A Kido Retreat is a special chanting retreat. This is the definition taken from the Kwan Um School Website.
Kido chanting retreats: Kidos consist primarily of chanting from 9:00am to 3:00pm with a break at noon for an informal lunch. We chant “Kwan Seum Bosal”, the Korean name for the bodhisattva of compassion, while sitting, standing and walking (similar to the special chanting that we do every evening at 6:30pm). Multi-day kidos follow the same schedule as a Yong Maeng Jong Jin, with chanting in place of sitting meditation. These retreats are suitable for beginners as well as experienced students.
At the Northern Light Zen Center we do Kido for a half day. The last Kido retreat was held at NLZC on the 25th! A great success.
L – R Bill Robitzek, Therese Drapeau, Christie Pickel, Peter Kennedy, Terry Cronin JDPSN, Jane Harter
We had a retreat on the 27th of September. A good day with strong practice. Please join us for the next retreat, Oct 25th! That retreat will be a kido chanting retreat.
L – R Therese Drapeau, Ron Turcotte, Terry Cronin JDPSN, Darren Brown, Peter Kennedy, Jay Seiler
The Kwan Um School of Zen is pleased to announce the election of School Zen Master is concluded. Zen Master Soeng Hyang will continue to lead the KUSZ in her position as School Zen Master for the next five years.
We are grateful to have Zen Master Soeng Hyang share her wisdom in this role for all sentient beings!
You are invited to join us for our May retreat to be held on May 31. Full or half day, in person or zoom. Please register here: Zeffy. Please contact northernlightzencenter@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Interviews will be given with Terry Cronin JDPSN. If we have a large enough group we will have a formal retreat meal. Please register! We look forward to seeing you.
We held a retreat on the 29th of March and it was very well attended. A wonder day of strong practice. If you would like to practice with us please send us an email. Check out the Events pages for our practice and retreat schedule! We like big retreats and we cannot lie! 🙂
L – R; Darren Brown, Peter Kennedy, Terry Cronin JDPSN, Bill Robitzek, Jake Worth, Lisa Hammer, Jay Seiler, Ron Turcotte
Last Saturday the 25th we had a retreat at Northern Light Zen Center. We had a total of 5 attendees. It was a peaceful wonderful day. All of us practicing hard. Solid practice and a good day.
It would be a great thing for NLZC and our sangha to have more practitioners attending retreats. What a great way to deepen your practice. If you have been thinking about doing a retreat Northern Light has full day retreats and half day retreats every other month.
Money should never be an issue. Talk to us if you feel it is.
L – R Terry Cronin, JDPSN, Darren Brown, Lisa Hammer, Jay Seiler, Jake Worth
The annual Kwan Um School of Zen | Americas (KUSZa) Town Hall meeting is an occasion for us as a Sangha to listen to one another, an opportunity for discussion on topics of practice and community in our local Zen Centers and in the wider Kwan Um School of Zen. During the Town Hall, every participant is given the space to speak from the heart, and all are invited to listen deeply to different perspectives and experiences.
Historically, the Town Hall meetings took place in-person at the Providence Zen Center during one of the sangha weekends. To broaden accessibility and participation, we are taking the Town Hall to Zoom. We will have two sessions in January, and we ask that you register for one of them.
The pandemic forever changed the way many of us engage with practice at our local Zen Centers and with the Kwan Um School of Zen. The virtual platform of Zoom allowed the possibility to continue practicing together during enforced isolation. Zoom also granted the unprecedented opportunity to practice with members who live at a far distance and even on different continents. What has been your experience?
Topics:
How connected do you feel with your local Zen Center (if you have a local Zen Center)?
Do you feel connected with any Zen Centers that are far from you physically?
How connected do you feel with the wider Kwan Um School of Zen?
What would help you feel more connected to your Zen Center and to the Kwan Um School of Zen?
Are there any topics you would like to be discussed at the Town Hall?
We would like to make a special invitation to those who have not yet participated in wider Kwan Um School of Zen events. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and hear from people from different parts of our school, in the past only possible with travel.
Whether you plan to attend the Town Hall or not, please take a moment to answer the KUSZa survey questions. Your feedback will help guide our discussion. Click here to share your thoughts.
Thank you for your continued dedication to practice and for sharing your voice in this important discussion. Your presence and input will help shape the future of our community and our connection to one another, both locally and globally.
We look forward to seeing you at the Town Hall and hearing your thoughts.
As some of you know, we use Mailchimp to deliver emails for Chanting Requests, Weekly Teaching Pieces, and News & Events. This is a list people need to sign up for on their own if they want the emails.
We want to be sure everyone gets the information they are interested in. News & Events is the one list that spreads the word about sangha weekends, our yearly fundraiser, inka and transmission recipients, Kyol Che, and other important info about the school as a whole.
We do not directly email members about such news, they have to be subscribed to the email list to receive these.Can you please put something in your local email lists or announcements to direct folks to our website page to sign up for the email list?
We need your help to reach people.Please go to https://americas.kwanumzen.org/contact to sign up for any of these email lists, and be sure to at least pick the News & Events in order to stay up-to-date on the school’s happenings!
