posted 13 Feb 2012 16:34 by Kathryn Argetsinger
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updated 13 Feb 2012 16:37
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Sunday, 19 February at the Church St zendo. One-day sittings offer the opportunity to refresh and deepen your practice, or to try out a more extended sitting schedule for the first time. Come for all or part of the day, but please sign up at the zendo or email info@aucklandzen.org.nz if you plan to attend.
6:00 a.m. tea/zazen/kinhin/dokusan 8:00 breakfast 8:30 zazen/kinhin/chanting/talk
(usual Sunday morning format) 10:15 samu (work practice) 11:45 zazen 12:15 p.m. lunch 1:15 zazen/kinhin/dokusan 3:15 chanting & cleanup NOTE: BREAKFAST WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE CENTRE. Please bring your own lunch. A donation is requested. |
posted 31 Jan 2012 11:59 by Kathryn Argetsinger
On Tuesday, 7 February, we will honour the Buddha's Parinirvana, the day of his death or final nirvana. Sitting will begin at the usual time and will include chanting and a reading from the Mahaparinirvana Sutta. There will also be an opportunity to remember family and friends who have died -- either recently or in the more distant past. Add any names you would like read out to the list which will be available before the ceremony near the zendo door. The ceremony will be followed by our usual Tuesday teatime; group instruction will not be offered. |
posted 16 Jan 2012 17:13 by Kathryn Argetsinger
We will have our second Working Bee this Saturday, 21 January, from 9 am to noon, sprucing up the Zendo in preparation for Sensei’s Dharma Transmission Ceremony (see below). We could use lots of help this Saturday, especially with stuffing new sitting cushions. If you can come, please let us know by emailing info@aucklandzen.org.nz. Lunch at noon will be provided by the Centre, so it will be helpful to know approximately how many are coming--but if you find you can come at the last minute, do come anyway.
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posted 14 Dec 2011 12:58 by Kathryn Argetsinger
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updated 14 Dec 2011 13:01
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Sick of the usual New Year’s Eve parties and TV specials? Join us on Friday 31 December, from 8 p.m. to about 12:30 a.m. and bring in the New Year with quiet concentration, clear resolve, and midnight celebrations. The evening begins with zazen, includes chanting, ceremonies and more zazen, and concludes with refreshments after midnight. People are welcome to join for all or part of the evening. |
posted 27 Nov 2011 14:57 by Kathryn Argetsinger
Celebrated each year on or near December 8, this beautiful ceremony commemorates “the reopening of the Way” by Shakyamuni, the Buddha of our world cycle. Sensei tells the story of the Buddha's GreatEnlightenment, and passages from the sutras are read aloud as everyone chants. Following the ceremony a special dessert of sweetened milk-rice (kheer) is served; the first nourishment that the Buddha took to gain strength after his period of extreme ascetic practice and before accomplishing anuttara samyak sambodhi (complete perfect enlightenmnet). The ceremony will be held Thursday 08 December, following zazen. All are welcome. |
posted 25 Nov 2011 10:05 by Kathryn Argetsinger
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updated 27 Nov 2011 14:54
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Election Weekend Sitting Not relishing watching the election results? Come and join an extended one-day sittingand generate some positive energy. The sitting will begin on election night, 7-9 pm, and continue on Sunday November 27. Sunday will follow the usual one-day schedule:
6:00 am tea/zazen/kinhin/dokusan 8:00 breakfast
8:30 zazen/kinhin/chanting/Teisho (usual Sunday morning format) 10:30 samu (work practice) or walking
11:15 zazen/kinhin
12:15 pm lunch
1:15 zazen/kinhin/dokusan 3:15 chanting & cleanup Please email Richard, rvonsturmer@yahoo.com, if you would like to spend Saturday night at the Sangha house or the zendo. |
posted 24 Oct 2011 11:36 by Kathryn Argetsinger
Dharma Studies – “Buddhism by Numbers”
The course will be offered by Richard von Sturmer over four Wednesday evenings in November, 7:00 to 8:30 pm, at the Auckland Zen Centre, 15 Church Street, Onehunga. Below are the dates and material we’ll be covering. The aim of the course is to give an overview of the essential teachings of Buddhism, drawing on both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions.
