MULTIFAITH ZEN 

The Zen Community of Staten Island is devoted to creating an American Zen that enables anyone to develop and sustain an ongoing meditation practice. We welcome people of all ages, occupations, levels of meditation experience, and religious (or non-religious) backgrounds to sit with us. We are a member of the Zen Peacemaker Sangha and a practice center in the White Plum Asanga. We meet at Emma's Place, Cottage Row, in the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, and remotely via Zoom (click the Directions link on the left for more location details.)

WEEKLY SITTINGS

Sittings take place every Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM.

The sessions consist of a twenty-minute meditation period. The teacher, Ken Byalin holds private interviews prior to the session. He and others give talks and conduct group discussions.

Occasionally, a guest teacher attends. In the past, Roshi Robert Kennedy, Paco Lugoviña, Ray Cicetti and Michel Dobbs have spoken at sittings.

For more information, contact Roshi Ken Byalin at roshiken@zen-ken.com

From Appreciate Your Life: The Essence of Zen Practice — Who is the Buddha? Shakyamuni himself was Hindu. Being Hindu, he awakened and was called the Awakened One, or Buddha. So the word buddha means “awakened one” and was used even before Shakyamuni’s enlightenment. In this sense, Buddhism is a general term. So we could say that being Christian or Jewish, you could also be Buddha. In this context, there is no contradiction in having another religious background... From this angle we can also say it does not matter if you are Japanese, Chinese, black, brown, or white...Anyone, anytime, can commit to accomplishing the awakened life. We do not need to label ourselves Buddhist. Just follow the enlightened Way, or the awakened Way. This is enough. — Taizan Maezumi Roshi, Shambhala Publications, 2001.

Contact the site administrator here: info@zencommunitysi.org