Tallahassee Chan Center

09/06/2026

Hi everyone,
I hope this finds you in good health. We are fortunate to live at a time and place where we can study the Dharma. Not all people have this luxury. As you may have heard, on August 26, a devastating flash flood in Northern Nepal has destroyed homes, cut off communities and affected at least 65,000 people, including 22,100 children. Thousands of children and families in urgent need of help. Hundreds of people, including children, have reportedly died and thousands of people are still missing. Our Dharma Drum Lineage main headquarter in upstate NY (Dharma Drum Retreat Center) is organizing a campaign to raise funds to help with emergency medical care, nutritional supplies, mental health, and psychosocial support, to help the country recover from the severe flash floods.

Please click here to join the relief campaign: https://chancenter.org/en/announcements/2026-nepal-flood-relief-project

(DDM has connected with with UNICEF Nepal where the funds will go. Please don't use the QR code, which is incorrect. Use check to DDMBA or Zelle ([email protected]), Memo: "Nepal Flood Relief")

Every little bit helps.

This coming Monday evening, we will send loving kindness to all those affected by this disaster. Join us in person or online at 6:30pm to 8pm EST.​
May you be safe, healthy, blessed, and at peace in the Dharma,
GuoGu

Dharma Drum Mountain New York. Chan Meditation Center New York.

09/03/2026

✨ September 2026 Schedule at the Tallahassee Chan Center ✨

🌐 Weekly Meditations & Offerings

Sundays
🪷 Morning Meditation (9:30–11:00 AM ET): 30-minute seated meditation followed by Q&A. On most Sundays, GuoGu offers informal discussions on various aspects of practice. In-person & Zoom.
🕊️ Meditation on Recovery (11:00 AM–12:00 PM ET): Meditation-based support group for addiction recovery. Free and open to all. In-person.

Mondays
💗 Night Meditation (6:30–8:00 PM ET): Two meditation sits, with 1st & 3rd Monday sessions focused on loving-kindness practice—cultivating care toward ourselves and extending goodwill to others. In-person & Zoom.

Wednesdays
🌾 Night Meditation with Interviews (6:30–8:00 PM ET): Deep sit and personal consultations with Assistant Teachers. In-person.

Thursdays
🪷 Lotus Sutra Dharma Discussion Group (7:00–8:30 PM ET): Weekly guided exploration of the Lotus Sutra through discussion, reflection, and shared inquiry. Online; registration remains open.

💻 Daily Zoom Meditations

East Coast:
Mon–Fri • 7:30 AM ET — Meditation + chanting

West Coast:
Mon–Fri • 7:30–8:00 AM PT — Morning meditation
Fri • 6:30–7:00 PM PT — Evening meditation

🔗 Zoom links available on the Center website.

🌱 Special Events (September 2026)

💖 Sept 11–13: 3-Day Mettā Meditation Retreat with Tom Ledermann — Deepen the practice of loving-kindness through guided sitting meditation, mindful yoga, walking meditation, mindful work, prostrations, and Dharma talks. In-person & Online.

🌿 Beginning Sun, Sept 13: Embodied Experiencing in Daily Life with Ashley M. — Four weeks of specialized daily-life practice exploring how feelings, perceptions, and selfing manifest, concluding with an immersive weekend retreat. Hybrid.

🧘 Sun, Sept 13 & 27 (2:00–5:00 PM ET): Beginner Meditation Workshop with GuoGu — A two-part introduction covering meditation methods, posture, self-massage, stages of practice, and techniques for regulating body, mind, and spirit. In-person & Online.

🪬 Sun, Sept 13: Half-Day Chan Retreat — Alternating 30-minute periods of sitting and walking meditation, with introduction and Q&A. In-person & Online.

🗓️ Save the Date: Registration opens Sept 10 for the Winter 7-Day Intensive Chan Retreat, Dec 26–Jan 2, with GuoGu. Online, commuter, and camping options available.

🌟 Looking Ahead: Oct 8–12 — The Practice of Wonderment and Interfusion with GuoGu. A five-day silent retreat for young adults ages 18–35, organized by Dharma Gates and held at the Tallahassee Chan Center.

🔗 Full details, registration & Zoom links: tallahasseechan.org/events

08/25/2026

Five Voices, One Path: A Collection of Zen Teachings

This course features select talks and meditations from a weekend of teachings with Jan Chozen Bays Roshi, Hogen Bays Roshi, Fred Eppsteiner, Angie Parrish and Guo Gu. Originally recorded February 2026.

Until midnight on September 24th this course is 50% off with code 5VOICES applied at checkout.

