Weekly Schedule
Monday | Temple is closed |
Tuesday | 7:00 am meditation and morning service, 7:30pm meditation and vespers |
Wednesday | 7:00 am meditation and morning service, 7pm meditation, vespers, Dharma Class |
Thursday | 7:00 am meditation and morning service. No evening meditation. |
Friday | No formal morning meditation or morning service. Usual Friday services, 7:30pm meditation and vespers |
Saturday | 7:30 am meditation, 7:30pm meditation and vespers |
Sunday | 9:30 am Meditation & Walking Meditation, usual Sunday services |
Monthly Calendar
A quiet day at the temple — no services in the morning or evening.
Work is a long standing element of practice in the Zen tradition and represents a concrete way to put practice into action in our everyday life. Working Meditation days at the Priory are a way to concentrate on and develop this aspect of practice and they are a way to give expression to generosity by helping take care of the practical elements of the life of the temple.
Meditation, walking meditation and meditation.
A family day is an opportunity for families with children to come and learn a bit about practice in a kid friendly way. The morning usually starts with a little walking meditation and some guided sitting meditation followed by a story and some activity that will allow us to explore practice in daily life. We end the morning with a snack and closing circle. Parents are encouraged to come and practice with their children.
30 minutes of meditation followed by vespers, the last ceremonial of the day. Vespers is the Chanting of The Litany of the Great Compassionate One followed by other short verses.
The Dharma discussion will be on various topics of training in the Soto Zen Tradition.
Meditation, Mid-day Service and Dharma Discussion
Meditation, walking meditation and meditation.
Since the teaching of compassion is fundamentally important in Buddhism, in many Zen temples each day begins with a ceremony for the Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshwara or Kanzeon. Our Kanzeon ceremony is a variation of our morning service, emphasizing the scripture of Avalokiteshwara, a chapter of the Lotus sutra.
Meditation and the ceremony are followed by tea and a Dharma discussion.