What to Expect

Zoom meetings (see our Zoom Page for a Zoom link) will usually be open at least ten minutes before we formally begin at 9 a.m. This “pre-meeting” period provides a chance to introduce yourself if you are new to Sky Flower Zen and to get settled, greet other practitioners, and check your sound levels, etc.

We will enter into silence a bit before 9 and then one of the group leaders will light incense at a home altar. We will chant the “Three Refuges” together, followed by another text from the Boundless Way Sutra Book. We will then continue to sit, silent and unmoving, until the end of the first 25-minute sitting period, when we will begin 5 minutes of walking meditation. The second 25-minute period will either be another opportunity for silent meditation or a “teisho” (dharma talk) leading into a dharma dialogue. The second period will end with reciting the Four Bodhisattva Vows and making bows, plus a few minutes for greetings and announcements.

Every other week or so, during the two silent meditation periods, participants will have the option of one-on-one interviews (“dokusan”) with a Boundless Way Zen teacher. This will be explained beforehand. All are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions, discuss meditation experiences or concerns, and simply be with the teacher.

If you have questions about any of these matters, please email your question to skyflowerzen@gmail.com.