Kwan Um School of Zen
We had a good number of people! A morning group that was there for the morning session and then a group of ‘Old Salts’ that were there for morning and afternoon. Good day, strong practice. Check out the pics!
Present for the morning but not pictured were ; Chelsea Scott, Julie Greenough, Skye Iwanski, Louis Valliere
Sangha day was a beautiful sunny day when members of the sangha gathered together for food, conversation and companionship. It was an excellent day! Thanks to all who made it possible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greetings Northern Light Zen Center’s Community Sangha!
You, your family/ friends/significant others are cordially invited to our Vegetarian Potluck Picnic.
Date: Saturday, August 29th
Time: 11:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
Place: Northern Light Zen Center
202 Meadow Rd, Topsham, ME 04086
Sangha Potluck Picnic Plans:
Please Bring your Own:
–Vegetarian Pot Luck!!! (Your Summertime specials)
–Non-alcoholic beverages (coolers/ice will be on hand)
— A comfortable chair (or 2)
–Lawn games – Such as bocci, checkers, or games your children would like to play. Badminton and Corn toss (we’ve got them covered) and Chess (check)!
— Musical Instruments!!! (We supply the rocks.)
We all look forward to being with our Sangha friends for the afternoon. We hope you will join us.
Yours in the Dharma, Sangha Day Planning Committee.
There was a work day at NLZC on the 14th of May. Our Do Gam, Peter Kennedy along with Abbot Bill Robitzek and Jake Worth, painted floor and spruced up the Robe room and the Interview Room. Come and enjoy the nice work! We have practice on Wednesday and Sunday. We also offer zoom practice. Check the Events page for a practice schedule.
We are also having a 2 day retreat here on May 30 and 31’st. If you’re interested in attending, please send an email to northernlightzencenter@gmail.com.
Check out the cool pics!
Today we held our one day retreat for March at Northern Light. A good day to be present and practice. What is this? Who am I? Don’t know. We practiced all day and it was a good day of together action. Our next retreat is in April and it will be a half day Kido! Mark your calendar.
Our January retreat was well attended. We had 10 people total! It was a great day with good practice all around. Join us in February for our half day. Scheduled for the 28th.
See you next Wednesday!
Retreats are crucial for our spiritual growth because they offer a dedicated, distraction-free space (away from daily life) to intensely practice meditation (mindfulness, concentration), deepen understanding of the Dharma and ZM Seung Sahn’s teachings, cultivate compassion, and foster a stronger connection with what ZM Seung Sahn called Don’t Know Mind. This is difficult to do during our worldly busyness. A retreat provides necessary respite, helping us move from our mundane obligations to focused inner work, promoting clarity and spiritual transformation. Wake Up! Only Don’t Know.
Please join us for our next retreat, currently intended to be held on January 31st 2026.
Some pictures from the archives.
