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Help!!! Starting My own Group
comicallyinsane
Veteran
Hello everyone,
I am thinking of starting a meditation group here in town or a discussion group. The closest temple is over an hour away and I don't have th emeans to get there on a regular basis. I figure there are more of us here in town who have the same problem. I figure I can get the word out to people easy enough but I don't know how to get things going. I know there will be more experienced people who I will gladly let run the groups but I am unsure of where to have the meetings and such things. Any help would be aprreciated. Thanks.
I am thinking of starting a meditation group here in town or a discussion group. The closest temple is over an hour away and I don't have th emeans to get there on a regular basis. I figure there are more of us here in town who have the same problem. I figure I can get the word out to people easy enough but I don't know how to get things going. I know there will be more experienced people who I will gladly let run the groups but I am unsure of where to have the meetings and such things. Any help would be aprreciated. Thanks.
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Comments
Adiana
After all, the Sangha is the third of the Three Jewels of Refuge.
I would, however, strike a note of caution about starting one's own group. There is a Zen saying that many become meditation leaders in order to prove what good meditators they are! There are many burdens that have to be borne by a group leader which go beyond making sure there are enough cushions and that the kettle boils at the right moment.
Meditation is a tool which enables us to still the mind. It is a skillful means and one which occupies the monastic Sangha at all hours of the day and night. It is also very powerful.
Apart from matters specifically Buddhist, such as which texts and treatises to study, there is the truth that even stillness meditation can allow much pain to arise.
I am sure that Federika, in her therapeutic practice, has realised the importance of counselling support for those clients/patients who release 'held' feelings from body places. Meditation is an even more powerful liberator of hidden suffering.
Comic, I understand the need for a group and I wonder if there is another way to do this. Is there, near you, another Buddhist practitioner who has, perhaps, even more instruction than you have? Can you ask them to lead such a group? In that way, you get the meditation time without the 'naus' of being the person who has to carry all the group's stuff.
Simon, I only know one other Buddhist here in town and he is not really on the path. He smokes and I can see other attchments with him. I don't want to lead the group. I really would like to find someone who has real experience. Someone who can help me in real life that I can interact with. Sure I can pass along things I have learned but I know I am not praticed enough to lead a group. I am going to try and find an establshed group here in town before I go any further in starting one. Thank you.
Well, I received no PM asking for my thoughts, but I might as well share my experience on this subject for what it's worth. Perhaps it will be helpful to others who come upon this forum.
I had been practicing Zen in the Soto style for a number of years and when I moved to Ferndale was unable to find a group that regularly practiced zazen for a challenging length of time. As I was practicing zazen on my own for around 40-60 minutes daily, looking for others to practice with regularly became more difficult than finding an established group, as I was not aware of one that existed that fulfilled what I was looking for.
My goal in establishing a group was not to share zazen with beginners, as I do not feel I have the experience necessary to "teach"... My hopes were to find individuals who were practicing regularly on their own like I was, but were interested in practicing with others now and then. The only "leadership" involved on my part would be setting aside a physical space for this group practice, and establishing when it would happen.
While I was maintaining my own practice and sitting with a couple other folks at my home weekly, I decided that with all of the practicing I was doing, it would benefit me to work with a teacher, whether or not they practice in the Soto style. I had to be less picky if I was going to progress in my practice and understanding of Zen beyond my current state of regularly sitting quietly, breathing, and doing nothing else.
I worked with a relatively nearby teacher (20 min. away or so) for several months until I realized that he was not the right teacher for me. I appreciated what he was doing, sharing Zen with others in an established Rinzai lineage, but I was not benefitting much from attending his Zazen Kai once a week, practicing with the group for 20-30 minutes, then listening to a dharma talk primarily directed towards newcomers. There was no other instruction or practice available outside the weekly Zazen Kai. It was a great place, just not right for me right now. Still, it was good to have a teacher of some sort as a reference point in my personal daily practice and weekly group practice (which my teacher did not approve of by the way, to him practice is only useful if it is "sanctioned", though I'm still not quite sure what he means by that).
For some stupid reason, up to this point, I had not attended the Detroit Zen Center. I have no real excuse other than that it happens to be slightly further away than the center I'd been attending. When I realized that my relationship with my current teacher just wasn't enough, I scheduled an appointment to have tea with Sahn Bul Sunim and attend the Newcomer's Service at the Detroit center.
Well, this meeting was only this last weekend, but I already feel further along in my student/teacher relationship with Sunim than I did with my other teacher over the course of several months. I plan to continue my personal daily practice, continue opening my meditation space to others on a weekly basis (without teaching of course), attend the Detroit Zen Center services weekly along with 1-2 periods of zazen weekly with interview with Sunim.
My recommendation is to push yourself towards a more rigorous meditation practice than you currently have (whatever that may be), look for others to practice with informally, but also do what you can to develop a relationship with a teacher... even if you can only meet with him or her now and then.
What a longwinded post I just wrote, haha... Hope it helps somebody somewhere..
Yeah, I haven't been on here in a long time. I figured since I saw the post, I might as well respond :-)
Gassho,
Ryan