A Brief Introduction to Zen Center North Shore
In 2012, a Zen center was established in an effort to make the practice of meditation and the teachings behind the practice more easily available to those living in the North Shore region in Massachusetts, as well as the greater New England region. Initially called the Marblehead Zen Center and residing in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, located in Marblehead, Massachusetts, today the Zen Center North Shore (ZCNS) has its own space in Beverly, Massachusetts, which provides a space for the people of all levels of experience to study and practice Soto Zen Buddhism. The Zen Center North Shore’s constituency consists primarily of convert lay disciples and receives funding solely from donations. The Zen Center North Shore is closely affiliated with the San Francisco Zen Center, as well as the Soto Zen Buddhist Association. The ZCNS is also affiliated with the Mahasati Center, located in Wenham, MA, as some of ZCNS’s larger events are held there, instead of at the ZCNS.
The Founding of Zen Center North Shore
Myozen Joan Amaral founded the Zen Center North Shore after moving from her former position at the San Francisco Zen Center to the Greater Boston region. During her time at the San Francisco Zen Center, she became a dharma heir in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center in 1962. In addition, she trained at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery, located in Carmel Valley, California, for six years, as well as completed the Buddhist chaplaincy program at the Sati Center, located in Redwood City, California.
One of Myozen Joan Amaral’s long-time focuses as a Zen and meditation teacher is inclusive community outreach. During her residency at the San Francisco Zen Center, she created Dharma en Español, a dharma group focused on the study of a selection of Shunryu Suzuki’s texts in Spanish, with the goal of making dharma more accessible to native Spanish speakers. In addition, she was involved with the San Francisco County Jail, providing personal spiritual counseling and meditation classes for the prisoners at the jail.
The Practices of Zen Center North Shore
The Zen Center North Shore offers multiple Zen Buddhist practices, such as walking meditation, chanting, and dharma talks. The practice of focus, however, is zazen, or seated meditation. The practice of zazen models after the Buddha’s own meditation under the Bodhi tree, which led to his enlightenment. Zazen involves sitting on a special cushion, called a zafu, which helps one maintain the correct posture during meditation. While seated, there are multiple positions one can sit in, including the Burmese, half lotus, full lotus, and seiza. Once in a sitting position, the goal is to solely keep focus on the repeating inhales and exhales, recognizing when focus has drifted away and guiding it back to breathing. During zazen, the ultimate goal is to become liberated from thoughts and feelings in an effort to realize there is no self, however one can quickly experience greater mental clarity and relaxation from the practice. At the ZCNS, beginners to the practice of zazen are encouraged to join community zazen practice, which is held regularly.
During service practice, bowing and chanting are done as an additional practice to work towards awakening. An assortment of chants are said for each day of the week in the morning or in the evening. For example, the Hymn to the Perfection of Wisdom is recited every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. The hymn is as follows:
Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom, the lovely, the holy.
The Perfection of Wisdom gives light.
Unstained, the entire world cannot stain her.
She is a source of light and from everyone in the triple world she removes darkness.
Most excellent are her works.
She brings light so that all fear and distress may be forsaken and disperses the gloom and darkness of delusion.
She herself is an organ of vision.
She has a clear knowledge of the own being of all dharmas for she does not stray away from it.
The Perfection of Wisdom of the buddhas set in motion the wheel of dharma.
Overall, the members of the Zen Center North Shore community represent Buddhism through the practice of Zen Buddhist forms of meditation, chanting, and bowing. In addition, they represent Buddhism through demonstration of the Buddhist practice of giving, whether that be to newcomers to Zen or to people in the community.
The Events at Zen Center North Shore
In addition to regular practices, the Zen Center North Shore offers many events for people at all different levels of practice, such as weekly classes and workshops for beginners, and various ceremonies and monthly retreats for people looking for a more in-depth and committed experience.
