Lotus Blossom February 2025: Celebrating 2024! What Next! | Shining Bright Lotus Meditation Society

Published on February 3, 2025
 

"With training and practice, you can transform your negative emotional reactions. There are choice points, where you can consciously choose to respond instead of habitually react."

 
- Mondo Manual, 20th Anniversary Edition.
Hi ,

I'm pleased to be able to share with you the 2024 Annual Report. I can't help noticing that many Zen centers do not publish anything that acknowledges donors, makes income and expenses a bit more transparent, and celebrates key activities of the past year.  For me, this is essential for any contemporary organization. For me, this report reflects a growing dynamic community, committed to awakening and inclusion.  We are establishing a rhythm of practice and ceremony. Our commitment to the dharma ways of Jun Po Roshi is abundant, and we share openly with one another and those who find their way into our offerings.

As we gently arrive at the traditional beginning of spring, February 1st, celebrated as Imbolc in traditional Celtic culture and Setsubun in Japan, our planning for the year is in full gear.  We have set all our courses, retreats and practice periods, laying down the seeds into the soil to sprout. I'm excited that we will be offering a comprehensive training program, Unpacking Emotional Koans, beginning March 8th. I'll be sharing more on how this class is organized over the next few weeks. With that said, I believe that Jun Po Roshi's emotional koans offer us a wise form for embodying our emotions and integrating this aspect of our 'self' into the awakening process. To do this, we will explore Karla McLaren's Language of Emotions, which comprehensively offers a descriptive map of emotional expression that articulates four families of emotions - Anger Family, Fear Family, Sadness Family, and Joy Family. With the help of the clergy colleagues, our 13-week training program will devote one month to each of these emotional families as the object of our emotional koan practice. You are officially invited!

So as we honor the birth of spring, take our zazen outside into the world, and notice the feelings that arise.

Blessings,

Ekai
 

Upcoming Training in March

Unpacking Emotional Koans

with Ekai Joel Kreisberg

 

March 9th - July 3rd, 2025

online

Exploring the four families of emotional experience - Anger, Fear, Sadness and Joy, a group of Zen students will deeply presence and feel our emotional responses. From this embodied experience, we will create emotional koans with the intention to serve through compassionate action.

In order to consciously respond rather than habitually react, it is essential that we experience and get the information within all our feelings.

- Jun Po Roshi

Find Out More
 

Dharma Reflection

Non-Meditation
Ekai Joel Kreisberg - Weekend Sangha Practice
 

Weekend Sangha Practice

 

Ming Po Larry Matthews

 

Saturday,
February 8th

9:00 am - 11:00 am ET (NY)

Join us for our bi-monthly morning service, zazen and a Dharma Reflection offered by Ming Po Larry Matthews entitled Commit to Sit: Cultivating Meditation

Join Us

 

 

Emyo Darlene Tataryn

 

Saturday,
February 22nd

9:00 am - 11:00 am ET (NY)


Our morning service and zazen practice will be followed by Emyo Darlene Tataryn's Dharma Reflection entitled I wish I may, I wish I might...The Power of Intention.

Join Us

 

New Podcast

We're excited that our Dharma Reflections, Interviews and Teachings are available as a podcast.

 

Our Annual Report 2024

We are pleased to share with you the fruits of our labor in 2024.
Check out the report to find our more about who we are and to see what your engagement and generosity accomplished.

 

Download and Read!
 

Upcoming Community Events

  • February 2nd - Sunday Sit - One Wisdom Zen - Emyo Darlene Tataryn
  • February 4th - Community Meditation - Kenshin Cian Whalley
  • February 5th - Sitting Group - Iron Mount Zendo - Jozen Jonathon Fielder
  • February 8th - Weekend Sangha Practice with Ming Po Larry Matthews
  • February 9th- Sunday Sit - One Wisdom Zen - Emyo Darlene Tataryn
  • February 11th - Community Meditation - Ekai Joel Kreisberg
  • February 12th - Sitting Group - Iron Mount Zendo - Jozen Jonathon Fielder
  • February 16th - Sunday Sit - One Wisdom Zen - Emyo Darlene Tataryn
  • February 18th - Community Meditation - Engo Michael Jackson
  • February 19th - Sitting Group - Iron Mount Zendo - Jozen Jonathon Fielder
  • February 22nd - Weekend Sangha Practice - Emyo Darlene Tataryn
  • February 23rd - Sunday Sit - One Wisdom Zen - Emyo Darlene Tataryn
  • February 25th - Community Meditation - Ekai Joel Kreisberg
  • February 26th - Sitting Group - Iron Mount Zendo - Jozen Jonathon Fielder
View the Full Calendar
 
Your Contributions Are Greatly Appreciated
 
Clear intentions, acting wisely and compassionately are this practice.
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