Anita Taylor 10/8/24 Anita Taylor 10/8/24

The Evolving Spring Green Kyudojo

We are pleased to announce the completion of the Kyudo Matoba, or 'Target House,' at the Spring Green Dojo. This beautiful structure protects the sloped sand and houses our traditional wooden and paper targets, offering a dedicated and serene space for Kyudo practice. It stands as a testament to Ken Kushner Roshi’s many years of dedication to the practice, despite the absence of a formal facility in Wisconsin for over four decades. While we now have this exceptional resource, it is important to remember that true training is not bound by ideal conditions, but by the spirit and determination of the practitioner.

Andy Seizan Robins Roshi 10/8/24 Andy Seizan Robins Roshi 10/8/24

Out Of Our Heads - Into Our Bones

I remember Greene Roshi telling a tale during a cold winter sesshin. It was an ancient story about a Chinese lady attempting to save her family from almost certain death by running 100 miles through the night to arrive before the Emperor's swordsmen riding on horseback. The tale ends with the lady saving her family before the sworders ride up; as we are leaning into the story and marvelling at the wonders of this woman, Greene Roshi adds a further twist, telling us before she sits down to rest, she takes off the leaded weights she has been wearing attached to each ankle. I still laugh about this story now.

Gordon Greene Roshi 10/8/24 Gordon Greene Roshi 10/8/24

The World Inside My Skin

The topic at hand is the physical training we do in Chosei Zen. But I would turn that into a question: How do you develop a refined sense of all that lives inside your skin? Another way to ask that is: How do we heal the mind/ body duality most people live with?

Joe Pittelli Sensei 6/14/24 Joe Pittelli Sensei 6/14/24

Transformation Through Shugyo

Now instead of performing kata to the point of exhaustion, we blow one note each with one breath to the same extreme… Tanouye Rotashi said “to practice so that one note puts someone into samadhi”

Esteban Martinez Sensei 6/11/24 Esteban Martinez Sensei 6/11/24

Three-Sided Mountain of Zen Training

In this video, Esteban Martinez Sensei talks about "How We Train" in Zen using meditation, physical training, and fine arts.

Megan Mrozek 6/7/24 Megan Mrozek 6/7/24

Try Again

In striving to cut through our habits, there is a profound and transformative power to being seen and accepted for exactly what you are, by someone with the eyes to see.

Rebecca Ryan Roshi 1/19/24 Rebecca Ryan Roshi 1/19/24

Feast Of The Senses

Relationships that were heard, food that was felt, and music that was alchemy.

Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 12/13/23 Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 12/13/23

Why is Mushin (No-Mind) Important?

One of the lesser known laws of the universe (like gravity) is that the state of no-mind can be transferred to others. We call it “transferring samadhi” but also talk in more serious terms about “giving fearlessness.”

Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 12/5/23 Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 12/5/23

How Can We Practice Mushin (No-Mind)?

I’m highlighting another type of tool besides your breath and posture – it gets described as “concentration,” “awareness,” or “our senses.” Usually, we give far less instruction in this area than about breath and posture, letting people discover for themselves, which can take years.

Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 11/30/23 Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 11/30/23

Mushin (No-Mind) as a Trainable Practice

Somehow I knew that living in the world of my head wasn’t the correct way to live as a human being. No one told me that. I just knew. This led me to seek out zazen (Zen meditation) and Zen training with our school.

Gordon Greene Roshi 10/9/23 Gordon Greene Roshi 10/9/23

Voice of an Ancestor

In a growing series of publications we are presenting edited versions of talks that Tanouye Roshi gave more than forty years ago in various settings, some of them quite informal while others are formal teisho given during sesshin.

Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 10/9/23 Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 10/9/23

Okyo as Zen Training

The objective of practicing okyo is to change the way you vibrate. If you change the way you vibrate, you can change the way others and your environment vibrate as well.

Wayne Honda Roshi 10/9/23 Wayne Honda Roshi 10/9/23

Origin of Chosei Zen Shakuhachi

The reason that repetition is the best way to master any martial art, because it will lead to perfection of desired skills, since incorrectly performing a skill wastes energy and is inefficient.

Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 6/10/23 Heather Meikyo Scobie Roshi 6/10/23

Who is the Virtual Dojo?

In the Virtual Dojo, “where we train” is exactly where we are.

Ken Kushner Roshi 3/22/23 Ken Kushner Roshi 3/22/23

Here, Read This

Tanouye Roshi looked at me, shook his head, and said, “You read too much.” Then, he surprised me handing me a book that he had been reading and saying, “Here, read this.”