Why ZEN?

What a loaded question! Asking this question explodes into the universe of embodied being with crashing waves that open up countless dimensions of our existence.

It's an important question to ask ourselves regularly and be prepared for intimate echoes to come back, reminding us of the path we're walking... the path of life together.

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Sensei Okami (Eido-Ji)

ZEN is a way of approaching the essence of life, one's true identity. Along the way we encounter a series of obstacles that are recognized, accepted and let go.

These obstacles can become advancements and mark the line to the Big Heart in every human being.

The possible is wonderful and the wonderful is possible, Zen Master Johannes once said to me and awakened my spiritual searching spirit, another indispensable prerequisite for the path. to oneself.

ZEN provides an ingenious framework within which practitioners, armed with confidence. to the way, discipline and sustainability" approach the true self and touch the big heart.

An experienced companion, like the ZEN teacher, is always necessary, who knows the terrain on the inner journey and, like a guide, helps to avoid unnecessary painful detours and can provide the necessary motivation and guidance.

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Roshi Paul Kisho Stern

Zen is an engaged practice (as opposed to a static belief system) that challenges me to enhance my humanity by connecting directly and increasingly with "being" in an expanding, holistic way;

There is a recognition of simultaneous connectedness and autonomy in operation that is very appealing to me as a method of interacting with and being part of reality... the work of manifesting this is endless;

The focus on Buddha, Dharma, Sangha… as areas of personal and community development;

There is no "other thing" to get or to seek refuge outside (although we do it a certain way)... the idea that the tools, path and goal are already provided and obvious.

Roshi Paul Genki Kahn

It was

offers a pristine laboratory for the study of self, consciousness, relationship and meaning. offers a uniquely personal, fulfilling and meaningful way of life. Practice is our life and our life is practice. Provides a natural, direct, experiential, nuanced and refined training path in spiritual development. Develops personal qualities such as discipline, flexibility, spontaneity, humor, down-to-earthness, willpower, determination and creativity. Focused focuses on this world, this moment, this self, this experience as the very ground of the sacred. reveals the multidimensional reality of each individual's perception and creation, the interrelationships between each and everyone, the co-creation.

Roshi Monika Genmitsu Kahn

ZEN = INTIMACY WITHOUT ESCAPE.

In Zen practice I throw myself into being.

Heidegger's "DASEIN", usually translated as "DASEIN", actually means much more than that. It points to presence, being here,

This being and being there in a very “JUST THIS” way.

In surrendering to intimate merging, Zen gives me a way to face whatever is there, leaving no room for escape, but turning to it and being it, penetrating it and embodying it.

The more I penetrate into my self, it dissolves into being and compassionate understanding for all beings.

Roshi Bill Jikai Greenberg

At the age of 16 I had a deep insight into the relativity of value judgments. However, this left a feeling of negativism, a "void" but not of the awakening kind, and nothing that I felt I could talk to others about. When I was 19 and read one of DT Suzuki's books on the history of Zen Buddhism, I had a deeper insight into relativity and voidness, as I saw that relativity or meaninglessness did not necessarily entail negativity or a depressed attitude, that these were simply appreciations I made.

Sensei Cathleen Kanno Doko Dowd

After my first week-long Zen retreat, I saw my defensive walls of protection fall away and I was left with a kind of nakedness that was more receptive than fearful. When I came to ZCLA I was surrounded by a tangible atmosphere of great hidden intentions. I didn't know anything about zen, but I understood "chop wood, carry water". I felt and trusted the depth of what we were doing. Meditating in stillness and stillness brings us into contact with reality, the known and the unknown. Since we share this precious and sacred life with everyone, how we live this life matters. One teacher spoke of realization and realization. Not knowing if I can do that, I chop onions.

Dharma Holder Trish Kojindo Johnson

Zen is open, flexible, not bound by right and wrong. It's a way of being in the world, and with this practice it becomes easier to see the world as ourselves. We must realize this Zen practice within ourselves; it's all right here in front of us. It awakens to the presence and newness of life. Zen is wild and compassionate; accessible. It is constantly changing and yet it is right here in this moment. It encompasses all time and space. It is in every activity, action, thought and way of being. Zen merges the entire universe into one raindrop.

Dharma Holder Susan Eiori Bruce

Zen is real". Having experienced a plethora of spiritual modalities, my gut knows Zen is home. Most of the other practices were chicken scratching, palliative patches, with the premise of being implemented by something or someone out there. In non-dual Zen, I bleed out and remain present to myself in the bleeding. It's about me, who becomes the asana, who is sewn by the rakusu when sewing, and who is the larger space for all my parts. The discipline and responsibility to delve into the presence and not just scratch the surface is transformative. By manifesting it, we attract new students.