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: Zazen 7:00 a.m. Central European Time + Monday: Reading and Discussion 8:00 p.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, 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 tgnc@dharma.net. Scroll further down for information about our online TGNC Cafe and TGNC Quarterly Affinity Group Meetings, taking place on the 3rd Wednesday of every month.

2nd Monday of every month, 6pm – 8pm EST
BIAPoC Book Group (for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Person of Color):

To be added to our email list, please message ajay.chandra@gmail.com or eikomalqui@gmail.com. We’re currently reading Zenju Earthlyn Manuel’s Opening to Darkness: Eight Gateways for Being with the Absence of Light in Unsettling Times.

Reading Schedule: Oct 9 – Gateway 1 – (pg 1- 77), Nov 13 – Gateways 2 – 5 – (pg 79 – 157), Dec 11 – Gateways 6 – end – (pg 159 – 220)

Tuesday, 7:00–8:30 p.m. – except during sesshin

LGBTQIA+ Sitting Group (for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, agender, or other): Please join us for two periods of zazen, followed by a half-hour community check-in. Click Here to register via Zoom. This is a support and discussion group for anyone who identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. You can contact the group coordinators via lgbtqia@dharma.net. We look forward to seeing you!

** Also look out for our LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group’s quarterly meetings: Personal Stories of Identity and Zen Practice

Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., monthly: September 14, 2023, December 14, 2023, and March 14, 2024

The LGBTQIA+ Quarterly Group Meeting is a support and discussion group for anyone who identifies as a part of the LGBTQIA+ Community. You are welcome to join us at our quarterly meeting as we gather together to provide a safe refuge. Each meeting features two diverse speakers who will offer and share their personal stories of identity and zen practice and how they both inform and intersect practice and the noble path. Meetings will also invite discussion and support as we flourish and reinforce one another. Any questions can be sent to the group coordinators at lgbtqia@dharma.net.

First Tuesday of the month, 7:00–8:30 p.m. Asian Sangha Gathering
A welcoming space for people of Asian heritage to come together and support each other. We apply Buddhist teachings and concepts to help us connect and grow by sharing our own stories and experiences. Come join us and let’s build a community of understanding and compassion. Register here or contact the group coordinators via asg@dharma.net.

1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
An online Sangha Practice Group- Sutra reading
Book 39 of The Avatamsaka Sutra

You are invited to read, recite, and listen to Entry into The Realm of Reality. Join us as we follow the journey of the boy Sudhana and his meetings with remarkable teachers; a wide array of “good friends” including 21 female teachersand 32 male teachers: child, adult, human, divine, and 9 Night Goddesses! We will screenshare the text from Thomas Cleary’s translation. Please register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. If you have questions, contact baconwarren915@gmail.com.

1st & 3rd Wednesdays of the month (usually!), 6:30–8:00 p.m.

A Dharma Conversation and Text Study Group

Join in for zazen, Dharma text study, and conversation. Using the practices of the Six Paramitas; to bring the other shore to us. Our text: Deep Hope: Zen Guidance for Staying Steadfast When the World Seems Hopeless, by Diane Eshin Rizzetto: Abbess and Guiding Teacher of the Bay Zen Center in Oakland, California. Facilitators: Senior lay disciples Michelle Seigei Spark and Maureen Jisho Ford. Click here to register via Zoom. Upcoming meeting dates: 9/20, 10/4, 10/18, 11/1, 11/8, 11/29, 12/6, 12/20

Third Wednesday of the month starting at 7:00 p.m.

TGNC Cafe – An Informal Online Space for TGNC Sangha Discussion, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. (Feb, Mar, May, June, Aug, Sept, Nov, Dec)

TGNC Quarterly Affinity Group Meeting, online, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. (Jan, April, July, Oct)

Join the TGNC Sangha on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. Most months will feature the informal TGNC virtual “Cafe”, where you’re invited to come and share whatever is on your mind in a supportive atmosphere staffed by experienced practitioners and sponsored by the TGNC Sangha Affinity Group. Four months out of the year will be reserved for the TGNC Quarterly Affinity Group Meeting where we will explore a topic related to TGNC identity and Buddhist practice.

The next TGNC Cafe will take place Wed. Sept.20. Click here to register via Zoom.
The next quarterly meeting will take place Wed. Oct 18. Check our programs page. Registration coming soon!

Selected Fridays Monthly, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
At the Dharma Well — a monthly women’s meeting: Since ancient times women have gathered at the well not only to draw water, a necessity for life, but to share what was happening in their lives. Whether they were going through a difficult time or celebrating something joyous, women at the well could hold it all. Women returned home renewed from sharing with their sisters. Join seniors Chikei Levister and Shinji Hoffman, once a month, and get to better know your Dharma sisters. Meet us at the Dharma Well for inspiration, encouragement, and support. We will follow the process for an affinity group where everyone has the opportunity to share and there is no crosstalk. The purpose will be to give and receive unconditional love in a safe and non-judgmental space. We hope we will develop a better understanding of each other, and our friendships will grow.

Join us for on these Fridays: Sept 22, Oct 20, Nov 10, and Dec 15 from 12 to 1:30pm. Register here for the new zoom link

First Sunday of the month, 3:00 p.m.
People of African Descent (PAD) Sangha Gathering & Book Study:
Currently we are reading “Grieving While Black: an Anti-Racist Take on Oppression and Sorrow” by Breeshia Wade. Discussions are led by one of us on a rotating basis. Please contact wells.robin@gmail.com if you would for more information or to sign up.

Third Sunday of the month, 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 its many biases and blind spots. You are welcome to join this group at any time at its monthly meeting the 3rd Sunday of every month, 1-2:30pm. Newcomers are welcome. Please contact Yunen to get connected.

Sundays, monthly or bimonthly, 8:00 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. For more details, please contact Rachael Seijo Nevins at raeraenevins@gmail.com. See dates and register here.

Staying Connected

Sangha Practice Groups + Meetings with Teachers & Seniors

Sangha Practice Groups

One-to-one Meetings with Teachers and Seniors