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 
BIAPoC Book Group (for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Person of Color): 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 lgbtqia@dharma.net.
Tuesday, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
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. You can also contact the group coordinators via lgbtqia@dharma.net.
Tuesday, 6:30–8:00 p.m, weekly except during sesshin week through the end of May 2022 (perhaps longer).
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 The Threefold Lotus Sutra is offered for free digitally here.
Tuesdays, 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 Tuesday of each month for anyone who identifies as Asian or is of Asian descent to come together in solidarity. Register here. You can contact the group coordinators via asg@dharma.net.
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.
**CURRENTLY ON HIATUS**
BIAPoC Sangha Practice Group (for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Person of Color):
A meeting of sangha members who identify as BIAPoC. You can contact the group coordinators via biapoc@dharma.net.

Thursday, every third week, 12;30-1:30pm
MRO Women for Conversation & Connection Join Senior students Chikei Levister and Shinji Hoffman for a meeting of practitioners who identify as women every third Thursday of the month. We’re hoping this time might fit into your lunch hour. Bring your snack, sandwich, tea or coffee, dark chocolate bar, crunchy apple or just yourself! Let’s get together and share around practice, our spiritual lives, and being women in the MRO. Register here to receive a zoom link.

Thursday, quarterly, next meeting March 17th, 7–8:30 p.m.
LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group Meeting (for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, agender, or other): This group is launching a new series of quarterly gatherings, Personal Stories of Identity and Practice, with the first meeting on March 17th at 7 PM. A support and discussion group for anyone who identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. We look forward to seeing you there! You can contact the group coordinators via lgbtqia@dharma.net.

Sundays March 27 & May 1, 1 – 2:30 pm & 3-4 pm

People of African Descent (PAD) Sangha Group & Book Study

The PAD Book Group will meet in conjunction with online, donation-basis, lectures given by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel on her book “The Shamanic Bones of Zen” on March 27th and May 1st from 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST. Click here to register for Zenju’s talks. For more information or to join, please contact wells.robin@gmail.com.

The PAD Sangha Practice Group will meet right after the PAD book group at 3 p.m. EST to provide a supportive environment for African-American and other African-descended dharma practitioners.

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, 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 6:45–7:45 p.m. and Sundays 9:45–10:35 a.m. (except during sesshin)
Hogen Sensei: Sundays & 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