The North Carolina Zen Center

04/11/2026

Our latest newsletter.

04/10/2026

Join us this Sunday at 10 a.m. to help celebrate Buddha's Birthday. 1 period of seated meditation followed by a Dharma talk and chanting. Brunch and birthday cake to follow. Families are welcome !

02/08/2026

Join us tomorrow from 10-12 for meditation, chantinf, Dharma talk and brunch. Newcomers Welcome.

02/01/2026

Winter at the NCZC

01/29/2026

https://mailchi.mp/54f07d6b5573/tonight-and-sunday-online-only

01/27/2026

A recent talk about the Walk for Peace. From a Zen Buddhist perspective. Enjoy!

Collection of Dharma Talks given by Teshin Sweger at the North Carolina Zen Center [email protected]

01/27/2026

New Dharma Study begins tonight at 7 with Chapter 1 of Ordinary Wonder, Zen Life and Practice by Joko Beck. 25 minutes zazen followed by book discussion and tea. Please join us!

01/22/2026

Hello all. The Walk for Peace monks were in Siler City last night. They will be staying at the Chatham County Fairgrounds in Pittsboro tonight, and we encourage all of you, if you can, to come out to greet these venerable walkers! The best way to track their arrival time is through the live map, which gets updated periodically throughout the day... but, they'll likely pass through town, along Business 64 and around the Courthouse, sometime in the late afternoon. They'll have "Visiting Hours" at the Fairgrounds from 6:00 – 9:00, during which they'll most likely give a talk.

Here is the link to the live map:

This Live Map is for seeing the exact route and stop locations for today.This map is updated in every 15-60 minutes. It only shows the approximate location of the journey. The best spots to visit us are at the stop locations (at lunch and night rest).

01/18/2026

Good morning. This is a link to a real time map showing the daily progress of the Walk for Peace monks as they make their way toward our area. They plan to overnight tonight (1/18) in Thomasville, southwest of Highpoint.

They are predicted to reach Siler City by the 22nd, but all things are subject to change! So, consult the map...

https://dhammacetiya.com/walk-for-peace/live-map/?fbclid=IwRlRTSAPNTMtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEemG4THLCBdPKM2p13l9ahvXGN-V9m0sYP_7KtiUpVs0ExFnYied5voYf-NBo_aem_zNuZ5_E2JuTe1wXZTswybw

This Live Map is for seeing the exact route and stop locations for today.This map is updated in every 15-60 minutes. It only shows the approximate location of the journey. The best spots to visit us are at the stop locations (at lunch and night rest).

01/11/2026

Just finishing our January sesshin.

01/03/2026

There’s a group of Buddhist monks from Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center walking from Texas to D.C. on a peace pilgrimage right now. It's a 120 day walk.

They will be in North Carolina soon. We've been getting a number of calls and emails asking us about them.

I feel deep gratitude for what they’re doing and It's heartening to see the warm support they are receiving.

Their pilgrimage arises from their monastic vows, and like any pilgrimage it involves adversity, endurance, silence, and repetition. Pilgrimage has been a part of Buddhist practice for centuries.

It's all good. And...a caution. While people line the streets, take photos, cheer them on, call them heroes it can obscure something important. Pilgrimage is not a show.

If we only admire their walk, we turn it into entertainment. If we let their walk help us question into our own hearts however, it turns the wheel of the Dharma.

The practice of pilgrimage is the willingness to step out of self, over and over, until there is just stepping.

There is a story from the Zen Buddhist that points the way.

Jizo askd Hogen, “Where are you going, senior monk?” Hogen said, “I am wandering on pilgrimage.” Jizo said, “Whats the nature of your pilgrimage?” Hogen said, “I don’t know.” Jizo said, “Non-knowing is most intimate.”

If we are practicing sincerely, at some point we will touch the intimacy of non- knowing.

So rather than thinking, “These monks are amazing,” how about we let a question arise:
What would it look like if I met my own life with the same spirit of commitment, simplicity, and intimacy?

The wonderful thing is that practice is something any of us can do, right where we are, step by step, breath by breath.

If you are interested in greeting the monks, I'm told that they will be in Siler City and perhaps Pittsboro in late January. We will do our best to share the details as they become available.

12/29/2025