Orientations - How To Get Started Meditating With SJZC
Monthly orientations
We have one orientation, in person, each month at 10 a.m., usually on the first Sunday of the month. Verify the date by checking the Monthly Orientation meeting on the Newsletter page, or by emailing Genei at membership@corvalliszencircle.
You don’t need to know anything about meditation before coming!
In about one hour, you will learn:
- The correct posture for meditation in the seat that works best for you. There are several seating options: cushion (zafu), kneeling (seiza) bench, or chair. You don’t have to be able to sit in a Lotus position (most of our sangha doesn’t).
- How to breathe and observe your thoughts during meditation to connect with the present moment
- The correct way to enter, move around, bow, and chant in the meditation hall (zendo)
- What to expect during our services
If you have questions after the orientation or want to learn more about zen or SJZC, we encourage you to attend a Zoom meeting on Thursday evenings. Find the Zoom link to the Thursday evening meeting on the Calendar page.
What is zen?
Our goal when practicing zen is to be fully present in all moments. Our minds are constantly taking us out of the moment by worrying, planning, remembering, analyzing, fantasizing, etc., which creates confusion, stress, and unease. We practice to help break out of these conditioned responses. The components of our practice include:
- Sitting meditation (called zazen) and walking meditation (called kinhin) to connect with the present
- Chanting and bowing to connect with the present
- Teachings (called dharma) that instruct how to be present in our daily lives
- Meetings with the teacher (called sanzen) for individual instruction and check-in
- Sharing the experience with our meditation community (called a sangha)
The best part: you can’t make a mistake, but you will learn to smile at yourself.
