Welcome to OZC’s December newsletter!
UPCOMING PRACTICE
Our regular LONG SIT (Dec. 20), which happens the 3rd Saturday of each month from 9:00am to 3:00pm, is coming up this weekend. It is a “come as you can, leave as you must” event. All the details can be found on our website. This is a Zoom-only event. Senior Dharma Teacher Robert Lockridge will be present for consulting interviews.
Sunday Evening Practice is every Sunday, 6:30pm to 8:00pm on Zoom and in-person at The New Romantics bookstore.
More information about the schedule can be found on our website.
Sitting into 2025
Once again, the tradition continues: Sitting into the New Year – online/on Zoom. We will start sitting at 8:00pm (EST) and alternate 30 minute sits with 10 minute walks until shortly before midnight (Eastern Time). We then chant Kwan Seum Bosal (Bodhisattva of Compassion) into the New Year until ten minutes or so after midnight.
Feel free to join us using the same Zoom link as regular practice. Stay as long as your schedule allows.
Best wishes for a clear New Year from the friendly folks at Orlando Zen Center! _/\_
2026 Interfaith Multicultural Celebration
Join other members of the Orlando Zen Center on Sunday, January 11th at the 2026 Interfaith Multicultural Celebration. Presented by the Interfaith Council of Central Florida, the event is a celebration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his vision of a beloved community.
We will gather at Orlando City Hall starting at 3:00pm. A vigil and procession begins at 3:30pm, followed by the Interfaith/Multicultural Program at 4:00pm (at First United Methodist Church of Orlando).
Regular Sunday practice will still take place as usual. We hope to see you there!
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
Our teaching video of the month selection is The Space of Don’t Know Mind by Myong Hae Sunim JDPS.
TEACHING LIBRARY SELECTION OF THE MONTH
Our Teaching Library selection of the month is Listen with Intention, Hear with Compassion by Kathy Park JDPSN.
SANGHA SUBMISSIONS
We encourage all our Sangha members to share Buddhism-related pieces of wisdom with us. If you have anything you’d like to share in our monthly newsletters, please contact us via our website or by simply replying to this email.
This month, Sangha-member Alden shared a piece of a poem with us that he finds particularly striking:
It was bound to be!
My vow to be unattached
To seasons and such….
I, who by a frozen bamboo pipe
Now watch and wait for spring.
–From “Mirror For the Moon”, A Selection of Poems by Buddhist Monk Saigyo (1118-1190)
SANGHA VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We are always on the lookout for ways to give back to the community. If you know of any local group volunteer opportunities, please contact us via our website or by email. We hope to have a group volunteer opportunity lined up for January’s newsletter. If you are interested in volunteering for certain jobs during in-person practice, please contact us as well. The jobs include opening the altar at the start of practice, performing the Evening Bell Chant, and signaling the start/end of meditation with the chukpi (wooden clapper).
DID YOU KNOW?
Orlando Zen Center is an affiliate of the Kwan Um School of Zen, an international organization of more than a hundred centers and groups.
MEMBERSHIP
By becoming a dues-paying member of Orlando Zen Center, you help support its ongoing practice and programs. You’ll also automatically become a member of the international Kwan Um School of Zen, and part of its effort to bring this teaching to new students and to other parts of the world. The practice is always free, but if you aren’t ready/able to become a dues-paying member, donations are always appreciated and help support our center.
IN CLOSING
Thank you again for signing up to receive this newsletter. We hope to grow it each month with more current opportunities to connect with our Orlando Sangha both in and outside of the Dharma room. We plan to send these newsletters out to subscribers every third Monday of the month, so be on the lookout for our next edition on 1/19. If you would like to assist with creating the newsletter, please contact us via our website or by simply replying to this email.