News

October Retreat

Charles River Zen held a day retreat on October 21 at the Center at Westwoods. The retreat lasted from the morning until late afternoon and included a lot of zazen, outside kinhin, the opportunity for a private meeting with the teacher, and a Dharma talk. We had a good group of seasoned practitioners as well as some for whom this retreat was their first. The grounds at the Center at Westwoods are beautiful and natural and we had a day of sunshine and mild temperatures.

Sangha News

With great sadness we are announcing that Shugetsu Mary Reinhart passed away on October 31, 2012. Shugetsu was one of the pioneers of Zen practice on the East Coast and studied with eminent Zen masters including Soen Nakagawa Roshi, Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, Eido Shimano Roshi, and for the last thirty years Joshu Sasaki Roshi. Shugetsu was an ordained member affiliated with Charles River Zen through Dharma Cloud Hermitage.

Shuko and Dokuro knew Shugetsu well and visited her often. For most of her life Mary lived in Manhattan where she practiced at the First Zen Institute and Shobo-ji. When she retired from her occupation as a psychotherapist she moved to Hightstown near Princeton NJ to be near a Rinzai-ji Zen Center. In search for a more moderate climate Mary moved to Irvine, California, where she married Richard Baynes, who remained her faithful spouse and meditation partner until the end. Shugestu Mary Reinhart was walking her 98th year.

We will hold a memorial service for Shugetsu which will be announced on the site. Please plan to attend.

Brown University: An Introduction to Rinzai Zen

On November 3rd Dokuro was invited to lead an introductory session on Rinzai Zen at Brown University in Providence, RI. Kendo Hal Roth, a long time student and ordained monk of Joshu Roshi, is establishing a program on Contemplative Studies which exposes students to contemplative traditions from not only an academic point of view, but also by directly engaging in the contemplative practices.

The program drew about 30 participants who assembled in the chapel at the Hillel House to receive basic instruction in the posture of zazen, the approach to the attitude for the meditation, some instruction and practice in chanting, walking meditation, and other aspects of the formal Zen training.