For people who are new to Zen Buddhism and Zen meditation practices, the ZCNS offers “Intro to Zen Meditation” classes every Tuesday. These classes are given by senior students at the ZCNS for free, but always welcome donations in return. For people interested in one-on-one learning with Myozen Joan Amaral, the guiding teacher of the center, they can request a time to meet with her for no technical cost, but a donation is conventional in return. In addition, “Intro to Zen” workshops are offered on occasional Sunday afternoons that are similar in content to the classes; they cover the basics of sitting and walking meditation, as well as Buddhist texts focusing on healing and well-being. These workshops are led by Myozen Joan Amaral.
At the ZCNS, the Well-Being Ceremony and Bodhisattva Precepts Full Moon Ceremony occur bi-weekly and monthly, respectively. During the Well-Being Ceremony, the Heart Sutra, Hymn to the Perfection of Wisdom, and the Loving Kindness meditation are all chanted. In addition, people’s names on the “well-being list” are read to encourage their comfort and well-being. The ZCNS’s website mentions these people as any experiencing suffering in any form, as well as loved ones of any attendant who have recently passed away. A unique aspect of this practice is that the recently deceased names will be read for 49 days. Attendants are encouraged to contact the center if they wish to add names to this “well-being” list. The Bodhisattva Precepts Full Moon Ceremony happens every month, according to the full moon. During the ceremony, attendants reflect on the past month and their adherence to the precepts, as well as practice bowing and chanting. In addition, some attendants formally receive the precepts. The precepts are a set of fundamental practices to abstain from doing. For lay practitioners, there are five precepts to follow:
- To not take life
- To not take what has not been given
- To not engage in wrong speech
- To not engage in sexual misconduct
- To not consume intoxicants
For those seeking a more intensive meditative practice, the ZCNS offers occasional retreats where attendants spend most of the day in meditation as a way to become more deeply in touch with one’s body and mind, as well as to realize one’s deeper hopes and purpose. The retreats entail repeated sessions of zazen and kinhin (sitting and walking meditation, respectively), interspersed with temple soji (a Zen meditative cleaning practice), meals, chanting and bowing services, a dharma talk given by Myozen Joan Amaral, and an extended Well-Being Ceremony. The day-long retreat ends with tea and a recitation of the Three Refuges in English. The chant is as follows:
I take refuge in Buddha
Before all being,
Immersing body and mind deeply in the Way,
Awakening true mind.
I take refuge in Dharma
Before all being,
Entering deeply the merciful ocean
Of Buddha’s Way.
I take refuge in Sangha
Before all being,
Bringing harmony to everyone,
Free from hindrance.
The Zen Center North Shore in the Community
Stemming from founder Myozen Joan Amaral’s own focus on community outreach, the ZCNS is heavily involved in the greater North Shore community by bringing Zen Buddhist practices to groups in the community. The ZCNS offers a “Practical Mindfulness for the Classroom” workshop to bring mindfulness and meditative practices to teachers in order to provide a way to mitigate the everyday stresses that come with teaching and managing a classroom. In addition to the special workshop for teachers, the ZCNS offers a special meditation group, called the “Recovery Sangha”, for people impacted by addiction. The goal of the Recovery Sangha is to explore how the practice of meditation can aid both those undergoing addiction recovery and the loved ones giving support through the recovery journey. A notable part of both of these programs is the fact that they both do not involve direct Buddhist teaching in their programs. This may be because some people may feel less inclined to join the program if it involves overtly Buddhist beliefs, especially if they already follow a belief system different from Buddhism. Another group the ZCNS provides is a “Social Justice Group” that meets weekly. The purpose of this group is to provide an inclusive conversation space to reflect on the experiences of different communities facing injustices. Before jumping into discussion, the group first practices a session of zazen as a way to calm and open oneself to discussion. The ZCNS also provides links to various social justice organizations across the United States to support on their website.
Sources
Soji (掃除) A Meditation on Zen Cleaning
Author
Victoria Figgins