Tag: Zen Meditation Maine

Zen Buddhist Meditation Korean tradition Kwan UM School

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December 6th One Day Retreat.

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.

L-R Bill Robitzek, Ron Turcotte, Gus Ives on Zoom, Jay Seiler, Lisa Hammer, Terry Cronin JDPSN.
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A Successful Kido Retreat on the 25th!

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
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Northern Light Zen Center Precepts Ceremony.

5 Preceptees at Northern Light.

L – R Robert Correa, Terry Cronin JDPSN, Adam Pereira, Patricia Miller.

Northern Light held a precepts ceremony on July 22nd. We welcomed three preceptees into the Kwan Um tradition at Northern Light! The three people taking 5 precepts were Robert Correa, Adam Pereira, and Patricia Miller. All three have been members of our sangha for some time. Welcome! After the ceremony we had a sangha picnic. It was a great day.

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From the Kwan Um School of Zen

Congratulations to our new Ji Do Poep Sa Nim and two new Zen masters! They received inka or transmission on April 1, 2023 at Providence Zen Center, U.S.A.
Photo from left to right:
Marshall White JDPSN
Zen Master Tan Gong (José Ramírez)
Zen Master Hye Mun (Barry Briggs)

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Northern Light Zen Center is upgrading our Parking!

Those of you who have come to the zen center have learned that entering the parking lot can be a test of your driving skill! Avoiding the bumps and heaves so as to not tear out your muffler. Navigating around multiple cars because they are all packed in tight. Well now that has been alleviated! NLZC has contracted to have our parking lot resurfaced and expanded! Check out the pics below! This is the initial surfacing with reclaim asphalt. In a few weeks they will come by for the final layer. What a difference!

Tearing things up!
Pushing dirt and smoothing out!
Adding the reclaim asphalt!