SUBMITTED BY SALT SPRING ZEN CIRCLE
For people wanting to learn more about Zen, a What is Zen? series of talks running from Sept. 4 to Oct. 9 will help answer questions and introduce them to a practice that has its roots in interdependence and impermanence.
Simon Rompre, Judy Daylen, Chris Smart and Michelle Reed will lead a six-week series of Wednesday night talks running from 7 to 9 p.m. at the upper hall of All Saints by-the-Sea. Beginners and seasoned practitioners are welcome to attend.
Salt Spring Zen Circle is evolving in the way that every living thing transforms. We are a unique householder Soto Zen Sangha, initially launched in 2001 by our founding teacher Peter Levitt. Before stepping down as the sangha’s guiding teacher in December of 2023, Levitt endowed two long-term practitioners, Judy Daylen and Simon Rompre, with lay entrustment, which authorizes them as teachers in the Suzuki Roshi Lineage.
Our sangha is a collective of Zen practitioners, folks who live on and off the island. We operate as a circle and a registered charity with members taking on the varied roles to keep our practice vibrant. We offer a variety of practice opportunities both in person and online.
Our 2024 fall sesshin (meditation retreat), called The Sangha Jewel and the Bodhisattva Path, is planned for the end of October. It will explore foundational ways that the study and practice of the precepts (ethical principles) and the spiritual friendship offered by sangha support our journey of awakening and living our lives for the benefit of all beings. The three-day sesshin will culminate with a Zaike Tokudo (Staying at Home, Attaining the Way) ceremony for five sangha members who will receive the precepts as they formally embark on the bodhisattva path.
Anyone interested in further information or in attending upcoming events, either in person or online, can contact Judy Daylen at jdaylen@gmail.com.
The group’s website is currently being updated, but relevant information about sangha activities and membership can be found at saltspringzencircle.org/history-of-salt-spring-zen-circle-2001-2021/membership/.