
right here, right now
Zen helps us to dissolve negative habits of body and mind, live with clarity, and be of service to all beings.
Pittsburgh Zen Practice Group
Zen helps us to dissolve negative habits of body and mind, live with clarity, and be of service to all beings.
Standing
We do a brief warm-up and spend about 10 minutes in standing meditation forms (zhan zhuang). These standing forms are excellent for getting us out of our heads and into our bodies, discovering our posture, and getting our ki flowing.
Sitting
We then do two 25-minute periods of zazen, or seated meditation, with a short walking meditation (kinhin) in-between. Beginners will receive instructions in correct posture and body usage, belly breathing (fukushiki kokyu) and unified breath counting (sussokukan).
Chanting
We end each session with about 10 minutes of practice with breathing and mantric vibration by chanting okyo (sutras and dharanis), followed by three full bows.
Genryo Jones Osho was lucky enough to get a taste of traditional Rinzai Zen training in Japan in the late nineties, at Sogenji monastery with Shodo Harada Roshi, where he was ordained and trained for three and a half years. Recently, he has become a student of Meido Moore Roshi, abbot of Korinji in Wisconsin, and found a flavor of zen strikingly similar to what he experienced in Japan. His hope is to help make this flavor of Rinzai Zen training available locally for anyone with whom it might resonate, as it did for him. Iron City Rinzai is affiliated with the Korinji Rinzai Zen Community.
Practice sessions are held on Sunday mornings from 9 to 10:30am in room 205, upstairs at the Wilkins School Community Center in Pittsburgh. Newcomers are always welcome and instruction will be provided. For your first visit, please come 20-30 minutes early to allow for one-on-one instruction, if possible. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or to let us know you’re coming using the form below.
There is no fee required to participate, but a $5 donation per session is suggested to help defray the cost of renting our space ($150/month) paid to the WSCC. You can Venmo @ironcityrinzai (5532) directly or use the button below for Venmo, PayPal or credit card.
Iron City Rinzai is a Zen practice group in Pittsburgh. We will soon be meeting in person at the Wil