Hi, Joe, Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself back! Yes, my other great desire (which I am trying not to be attached to) is to attend a Zen retreat. I would love to go to Plum Village but cannot afford the plane ticket. Western Canada just doesn't have larger Zen centres. The nearest to me is Calgary, 2.5 hours (driving) away. In the meantime, I'm hoping this group can provide some of the energy of mindfulness I'm missing from participating in a Sangha.
Glenn --- In [email protected], "Joe" <desert_woodworker@...> wrote: > > Hi, Glenn, > > Welcome to this forum; it's great to see you join the group. Your background > and experiences are fascinating. I hope you will also find a sitting group, > when the time comes. Or perhaps you may travel to and attend Zen meditation > retreats (Sesshin) from time to time. > > Nowadays I sit with no practice group, but I may form one soon. > > I've had a Chinese Ch'an teacher, and several American Zen teachers who were > heir to the lineages of several Japanese Zen teachers. One of these latter > was also a Catholic priest of the Redemptorist order, who also taught > Christian Contemplative meditation on long retreats. All these teachers have > passed away, however; the last mentioned one passed only a few months ago. > > Opportunities to practice intensively have been many for me, and I have taken > them, over a period of 33 years. Life and practice keeps changing, and > there's much more to do, much more to enjoy, much more to appreciate, much > more to work on. > > Vocationally, I've been a Philosopher; and, A Scientist. Nowadays I'm > concentrating on avocations of woodworking, and playing stringed instruments, > and am just learning oil painting. > > I'd like to form a zen practice group to practice mostly original Chinese > Zen, "Chan" (sometimes transliterated Ch'an, in the older Wade-Giles, or > Yale, transliteration: I learned this first, before Pinyin was introduced in > about 1979, and I know I tend to mix and match them). My late teacher Sheng > Yen was one of the first Ch'an masters to teach in USA and elsewhere in the > West, arriving in US in 1977; I started with him in early 1979 and he has > been my main teacher. > > About 10 years ago I found this forum and participated for a while then, but > only recently came back this June. > > Wishing you good conversations and comradery here! Again, welcome. > > --Joe > > > "Glenn Rogers" <rgthiessen@> wrote: > > > > I'm new to this group; allow me to introduce myself. [snip] > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
