I will co-teaching with Sensei Sokaku Kathie Fisher, Come to join us for 3 weeks of Zen practice in Upaya Zen Center  for Practice Period (Ango or “peaceful dwelling”) is a traditional intensive training period common to many schools of Buddhism. Ango traces its history to the time of Shakyamuni Buddha and the early sangha. Each year, the community would gather together enabling everyone to deepen their practice and polish their understanding through the indispensable teachings of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

During a Practice Period, Upaya residents intensify their daily practice by sitting zazen more frequently, studying in classes, training in the temple, having private interviews with the teachers, engaging in council practice and weekly Zazenkais, and sitting a Sesshin (5-7 full days of intensive meditation retreat) at the end of Practice Period.

We will explore the teaching of the Chinese Zen Master Hui Neng, the 6th ancestor, lived and taught in 7th-8th century China. His important work, the Platform Sutra, has been foundational in the Zen tradition. Reading the Platform Sutra together and studying the life and times of the 6th patriarch we will examine how these teachings remain pivotal in our understanding of Zen and support our journey on the Zen Path.