June news: upcoming events and more
June 20-22 ceremonies and events
From Friday, June 20 to Sunday, June 22, we’ll be holding a series of events including shinsanshiki (Mountain Seat Ceremony, where Koun will be officially installed as abbot of the temple) and hossenshiki (Dharma Combat Ceremony).
- You can join us in person or online for any of the events that weekend:
- Friday, June 20, 7 pm at Sensouji: entrance ceremony / conferral of robes
- Saturday, June 21, 4 pm at Sensouji: Mountain Seat Ceremony and Dharma Combat Ceremony
- Sunday, June 22, 9:30 am – 1 pm at the Atlantic Buddhist Meditation Centre: morning retreat with dharma talks and potluck lunch
To register, visit our signup page. For more background information and historical context, you can also read Koun's explanation of these ceremonies.
Volunteering
Leading up to June, we’ve been dedicating the second Tuesday of each month to discussing our event preparations. Our next event planning night is Tuesday, June 10. Join us at 6:45 pm Atlantic time, at our our regular Zoom link (passcode = vow).
If you’ve already volunteered to help in June, or if you’re just curious, please try to come. And if you can’t join on Tuesday but you’re interested in helping, please send us an email.
Our gratitude to everyone who has volunteered. If you’re one of them, keep an eye on your email—we may be in touch about some specific tasks we need help with.
Ango period offerings
We’re in Thousand Harbours Zen’s first official ango period, which started in April. It’s a time of intensified practice leading up to the ceremonies in June.
Traditionally, the ango is a 3-month period of intense monastic training. For our hybrid community, we’re offering some extra practice opportunities and other events. Many thanks to our sangha members who have stepped forward to host.
Ango schedule
At our regular Zoom link (passcode = vow), all times Atlantic
- Mondays, 4 pm - 5 pm: chanting and French discussion
- Wednesdays, 1 pm: zazen
- Thursdays, 7 pm: zazen
- Sunday, June 1, 6:30 pm - nyoho study group led by Koun - session #3
- Sunday, June 8, 2 pm - 3 pm: zazen with Krista Lauff, online and in person in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. See poster for details.
You can view these events, and all other events, on our calendar.
Precepts ceremony
Earlier in May, we hosted a one-day retreat with a jukai ceremony where some of our sangha members formally and publicly received the bodhisattva precepts. They each received a rakusu (a small version of the Buddha's robe that they sewed), a dharma name and a lineage chart.
Congratulations to Adam Bonner (dharma name = Kiun), Nora Jacobson (Jisoku), Deborah Kearney ( Jōshin), Krista Lauff (Chūgen), Kevin Lizander (Tōgan), Dragan Samardzic (Shōgan), and Shayne Speight (Shisen).
New community group: practice in our daily lives
Some of our sangha members have started a new monthly discussion group to support each other's exploration of what the practice means to us and how it lands in our daily lives.
They’ll meet on Zoom on the first Sunday of each month, from 11:30 am -12:30 pm. The first meeting will be this coming Sunday, June 1.
New committee: remote practice
We’re starting a new committee to look at the experiences of our sangha members who practise online. We’re interested in what we can do to improve the remote experience and make it more integrated with practice in Halifax. If you’re interested in joining, contact Teishin.
Weekend retreat: September 12-14
After the success of our first weekend retreat last year, we’re planning another one for this September. It will be held from Friday, September 12 to Sunday, September 14 at Gittens Lodge in Manganese Mines, Nova Scotia, and on Zoom.
We’ll have more information as the retreat gets closer.