floatingzendo.org Blog

Floating Zendo is a place for Soto Zen practice in San Jose, CA and other locations

Angie is back!

Filed under: Uncategorized — audio at 8:43 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Angie Boissevain has resumed teaching on Tuesday nights. Angie plans to continue with the study of the Lankavatara Sutra. The most recent talk can be found on our Audio page.

Floating Zendo meets every Tuesday night at the Friends’ Meetinghouse, 1041 Morse Street, San Jose. Meditation begins at 6:30 p.m. and is followed by a dharma talk. Everyone is welcome to join us.

Change in Schedule

Filed under: Uncategorized — audio at 11:21 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013

As you may have heard, Angie injured a vertebrae while at her home about 3 weeks ago. She is recuperating at her home now and is in good spirits. We will keep you posted on Angie’s recovery. The San Jose Sangha will continue to sit on Tuesday nights with the support of the Bay Area priests in her lineage and other Sangha members.

Tues. 6:30 pm March 12: open
Tues. 6:30 pm March 19: Carolyn Dille, guest teacher

Tues. 6:30 pm April 2: Carolyn Dille, guest teacher
Tues. 6:30 pm April 9: Peter Szydlowski, guest teacher
Sat. 9:00 am April 13: ½ day Sit with Ellen Richter
Tues. 6:30 pm April 16: donnalynn chase, guest teacher
Tues. 6:30 pm April 23: donnalynn chase, guest teacher

Please save Saturday May 4 for the one day sit at Connie Batten’s ranch. Angie is planning on joining us!

Studying the Lankavatara Sutra

Filed under: Books, Reading, Study — audio at 12:18 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Floating Zendo has begun studying the Lankavatara Sutra. The sutra recounts a teaching between the Buddha and a bodhisattva named Mahatmi. Zen’s First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, is said to have told his successor that everything he needed to know was in the Lankavatara Sutra. We are using Red Pine’s translation and commentary to study the sutra.

If you would like to study the sutra with us, we meet every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Friends’ Meetinghouse, 1041 Morse Street, San Jose. Everyone is welcome.

2012 Sesshin Schedule

Filed under: Sesshin — audio at 12:31 am on Thursday, August 9, 2012

The daily schedule for the Floating Zendo meditation retreat, August 10-17, 2012, is now available: link. Paula Jones and Carolyn Dille will complete their priest ordinations with Angie on Friday, August 17. Paula’s ordination ceremony will begin at 10 a.m., and Carolyn’s will begin at noon. The ceremonies will be followed by a celebratory lunch.

Everyone is invited to meditate with us. If you will be joining us for a meal, please contact the Shika at shika@brittwalsh.com or, beginning Friday, August 10, call Jikoji at 408-741-9562 to let us know so that we can prepare enough food.

Also, the Floating Zendo Sesshin Guidebook is online. The Guidebook details the rules and ceremonies observed during our sesshin. In addition, the Guidebook specifies the responsibilities of the formal roles, like Ino or Soku.

Sesshin August 10-17, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — audio at 12:34 am on Friday, June 15, 2012

Once again, we return to Jikoji Zen Center in the Santa Cruz Mountains for our 10th Annual Sesshin.

Our teacher Angie Boissevain, Zuiko Enji, will sit with us all week and offer a Dharma talk after tea each afternoon. Dokusan will be offered in the morning Monday through Thursday. Carolyn Dille and Paula Jones will complete their priest ordinations with Angie this August sesshin.

Jikoji Zen Center was established in 1983 by Kobun Chino Otogawa and a group of his students. Angie is one of these founding students. Situated in a wooded area, surrounded by Open Space Preserve, Jikoji offers a quiet, rustic environment for meditation practice. Improvements in recent years add to the comfort, accessibility, and beauty of the Center. More information about Jikoji, including directions, is available at jikoji.org.

Our Sesshin is open to all (Read on …)

Studying Dogen’s “Mountains and Rivers”

Filed under: Books, Reading, Study — audio at 10:42 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012

Beginning March 2012, Floating Zendo will study the Sansui-kyo (”Mountains and Rivers”) chapter of Dogen’s Shobogenzo, Kazuaki Tanahashi, translator. The Tanahashi translation is available in the collected Treasury of the True Dharma Eye and also in Moon in a Dewdrop.

After we finish the “Mountains and Rivers” chapter, we will look into The Book of Serenity, Soto Zen koans translated by Thomas Cleary.

Sewing Sesshin October 23 – 27, 2011

Filed under: Sesshin — audio at 5:33 pm on Monday, October 17, 2011

Floating Zendo sewing sesshin at Jikoji Zen Center
Oct 23 – 27 2011

with Jane Macdonald and Carolyn Dille
Sunday 4 PM – Thursday noon

Suggested donation is $50/day (which includes lodging, 3 meals a day and dana for our tenzo). Day rate of $60 (includes two meals).

We will alternate between zazen and sewing, with two sitting periods at the beginning and end of our day. In the middle of our day we will have two blocks of time to sew. The sesshin schedule is here. All are welcome, whether to sew an okesa, rakusu, sutra cloth, or any other project you might have, or simply to come and sit zazen. Bring your sewing materials and cloth; if you need a sewing kit, please let Jane or Carolyn know at registration.

Please register to confirm your attendance: (Read on …)

August 2011 Sesshin, continued

Filed under: Sesshin — audio at 10:58 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The daily schedule for the sesshin August 19-26, 2011, is now available: link (pdf). Everyone is invited to meditate with us. If you will be joining us for a meal, please contact the Shika or, beginning Friday, call Jikoji at 408-741-9562 to let us know so that we can prepare enough food.

Also, the Floating Zendo Sesshin Guidebook (pdf) is now online. The Guidebook details the rules and ceremonies observed during our sesshin. In addition, the Guidebook specifies the responsibilities of the formal roles, like Ino or Soku.

Annual Sesshin August 19-26, 2011

Filed under: Sesshin — audio at 4:38 pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2011

We return to Jikoji Zen Center on Skyline Blvd., Los Gatos for our 9th Annual Sesshin. This rural retreat center was established in 1983 by Kobun Chino Otogawa and a group of his students. Our teacher, Angie Boissevain, Zuiko Enji, is one of these founding students. Situated in a wooded area, surrounded by Open Space Preserve, Jikoji offers a quiet, rustic environment for meditation practice. Current residents and Sangha members of the Center nourish the Zen heritage, and Kobun’s legacy animates the site. Improvements in recent years add to the comfort, accessibility, and beauty of the Center.

Angie will sit with us all week and offer a Dharma talk after tea each afternoon. Dokusan will be offered in the morning, Monday through Thursday. Breakfast and Lunch will be Oryoki form. Sets of bowls are available for your use. A daily schedule for the Sesshin will be e-mailed mid August.

Our Sesshin is open to all (Read on …)

Studying Dogen’s “Uji” (”Time-Being”)

Filed under: Study — Administrator at 11:50 pm on Thursday, July 1, 2010

As of June 2010, Floating Zendo in San Jose, CA is studying the Uji (”Time-Being”) chapter of Dogen’s Shobogenzo. We are using the English translation in Enlightenment Unfolds (ed. Kaz Tanahashi). A popular, similar, but not identical, earlier translation by Kaz is available online. Our teacher’s talks on Uji are given as part of our weekly meetings, where Angie welcomes people’s questions on the text. We hope you can join us, or listen in from near or far.

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