Ease and Joy of Mornings – February 2023

Dōgen Zenji, the thirteenth-century founder of our lineage, referred to his method of practice as “simply the dharma gate of enjoyment and ease.” In this half-day retreat facilitated by Taidō and Busshin, we’ll explore this together and provide a live introduction to our Zen practice. The morning will be spent engaging wholeheartedly in alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation followed by a brief reflection from the facilitators, as well as a time for questions. We hope that you’ll join us and we look forward to sharing the space with you.

This retreat will be offered online only via Zoom. It is recommended that you find a quiet place to sit where you won’t be disturbed for the duration of the retreat (9am to 12pm ET). Please consider setting up this space beforehand with whatever invites you deeper into stillness and calm.

Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community offers this program at no charge, however donations are always gratefully received. The schedule is below. Please register here.

• Check-in/welcome (15 min)
• Sitting (zazen) and walking (kinhin) meditation (60 min)
• Tea Break (15 min)
• Sitting (zazen) and walking (kinhin) meditation (60 min)
• Questions/Checkout (30 min)
• End with Zen Peacemaker Minute of Silence at 12 noon

Emily Taido Strube (she/they) is a community engaged minister and novice at Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community. Taido’s unpaid work focuses on providing material and emotional support to her neighbors through local harm reduction and mutual aid projects in the DC area. A life-long resident of the DMV, she currently lives in Maryland with her family.

Busshin (Ben) Nash is a novice priest with Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community and has been a student of Sensei Joshin Byrnes since 2019. He was a resident at BLMZC from 2020-2022 and is now a full-time student pursuing a Masters in Divinity in Boston, MA.