More info: https://courses.tallahasseechan.org/five-voices-one-path-a-collection-of-zen-teachings

08/21/2026

Half Day Retreat⁠
Sunday, August 30⁠
9am - 12:30pm ⁠
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This half-day Chan retreat aims to deepen your meditation practice. This retreat includes 30-minute sitting meditation periods, and will end with an opportunity for Q&A. A potluck lunch will follow the Q&A session, please bring a vegetarian dish to share.⁠
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The Half Day Retreat is held In-Person and Online⁠
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Register here: https://tallahasseechan.secure.retreat.guru/program/half-day-retreat-in-person-online-6/

08/20/2026

Friday, August 20th - Evening Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony Recitation⁠
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The Tallahassee Chan Center will host a monthly ceremony on the third Friday of each month. ⁠
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For more information and Zoom links, please go here. ⁠
https://tallahasseechan.org/friday-ceremony/

08/11/2026

3-Day Mettā Meditation Retreat
Led by Tom Ledermann
Sept 11-13
Online & In Person

Mettā meditation provides a powerful method for cultivating compassion, gratitude, and genuine happiness. These qualities foster mental well-being, inner contentment, and happy relationships with others.

In this three-day retreat, we will deepen our Mettā practice through 30-minute guided sitting meditations, complemented by mindful yoga, walking meditation, mindful work, and prostrations. There will also be two Dharma talks.

Register here: https://tallahasseechan.secure.retreat.guru/program/3-day-metta-meditation-retreat/

08/05/2026

New to meditation? Curious but not sure where to start? This one's for you.

Join us for our Beginner Meditation Workshop, a warm and welcoming two-part introduction to the practice, open to absolute beginners and anyone looking to deepen their foundation. No experience needed. Across two sessions, you'll learn meditation conditions, methods, and postures, along with self-massage and other supporting techniques to help settle the body, mind, and spirit.

When: Sundays, September 13 and 20, 2:00-5:00pm
Where: Tallahassee Chan Center, 1310 N Paul Russell Rd
Cost: $70 suggested donation, pay-what-you-can available.

All levels welcome. Register at the link in bio.

07/31/2026

Events and Offerings: August 2026

**Please note: our regular weekly offerings (Sunday morning, Monday evening, and Wednesday evening meditations) are paused August 2-7 due to retreat programming.

Upcoming Retreats and Workshops:
August 7-Day Retreat with Guo Gu: July 31-August 7, online and in-person. A silent meditation retreat on silent illumination and huàtóu.

Healing Through Practice: A Four-Part Workshop with Dewaine Rester begins August 9, hybrid. Meditation, breathwork, and movement to reduce suffering and steady the mind, especially for those navigating illness, pain, grief, or caregiving.

3-Day Metta Meditation Retreat with Tom Ledermann: September 11–13, hybrid. Deepen your practice of loving-kindness through sitting meditation, mindful yoga, walking meditation, and prostrations.

Embodied Experiencing in Daily Life with Ashley M. begins September 13, hybrid. Four weeks of practice in daily life culminating in an immersive weekend retreat.

Beginner Meditation Workshop: 2-Part: September 13 and 20, in-person only. A comprehensive introduction to meditation for practitioners of all levels, covering conditions, methods, postures, and stages of practice.

Join us in person for our sangha social on August 31, 6:30–8:30pm, celebrating community and birthdays!

More info: https://tallahasseechan.org/

07/09/2026

Readings of the Gateless Barrier⁠
A Special Tricycle Virtual Event⁠
Tuesday, July 28th 1pm ⁠
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Explore the history, gender politics, and practice implications of one of Zen’s most important koan collections.⁠
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The Gateless Barrier (Ch.: Wumenguan; Jp.: Mumonkan) is a 13th-century collection of forty-eight gong’ans, or koans, compiled by the Chan master Wumen Huikai to provoke awakening in the reader. In Readings of The Gateless Barrier, editor Jimmy Yu (also known as Guo Gu) brings together ten essays by leading scholars and practitioners, alongside a new translation by Yu, the Sheng Yen Professor of Chinese Buddhist Studies at Florida State University. ⁠
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On July 28 at 1 p.m. ET, Yu and contributor Natasha Heller will discuss the text’s origins, cultural context, and lasting hold on Zen practice. Drawing from Heller’s chapter, “A Gate of Their Own? Women in Wumen’s World,” they’ll discuss why women only appear in four of the forty-eight cases, and what this means for a text central to a tradition in which women have long held a defining role. Join Yu and Heller to learn more about these four figures and what their marginal presence suggests about gender and authority in Chan Buddhism more broadly.⁠
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Register and more info: https://tricycle.org/events/gateless-barrier-women/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=July+Premium+Event+Promo+–+June+6,+2026&_kx=ytCqIb8gLPQ2jDfFcUYAnFWnTR3OrbGZBh0vm1Uleo8.RHzCw6

06/30/2026

Registration Open!⁠
⁠
3-Day Mettā Meditation Retreat⁠
Led by Tom Ledermann⁠
Sept 11-13⁠
Online & In Person⁠
⁠
Mettā meditation provides a powerful method for cultivating compassion, gratitude, and genuine happiness. These qualities foster mental well-being, inner contentment, and happy relationships with others.⁠
⁠
In this three-day retreat, we will deepen our Mettā practice through 30-minute guided sitting meditations, complemented by mindful yoga, walking meditation, mindful work, and prostrations. There will also be two Dharma talks.⁠
⁠
Register here: https://tallahasseechan.secure.retreat.guru/program/3-day-metta-meditation-retreat/