This autumn, we are focusing on the “sho” aspect of the “Zen, ken, sho” curriculum set forth by Omori Roshi for balanced human development.

Shodo means “way of writing," but there is much more here than meets the eye. Our focus is on the meditative aspects of this beautiful form of writing. We will start by practicing basic strokes while focusing on posture, breath and the observation of how the subtleties in aesthetics are affected by our own condition. In the months to come, we will dive deeper into the practice by putting our attention on developing the characters in the Heart Sutra. Please join us on Tuesday evenings as we will be making shodo our regular post zazen practice, and join us for our short retreats on October 14 and November 18, where we will be dedicating larger blocks of time to putting great effort into this practice.

Although shodo will become our primary focus on Tuesday evening, we will continue working on Hojo (sword kata) on Thursdays after zazen. We will begin by learning the primary movements involved in the autumn kata.

We are also excited to announce the beginning of our Sunday morning in-person training. Keep an eye out for the details.

Tesshin Brand
Abbot, Daiyuzenji Rinzai Zen Temple