Zen in 10

12/18/2023

The Lehrhaus event was postponed due to an influx of interest after the article came out pronouncing it one of the best new restaurants in Boston. The good news is, it got rescheduled and there’s still time to get your tickets to the talk and have dinner there before the talk.

Explore death and resurrection narratives prior to the formation of Judaism and Christianity.

04/01/2021

Buddhists Around the World Set to Leave the Religion in Quest for More Authentic Buddhist Practice.

11/24/2020

Hello Friends,

Well, we had our first Zoom Zen last Thursday with our very special guest, Mr. Ed Conley. Though I had my doubts about how it would go, I was very glad to connect with Ed and hear his insights into the Heart Sutra, politics, and McGyver. Somehow he pulled it all together seamlessly. I heard from our attendees that they enjoyed it as well.

To keep the momentum going, we are planning a second Zoom Zen, or Zen Zoom, or what you will, for Thursday, December 3 at 6pm. This should give you all time to enjoy Thanksgiving (in a unique way this year) and to recover from your tryptophan trip and hopefully be ready to zazen like a pro!

Our very special guest for the evening will be a woman who has had profound impact upon my life, Ms. Suzanne Hoover. I'm not reading from any biography or CV right now, I'm just telling you what I know about her. I first met her in 1990 or 91 when I took "How to Read a Poem" with her at Sarah Lawrence College. It was an intense course offered in the English department as a literature class, but what I noticed right away about it was that it was taught by Suzanne as one might teach a creative writing poetry class. Suzanne was always referring to the poet's "toolbox" and how skillful one had to be to build a masterful poem from so few materials with so few tools. I learned as much about writing as I did about reading a poem in that class! It should come as no surprise that Suzanne is a poet and author herself. In addition, she has studied Buddhism with Bernie Glassman, a founder of the Zen Peacemakers and huge influence on American Zen.

Suzanne and I reconnected a few years ago through the miracle of the interwebs and it has a been a real pleasure to get periodic emails from her updating me about her life. Appropriately enough, she has been teaching at Sarah Lawrence's graduate program for creative writing for many years now. She also is an alumna of Sarah Lawrence and, while an undergrad, she studied with Joseph Campbell.

Many of you know the now famous story of why I chose to study at Sarah Lawrence College - to study with the great master, J.C. But, upon arriving in 1990, I discovered to my great chagrin that he had passed away two years prior. I am pleased to say that after a lifetime of studying "with" him, I finally got to meet him at his burial site in Hawaii a few years back, when Dave, Rach, Alba, and I had a little seance at his grave. Though I didn't get to study with him at SLC, I did get to meet Suzanne, and that made it all worth it!

I hope you will join us on Thursday, December 3 at 6:00 pm.

Be safe, smart, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Deep Bows,

Jason
p.s. - Please indicate that you wish to join in the comments below so that I can send you a Zoom invite!

11/14/2020

After a long hiatus, we will be having a special Zen session on Thursday, November 19 at 6:00pm via Zoom. Our guest speaker will be Ed Conley. Please comment below if you would like to receive the Zoom invite.

03/25/2020

Dharma Talk

12/26/2019

We bring together the classical tradition of Soto Zen, founded by Dogen Zenji in the 13th Century, with the contemporary world. We attempt to protect and preserve the time tested Zen practice begun by Dogen and carried though the centuries in the Soto lineages. At the same time, we want to address the many challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world.

10/19/2019

Visited the home base Northwest Zen Community EISHOJI Soto Zen Temple.

10/02/2019

In the land of Emerson, Alcott, and Thoreau, I will have the honor of presenting:
Myth and Religion with Jason Giannetti

All religions utilize myth. Whether in the form of an epic, such as the Mahabharata, or in shorter forms, such as the story of Job, a parable, such as the story of the raft, or even in non-linguistic symbols, such as the ritual use of food, myths are at play. Why? What is the relation between myth and ritual, myth and religion, or myth and the sacred?

This two-part course seeks to unpack the meaning of myth, the function it plays in its various forms, and discover why the façade of myth cannot simply be dropped in favor of the facts it attempts to convey.

Lecture one (October 30) will examine what is a “myth,” how we understand myth, and its relationship to “truth.” We will examine some poignant comments about myth from within the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Lecture two (November 6) will carefully interpret four key myths found in four of the world’s great religions: The Ark of the Covenant, the Crucifixion according to John, the story of Arjuna, the story of the poison arrow. If there is time, we will discuss the Hymn of the Robe of Glory.

Professor Jason Giannetti received his B.A. degree from Binghamton University, a Master’s of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and a Master’s of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. He has a Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School.

Seating is limited for this free series; registration required at gleasonlibrary.org/calendar or 1-978-369-4898. Lectures are held Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. at the Gleason Public Library 3rd floor Hollis Room.

The talks are sponsored by the Friends of the Council on Aging and the Friends of the Gleason Public Library. Light refreshments will be provided by ComForCare Senior in Home Care and Bridges by EPOCH at Westford.

Click on any event for more information. All events take place in the third floor Hollis Room at the Gleason Library unless otherwise specified.

10/02/2019

Just a reminder that this Thursday, October 3, we will not have regular Zen, but a field trip to the following event:

Religious Hybridity and Christian Identity Register Here Thursday, October 3, 5:30-7:00 p.m. Corcoran Commons, Heights Room, Chestnut Hill Campus Catherine Cornille, Newton College Alumnae Chair of Western Culture and professor of comparative theology, Boston College Department of Theology This lect...