Zen Center of Chapel Hill--a Zen Buddhist meditation group

Zen Sixth Patriarch Cutting Bamboo (Ryankai, 13th century)	The Soto school of Japanese Zen practice was founded in the 13th century by the Zen Master Eihei Dogen. In his instructions on how to meditate, Dogen writes, "You should...cease from practice based on intellectual understanding...and learn the backward step that turns your light inwardly to illuminate your self. Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your original face will be manifest....The zazen I speak of is not learning meditation. It is simply the...gate of repose and bliss, the practice-realization of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the manifestation of ultimate reality." Zen also stresses that the world of enlightenment is the everyday world we all know. "Carrying water and chopping wood are the activities of the Buddha," and "The everyday mind is Buddha," are two of the most well known Zen sayings. Zen realization shows us that we are directly connected to, and dependent on, all living beings and everything that exists. Compassionate concern for the welfare of others and for the environment flow naturally from this insight.
Time Change: Beginning September 8, 2009 Tuesday Evening Zazen Will Start at 7:00 P.M.
Zen is Right Here: Teaching Stories and Anecdotes of Shunryu Suzuki edited by David Chadwick *Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen* by Shunryu Suzuki** selected and edited by Edward Espe Brown
Brief History of the Center	The Chapel Hill Zen Group came into existence in 1981. It was formed by a small group of friends who took turns meditating in each other's homes in the Durham-Chapel Hill area in North Carolina. In December, 1997, the Board of Directors voted to change the group's legal name to the Chapel Hill Zen Center to reflect the group's growing membership and more established status. Several members of the original group practiced at the San Francisco Zen Center, and the Center is now formally affiliated with SFZC. The S.F. Zen Center was founded by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Before he died in 1971, Suzuki also founded the first Zen monastery in America, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, near Carmel, California. His teaching has been continued by his American disciples.
Where & When We Meet	The Chapel Hill Zen Center now has a permanent meeting place at 5322 North Carolina Highway 86, 2.5 miles north of I-40 Exit 266. All meetings are open to the public and everyone is welcome to attend. (The building has wheelchair access.) See the schedule posted below for times. Zen meditation instruction and orientation can be given on Tuesday evenings or Sunday mornings. Please call (919) 967-0861 to make an appointment before coming for instruction. The Calendar has the dates and times of lectures and other events. Click here for a map. E-mail contact: pphelan@nc.rr.com

Meditation Schedule Adverse Weather As a general rule, if driving may be risky, don’t do it. When it is snowing or sleeting, or if either snow or sleet are predicted to occur before or during zazen, you can assume that the zendo will be closed, particularly for 6:00 a.m. zazen.	Mornings Mon to Fri
	6:00	Zazen (zen meditation)
	6:50	Zazen
	Tuesday Evening
	7:00	Zazen (zen meditation)
	7:40	Kinhin (walking meditation)
	7:50	Zazen
	8:20	Sutra Chanting
	Thursdays
	6:00	Zazen (evening)
	Sunday Morning	(Children's Program starts at 9:00 see Events page)
	9:00	Zazen (zen meditation)
	9:40	Kinhin (walking meditation)
	9:50	Zazen
	10:20	Kinhin
	10:30	Lecture (once a month) or Sutra Chanting Service (when there is no lecture)
Other Zen Meditation Groups in North Carolina	Charlotte Zen Meditation Society Meeting Place Harmony House, 726 East Boulevard, Charlotte, NC Contact Person Robert Walker sendtorw@gmail.com www.meetup.com/Charlotte-Zen-Meditation-Society/ Gate City Zen Group Contact Person Denise (334) 356-6979 dgabrielwes@gmail.com Great Tree Zen Temple 679 Lower Flat Creek Road Alexander, NC 28701 (828) 645-2085 www.greattreetemple.org/ Teijo Munnich, Head Priest North Carolina Zen Center Brooks Branch Zendo 390 Ironwood Road Pittsboro, NC 27312 (919) 542-7411 info@nczencenter.org Rev. Gentei Sandy Stewart www.nczencenter.org/ Raleigh Zen Group Raleigh, NC Contact Person Bob Shuman (919) 833-6200 home.roadrunner.com/~pzg/rzg Wilmington Zen Group Unitarian Universal Fellowship 4313 Lake Avenue Wilmington, NC Contact Persons Elizabeth Darrow, (910)-762-7465 elizdarrow@gmail.com Maryann (910) 790-5855 carolinablu@att.net www.wilmingtonzen.org Zen Center of Asheville Meeting Place 5 Ravenscroft Drive Mailing Address P O Box 17274, Asheville, NC 28816 (828) 398-4212 Rev. Teijo Munnich www.zcasheville.org
Friends of the Chapel Hill Zen Center	Richmond Zen Group Richmond, Virginia Contact Person Kevin (804) 366-5546 for more information. www.ekojirichmond.org Stone Mountain Zendo Franklin Road and Washington Avenue, S.W. Roanoke, Virginia Contact Persons Richard Normand (540) 345-5932 Lenny Marcus aljo3388@aol.com www.stonemountainzendo.org Virginia Beach Zen Group Contact Person Richard Hovorka (757) 427-0082 rhovorka@chrysler.org www.intrex.net/vbzg/ Atlanta Soto Zen Center 1167 C/D Zonolite Place Atlanta, Georgia 30306 404-532-0040 www.aszc.org

Zen Means "meditation"