Fall Study Intensive Class Series - Mindfulness & Effort Shaking Hands

Registration is open for our Fall 2025 Study Intensive Class Series

In this class series we will explore the many facets of community building in the context of the Dharma. We will read and discuss “The Building Blocks of Belonging”, a Lion’s Roar article by Willa Blythe Baker. We will also read and study “Zen Forms, Customs and Rituals and Why They Matter”, a 2017 blog by Domyo Burke.

Particularly, we will address:

• What is it that creates connection in community?

• What is the heritage expressed in our forms?

• How do the hand postures support you in remaining steady, focused, and grounded?

• When do we know that harmony is expressed?

A highlight from Willa Blythe Baker’s article:

These sources of refuge—buddha, dharma, and sangha—are likened to three jewels. The teacher, the teachings, and the community of practitioners are jewel-like in the sense of being valuable and magnetic sources of safety and support. They are jewel-like in that they refract the light of truth into a thousand colors. In buddha, we seek refuge from instability. In dharma, we seek refuge from ignorance. In sangha, we seek refuge from fear and loneliness; we discover that no matter who we are, no matter what we have done, we can find belonging.

In the second and third sessions we will experience the application of attentive movement in the zendo. We will use this time to learn or refine skills as the ringer of bells, the sounder of the drum, chant leader or simply as a member of the assembly.

Session dates: Sundays Sept 28, Oct 5, Nov 2; 1:30-3:00pm

Related to the class series, participants will have an option to offer Gene a commitment for their personal and community practice during these 5 weeks.

Registration is required and can be done online here. Reading material will be made available in advance for those who sign up by Sept 18. Fees are $15 per class or whatever you can comfortably afford.