. Nonetheless, we welcome participation for any part of the day. The day will include an informal discussion about lay practice at the end of the day, during our tea.

For questions, please call Gary at 303-579-6272.

 

Instruction

On Saturdays you may arrive at 8:45 (15 minutes early) for a very brief orientation. This will be helpful if you are new to sitting with us (or want to refresh you memory), but it isn't required. This will introduce you to a few basics of the forms, so that you won't feel awkward joining us. Our forms may seem precise, but we are very laid-back. In other words, don't worry about making mistakes!

General instruction is available by appointment. We typically include discussion of sitting posture, zazen, mindfulness, the role of ritual in Zen, the approach of our group, and practices appropriate to the individual. The introduction is informal, and seeks to address each individual's interest and questions. Please call Gary: 303-579-6272.

Zazen and Discussion for Women

We are now offering a discussion group for women, the Second Wednesday each month from 7–9 PM in the zendo. Drop-ins are welcome. We begin with a period of zazen followed by tea and informal discussion about lay practice. The first meeting was held in June, and offered a nice opportunity to come together to explore and support our practice.

Contact:
Seigan Amy Robertson
720-470-2230
amy.robertson 'at' comcast.net

Building a Practice Center

After over 25 years of practicing Zen as the "Zen center in a box", the Boulder Zen Center made a home at the Briar Rose B&B, a boutique Boulder Hotel at 2151 Arapahoe Ave. in 2004. We've been running the business since then. We are crafting a way to support our new center through an appropriate business. It is a beautiful old building. It's going quite well, although it has been quite demanding for those of us in the thick of it. These are the challenges we face in creating a practice center in downtown Boulder. Please come stay with us, or drop by for a cup of tea.

There is still much work to be done in the future to complete our vision, but we finished the first phase of our zendo, and already it is a wonderful space. Please consider helping us by sending a donation to: Dharma Sangha Boulder, P.O. Box 7416, Boulder, CO 80306, or online through PayPal. Thank you!

Practice

Our formal practice consists of sitting zazen, chanting, and walking meditation. Dress is casual. Please see the Schedule.

Intensive Practice

In addition to our usual weekly schedule, on the third Sunday of each month we provide an opportunity for more intensive zazen practice...

9–5 Zazen:

Just upright sitting, with eight periods throughout the day.

Please see the schedule for details.

Sesshin

Dharma Talks and/or Discussion

Ryokan Gary Hardin has begun giving talks the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month, during the second period of zazen. (We request that you try to come for the first period as well, if possible. This is not essential, but it does help to establish a supportive feeling in the zendo, in the sense that the listerners are closer to zazen mind, which is good for both the speaker and the listener.) On Saturdays, after our practice there is usually an informal dharma discussion over a pot of tea. Note: There will not be a talk on Thursday, April 1 because of sesshin at the monastery in Crestone.

Seminars with Zentatsu Baker-roshi

Dharma Sangha Boulder hosts two weekend seminars each year with Zentatsu Baker-roshi at the Chautauqua Community House. Baker Roshi is the dharma successor of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi, and abbot of the Crestone Mountain Zen Center and Dharma Sangha, including Dharma Sangha Boulder. To facilitate people's planning, we aim to hold these events as close as possible to the last weekend of January, and the last weekend of April. The dates for 2012 have now been set, as detailed below. (Reservations for the Chautauqua Community House, our venue, are not accepted before about September for the next year.)

Roshi's seminars are opportunities to extensively explore how to practice some aspect of the Dharma, shedding new light on classical teachings.

2012 Boulder Seminar Dates - at the Chautauqua Community House

Attendance Details

These seminars will be held in the Community House at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, at the base of the Flatirons. The format for the weekend will include lectures, questions & answers, group discussion, and some sitting meditation. It is not necessary for participants to have experience with Zen practice, or familiarity with Baker-roshi’s previous seminars. The weekend seminar will begin Saturday and Sunday mornings at 9:30 A.M., extending to late afternoon. While the main seminar will begin on Saturday, Baker-roshi will begin to develop the topic of the seminar on Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm with those who are able to attend. If you have further questions please contact Tim Hogan (see below). Registration will be on-site Friday and Saturday mornings.

There will be a couple hour break at mid-day for people to have lunch on their own.

Boulder Seminar Contact:
Tim Hogan
303-444-5577
Tim.Hogan 'at' colorado.edu

Sangha Seminars with Zenki Christian Dillo

The Sangha Seminar is an opportunity for new and experienced students to explore teachings of Zen Buddhism together. The topic will be developed through informal dharma talks, question and answer, open discussion, and small groups. The schedule includes morning and evening Zazen.

There is now a Sangha Seminar in Crestone, as well as two in Boulder. The Boulder Zen Center can only accommodate a smaller number of people, and these seminars have sold out early. We added a seminar in Crestone to ensure that everyone will have an opportunity to attend one of these events. Please see the Dharma Sangha website (http://dharmasangha.org/) for information, specifically, http://dharmasangha.org/zen-practice/program/seminars#Sangha.

Boulder

For the seminars in Boulder, participants are encouraged to stay overnight at the Briar Rose B and B. The cost will be $120 (whether or not you stay overnight at the Rose), plus a traditional teaching gift. The gift amount is up to you. Participants will be asked to help clean their rooms and change the bedding before they depart on Sunday, as part of our practice - taking care of things.

To reserve a space for Boulder Sangha Seminars, please contact Jessika (cell: 720-290-1612 or jessika1021 'at' gmail.com ), the manager of the Briar Rose. Space will be limited to ease logistics.

Crestone

To reserve a space for Crestone Sangha Seminars, please register on the CMZC web site.

Sangha Work Day

Thanks to all who made our recent Sangha Work Day a success! This time, we specifically oriented the schedule toward more formal work practice for part of the day, which worked out well. We will continue this format in the future. This was our last work day for the year since we are now into the colder months. We will instead incorporate other sangha activities, which will be announced as we clarify our schedule for next year. We would like to have one sangha event, such as these work days, each month throughout the year with the intention of providing Sangha members more opportunities to come together and support each other's practice. Thank you all for your hard work and support.

Practice at Crestone Mountain Zen Center

For information on Crestone Mountain Zen Center practice and events, including sesshin, seminars at the monastery (but not those in Boulder), and practice weekends, please see www.dharmasangha.org or contact CMZC directly at 719-256-4692 or cmzc 'at' dharmasangha.org.

History

Formally established in 1978 as the Boulder Zen Center, Dharma Sangha Boulder is dedicated to providing opportunities for traditional Zen practice. Originally, the Boulder Zen Center was founded by a group of students of the Rinzai Zen teacher Joshu Sasaki-roshi, who is based around Los Angeles. For 25 years our form primarily followed that lineage, although there were elements of a Korean style that were brought in by an early leader of our group, Richard Barskey, who had a Korean teacher. Richard also studied with Sasaki-roshi. In the early years the group was a bit transient, but eventually found a home at Karma Dzong, the center for Tibetan Buddhist practice in Boulder, which has now become the Shambhala Center. We practiced there for over 20 years as the "Zen center in a box", using whatever room was available. The Shambhala folks were very kind to allow us to stay for so long, charging us only nominal rent.

In June of 2004 we purchased the Briar Rose, to finally create a home after 25 years afloat. In July of 2008 we finally finished our zendo, stretching beyond our finances, but determined to make it happen. With the new zendo, we launched ourselves fully as a part of Dharma Sangha, with Richard Baker-roshi as our teacher and abbot. Although he does not reside in Boulder, he inspires and guides our practice. We welcome students from all lineages and approaches, as well as those seeking to explore Zen Buddhism for the first time.