Wednesday November 2 Emptiness (0), Oneness (1), the 2 basic things the Buddha taught, Nagarjuna’s 2 Truths, 2 main factors that cause suffering, 2 principal Theravada disciples of the Buddha, 2 principal Mahayana disciples of the Buddha.
Wednesday November 9 3 Vehicles, 3 Characteristics of Existence, 3 Refugees, 3 Poisons, 3 Taints, 3 Bodies of the Buddha, 3 Worlds
Wednesday November 16 4 Signs that Prince Siddhartha saw, 4 Theravada stages of awakening, 4 Foundations of Mindfulness, 4 Elements, 4 Noble Truths, 4 Bodhisattvic Vows, 4 Divine Abodes
Wednesday November 23 5 Hindrances, 5 Skandhas, 6 Realms, 8-fold Noble Path, 8 Consciousnesses, 8 Winds, 12 Links of Dependent Origination
There are still a few places available on the course. Please email Richard if you wish to attend: rvonsturmer@yahoo.com . |
posted 16 Oct 2011 11:31 by Kathryn Argetsinger
An all-day sitting offers the opportunity to refresh and
deepen your practice. Please bring your own breakfast and lunch. The Zen Centre
will also provide muesli for breakfast.
Schedule
6:00
a.m. tea/zazen/kinhin
8:00
breakfast
8:30
zazen/kinhin/chanting/Dharma Talk
(usual Sunday morning
format)
10:30
samu (work practice) or walking
11:15
zazen/kinhin
12:15 p.m. lunch
1:15
zazen/kinhin/daisan (private
interview)
3:15
chanting & cleanup
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posted 12 Sep 2011 07:03 by Kathryn Argetsinger
The third annual Zen Centre Winter
DVD Series will be showing in the second half of September. All screenings are
at 7p.m.on a Friday night at the AZC Sangha House, 3 Norman's Hill Rd,
Onehunga. Bring a friend or family member.
This year we are showing three
films about very different groups of Buddhist practitioners, one from each of
the Three Vehicles, Theravada, Vajrayana and Mahayana:
Friday
16 September: Buddha's Lost Children, a documentary on boxer-turned-monk Phra
Khru Bah and his Golden Horse Temple and orphanage in Thailand's Golden
Triangle
Friday
23 September: Wheel of Time, Werner Herzog's fascinating account of Tibetan
Buddhist Kalachakra initiations in Bodh Gaya, India
Friday
30 September: Amongst White Clouds, a journey into the hidden tradition of Chan (Zen)
hermit monks in China's Zhongnan mountain range
Everybody welcome!
Buddha's Lost Children The first of our three DVD evenings will be at the Sangha House, 3 Normans Hill Road on Friday, 16 September, at 7 p.m. Bring a friend or family member (and if you can, something to share for desert). We’ll be watching Buddha's Lost Children, a documentary on boxer-turned-monk Phra Khru Bah and his Golden Horse Temple and orphanage in Thailand's Golden Triangle. |
posted 4 Sep 2011 10:33 by Kathryn Argetsinger
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updated 4 Sep 2011 10:41
]
Our annual Kannon Day Ceremony is
Sunday 11 September, starting as
usual at 8:30 a.m. with sitting, and followed by letter-writing for prisoners
of conscience and a special morning tea. Please bring stamps or $2.40 per
letter to cover postage (usually people write 3-4). If you have a Kannon figure
at home, bring it for the altar.
The ceremony itself involves
chanting the Ten-Verse Kannon Sutra 108 times. We do prostrations for part of
the chanting, and there is also an opportunity to make a monetary offering at
the altar if you wish, which will be passed on to Amnesty International. In
addition, Sensei gives a short talk about Kannon, the Bodhisattva of
Compassion, and reads the 25th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra on the
powers of Avalokitesvara (Kannon).
There will be some setup for the
ceremony on Saturday afternoon. Contact Rebecca Oliver rebeccamoliver@googlemail.com
if you’d like to help.
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