Sitting with no agenda; putting nothing before the mind - this is the art of zazen. This practice is appropriate for people seeking relief from the vicissitudes of feelings and discriminating consciousness, and it is good for people seeking simply to sit in true reality. This retreat will include periods of sitting and walking meditation and […]
Everything is in Everything! There is "Not One Single Thing." (Shodo Harada) Come sit, walk together, deeply entering the silence as we realize our lives are not our own. Rev. Paravrtti Doralee Grindler Katonah will lead a half-day retreat with sitting meditation (zazen), walking meditation (kinhin), and a dharma talk and […]
Sitting still in the company of others is the heart of Zen practice. Please join us for this day of inner work, being "just this person." Just before leaving a practice period, a student asked his teacher, "If, after many years, someone should ask me what you were like, how should I respond?" After remaining […]
Join Valley Streams Sangha Board of Directors for a Sunday potluck brunch to celebrate Valley Streams' 20th Anniversary. Spouses, partners, friends and family---are all invited. Gather at 10 am to share a meal and each others' company. After a fun social mixer, President Doralee Grindler Katonah will introduce the 2022-2023 Board and give a report […]
Full-Day Sitting - in person - 8:30 am - 8:45 pm This sitting will be in person at the Dharma Center and will not be offered on Zoom. Traditional oryoki meals will be served at noon and for the "medicine meal" in the evening. This traditional week of intensified practice celebrates the enlightenment of our […]
Half-day Sitting - in person - 8:30 am - 12 noon. Today concludes the seven days of intensive practice with a half-day sitting and the Buddha's Enlightenment Ceremony. We will gather after the ceremony to share a buffet lunch. Register for the week-long program on Eventbrite.
On the second Monday of each month, we offer a 40-minute introduction to Zen practice. We focus on the art of sitting meditation, with emphasis on posture, breath and mental focus. This is for new meditators and those wishing to refresh their practice of meditative immersion. Following the instruction the Valley Streams Zen Sangha meets […]
"What we call 'I' is just a swing door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale. It just moves; that is all. When your mind is pure and calm enough to follow this movement, there is nothing: no 'I,' no world, no mind nor body: just a swing door." - Shunryu Suzuki roshi […]
"Hiding a heron in the moonlight" is a line from the Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi, a Zen poem written in 9th century China. The phrase (and the whole poem) describes the activity of a person practicing the Buddha Way, merging the particular and the universal. This is the everyday and consequential affair of […]
"Communing with the Source, travel the pathways, embrace the territory, and treasure the road.” Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi Whether sitting, walk, sitting, standing, or lying down we open wholeheartedly to the Way and Buddha activity happens on its own. Come, sit, and walk together to support each other in continuous practice. The retreat […]
The theme of this sitting is the essay Zenki (the Whole Works), Zen master Dogen's vision of realization manifested in both life and death Guest teacher Kokyo Henkel will lead this one-day retreat, which will include alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, punctuated by morning and afternoon Dharma talks and discussion. The theme of […]
Jizo is the beloved Great Bodhisattva found within many Buddhist traditions, who carries us across the threshold of death and loss and safely accompanies us through the ‘hell zones’ of deep suffering. Especially honored in Japan, Jizo (also known as ‘Earth Store’ or ‘Earth Womb’) brings to us the qualities of courage, fearlessness, and tenderness needed […]