Staying Connected

Sangha Practice Groups + Meetings with Teachers & Seniors

Sangha Practice Groups

We encourage everyone participating in any of our Zoom events to add your pronouns to your name in order to promote gender inclusion. To do this, once in the Zoom meeting click on the three dots in the corner of your screen, edit your name and add your pronouns. Here’s a link on why that’s important: zmm.org/pronouns.
Daily Zazen over Zoom and Livestream
Please visit ZMM.org/zazen-online for times and links.
Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m. Central European Time
European Sangha Practice Group
Calling all practitioners across the pond! Join fellow practitioners for two periods of zazen and chanting. The schedule is as follows: zazen (7:00), “Verse of the Kesa” (7:30), 5-minute break, zazen (7:35), “Four Immeasurables” (8:05), dedication of merit, check-in and goodbyes. Please click Here to register via Zoom.
Monday evenings, bimonthly 
BIPOC Book Group: The meetings are a mixture of chapter discussions and body-centered practices with rotating facilitation. We are currently reading Lama Rod Owens’ Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger. For more information, contact ajay.chandra@gmail.com or eikomalqui@gmail.com
Monday, weekly, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
TGNC Sangha Practice Group (for those who identify as transgender or gender-nonconforming): A safe space for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming people to practice together and get to know each other. Feel free to bring a friend! Please join us on Monday evenings at either 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. The schedule is as follows: optional period of zazen (6:30), short break (7:00), zazen (7:05), liturgy (7:35), social check-in (7:40). Click Here to register via Zoom. Questions? Contact us at LGBTQ@dharma.net.
Tuesday, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
LGBTQ+ Sitting Group (for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other): **ON HIATUS FOR DECEMBER 2021. PLEASE CHECK BACK IN 2022! Please join us for two periods of zazen, followed by a half-hour community check-in. Click Here to register via Zoom. You can also contact the group coordinators via LGBTQ@dharma.net.
Tuesday, 6:30–8:00 p.m, starting January 11, 2022, then first and third Tuesdays of each month.
Reading the Lotus Sutra: A Sangha Practice Group. Come join the fellowship of good friends as we recite the Lotus Sutra. We will practice listening, explore vocabulary, and enter the rich tapestry of parables and characters that come alive in the Sutra. Registration here for a Zoom link. The text is The Threefold Lotus Sutra is offered for free digitally here.
Each Wednesday, 6:30–8:00 p.m. (except for the week of sesshin/One Continuous Thread).
Sangha Practice Group: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Come together in the Sangha Treasure in support of each other’s practice. Using discussion and text study we illuminate this moment with wisdom and compassion. We are reading the classic poetic text, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi’s: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.  All are welcome; no preparation is necessary. Senior lay disciple Seigei Spark facilitates the conversation. Please Click here to join. Print and digital copies of the book are widely available online.
Wednesday, usually bimonthly, 6:30–8 p.m.
BIPOC Sangha Practice Group (for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Person of Color)
An ongoing bimonthly meeting of sangha members who identify as BIPOC. Offering a new Speaker Series (November 24, 6pm, Dr. Eduardo Duran, register here). Click here to register and receive a Zoom link for regular BIPOC meetings. You can also contact the group coordinators via BIPOC@dharma.net
Thursday, monthly, 7–9 p.m.
Asian Sangha Gathering
A space for those of Asian heritage to empower and heal one another. Monthly group that meets the first Thursday of each month for anyone who identifies as Asian or is of Asian descent to come together in solidarity. Register here.

Sunday, bimonthly, 1–2 p.m. & 2:00–3:30 p.m.
People of African Descent (PAD) Sangha Group & Book Study
The PAD Sangha Practice Group will meet monthly on Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. to provide a supportive environment for African-American and other African-descended dharma practitioners.
The PAD Book Group will meet bimonthly from 2:00–3:30 p.m. (right after the Sangha Group) to study My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. Register here for either meeting. For more information contact bipoc@dharma.net.

Sunday, monthly, 1:00–2:30 p.m.
“What is Whiteness?” Sangha Affinity Group
This group is for those who identify as white and is part of an ongoing monthly inquiry—based in Dharma practice—into Whiteness and it’s many biases and blind spots. You are welcome to join the open ZCNYC What is Whiteness group, meeting every 3rd Sunday, 1-2:30pm. Newcomers are welcome. Please contact Dojaku or Yunen to get connected.

Sunday, monthly, 1:30–3:00 p.m.
LGBTQ+ Affinity Group Meeting {ON HIATUS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER}
A support and discussion group for anyone who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community. We meet on Sunday’s after Sesshin from 1:30–3:00. We look forward to seeing you there! Click here to register and receive a Zoom link for the meeting. You can also contact the group coordinators via LGBTQ@dharma.net.

Sunday, monthly, 4:00–5:30 p.m.
Parents Together in Practice
Our intention is to create a (virtual) space for parents to come together to support each other in the Dharma and their everyday lives. We welcome people parenting children of all ages and members of all family structures and identities. Click here to register via Zoom. For more details, please contact Rachael Seijo Nevins at raeraenevins@gmail.com.

One-to-one Meetings with Teachers and Seniors

Shugen Roshi, Hojin Sensei, and Hogen Sensei are each meeting with formal MRO Students over Zoom for face-to-face teaching. Students should already have signup instructions but if you would like assistance with this, please contact the registrar at registrar@dharma.net; 845-688-2228.

Shugen Roshi: Wednesdays 7:45–8:45 p.m. (except during sesshin)
Hojin Sensei: Wednesdays 7:45–8:45 p.m. and Sundays 9:45–10:35 a.m. (except during sesshin)
Hogen Sensei: Saturdays & Mondays 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

One-to-one Meetings with Seniors
During these unusual and stressful times you may find it helpful to speak with a lay practitioner about tending to your practice or taking care of the challenges that life is presenting these days. Please email seniorstudents@dharma.net if interested and someone will get back to you. This opportunity is open to anyone who identifies as a sangha member, regardless of any formal affiliation. The following senior lay students are available for one-on-one phone or video calls. Feel free to mention by name the person you’d like to speak with, if you have a preference.

Chris Yudo Abraham, Michelle Seigei Spark, Katie Yosha Scott-Childress, Maureen Jisho Ford, Patrick Yunen Kelly, Prabu Gikon Vasan, Michael Chizen Brown