Meeting with Our Teacher
Meeting with a Zen teacher is optional, like all of our practices, but some people find it useful. You might want to read Domyo’s article, “Do You Need a Zen or Buddhist Teacher?” by clicking here (you can also listen to it as podcast).
When you meet with a teacher, the focus should be on your life and practice. It is not a time for general social back-and-forth between teacher and student, as might occur in other settings.
Our teacher, Domyo, meets privately with people three different ways – one formally, in person at the Dirt Zendo, and the other two informally, on Zoom:
Sanzen
Sanzen means “meditating together” and is a short (~5 minute) formal meeting that takes place during zazen (seated meditation) at the Dirt Zendo. The value of this meeting is largely about sharing a physical space, so it is not offered in the Cloud.
Participation: Please join us for at least a few full Tuesday and/or Sunday practice events before signing up for sanzen. If you come to sanzen regularly, please become a member of Bright Way. Sanzen is offered during many of our retreats, and on Sundays during kinhin and the second period of zazen.
Process: People sign up for sanzen on a list, then are called to meet with Domyo in the sanzen room one at a time. The form will be explained to you if needed.
Instructions: Bring a question to sanzen – either a question for Domyo, or a question you are working on or holding. If you can’t put your spiritual search into words, bring a questioning mind and body. This is precious opportunity to share the intimacy of your practice with the teacher. What is most alive for you at the moment you walk into the sanzen room? If your question is something you could ask Domyo during the tea break or practice discussion (see below), then it is best saved for those times. On the other hand, your question doesn’t have to be “profound” – just sincere.
Introductory Meeting by Zoom
If you have participated in at least four full Tuesday or Sunday practice events with Bright Way Zen, you can schedule an introductory meeting with Domyo by Zoom (click here). This can be as formal or informal as you like, and there are no stupid question. If you have any questions about this, email us (info@brightwayzen.org).
Process: Make an appointment on Domyo’s calendar. You will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link.
Practice Discussion by Zoom
Participation: Practice discussion with Domyo is available to members of Bright Way Zen as often as once a month. (Before you sign up for practice discussion, please have an introductory meeting first – see above.) Domyo’s guidance as a teacher is only valuable within the context of a practice within our Sangha (community).
Process: Make an appointment on Domyo’s calendar. You will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link.
Instructions: This is a time to talk about your practice at greater length, and more informally. At the same time, time with a teacher is best spent exploring the practice dimension of your life as opposed to simply reporting what’s happening in the way you might catch up with a friend. How do you bring the practice dimension to the meeting? Here’s a few tips:
- When preparing for a meeting, it’s helpful to reflect, “What’s the edge of my practice?” In other words, where are the limits of your understanding or manifestation? Where are your growth points? Where are you on your life journey?
- Bring questions – but these don’t have to be questions you are asking the teacher to answer (although you can). They should be the questions you are exploring for yourself.
- “Practice” means living deliberately. In any given situation, what choices can you make in terms of your own thought, speech, and action that relieve suffering and increase wisdom and compassion regardless of whether anything objectively changes in your external situation?