September 30th Zazenkai (All-day Sitting)

The North Carolina Zen Center will host a one-day Zazenkai on Saturday, September 30, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This will be a great opportunity for those planning on attending the Fall Retreat to become oriented and to experience a formal practice day similar to the days at the retreat.

Please email the Center at info@nczencenter.org to sign up by September 23 so we can plan accordingly.  We will include a light lunch to participate in the formal meal form used at retreats.  Suggested donation is $15.

It is with great pleasure that the North Carolina Zen Center announces the arrival of Teshin Matt Sweger.  Teshin officially assumed the role of Abbot and Teacher for the Center on August 1.  He is jumping right into things, leading the Center’s Summer Sesshin beginning on August 3 and ending on August 6.

Teshin’s wife Dana will arrive by the end of the second week of August, to take up a position with the Unitarian Universalist Church in Chapel Hill.  Teshin and Dana will be living at the Center initially.

Teshin will be taking on all of the teaching duties at the Center, and has expressed a wish to immediately expand the Center’s offerings of scheduled services.  Look for a new list of those services and times to be published on the website shortly. 

Teshin has also enumerated a number of short-term and long-term goals for the Center that he would like to work toward.  Some of these include developing better structures for newcomers at the Center, including introductory workshops, beginner’s nights, weekly or monthly discussion groups, and other structures to allow beginners and newcomers to feel welcome at the Center.

Outreach and community involvement are also high on Teshin’s list of priorities, as are developing and elaborating the Center’s presence on social media.  He has also indicated that he hopes to closely engage the sangha in an ongoing “visioning process” whereby the sangha has close input into the Center’s offerings and its future development.  Meantime, Teshin has emphasized that first and foremost the goal of the Center will be to foster a strong community of dedicated Zen practitioners.  Teshin sees solid Zen teaching and practice as the core from which everything else will grow.

Certainly Teshin will clarify his goals for the Center and the sangha as he gets better acquainted with us.  At this point we we would simply like to offer him a sincere welcome, and three deep bows of gratitude for his willingness to make a hard choice, to leave friends and associates behind, and to come here to the North Carolina Zen Center. 

This is the beginning of a new chapter in the story of the Center.  Come and be a part of it, meet Teshin, and either connect or reconnect with our Zen community! 

Gassho!

The North Carolina Zen Center is happy to announce that it will hold its Summer Sesshin from August 3 through August 6.  The retreat will begin with informal dinner at 6PM on Thursday, August 3, and will end at noon on Sunday, August 6.

This retreat will be guided by Teshin Matt Sweger.  Teshin has recently accepted the Center’s offer to become the Center’s Abbott, and he will take that position officially on August 1. This will be his first retreat with the NCZC, and it will be a great opportunity to practice with Teshin and to get to know him as a Zen teacher.

Teshin was trained in the lineage of Philip Kapleau Roshi and the Rochester Zen Center. He has 25 years of Zen training including residential training at Rochester and at Windhorse Zen Center in Asheville. He studied under Bodhin Roshi at Rochester, then under Lawson Satcher Roshi at Windhorse, and completed his study under Sevan Ross Roshi and was given full sanction to teach by him in 2015. He has been teaching for five years through a Zen group at the University of Rochester.

The retreat will be conducted in a format similar to past retreats at the Center, although there will be some changes to form and schedule based on Teshin’s wishes.  The retreat will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, interview with the teacher, Dharma talks, and periods of work around the Center.  Some of the work will be out-of-doors, possibly involving grounds maintenance, so come prepared to work outside in the summer, with appropriate light clothing.

Cost of the retreat is $60 per night.  Part-time attendance is permitted, however lodging preference will be given to full-time participants.  For more information about retreats at the NC Zen Center, or to pay in advance for the retreat, please visit the Retreats Page on the Center’s website.  If you have not already made your deposit of half the cost, based on the number of nights you plan to attend, please do so as quickly as possible so we can properly plan for the number of attendees.

It is with great pleasure and excitement that the Board of Directors and the Teacher Search Committee wish extend a generous welcome to Teshin Matt Sweger.  On August 1, Teshin will officially take the position of Teacher/Abbott of the North Carolina Zen Center.  He is expected to arrive in time for the Summer Retreat which runs from August 3 — 6, and to take up residence at the Center thereafter.

Teshin has trained in the lineage of Philip Kapleau Roshi and the Rochester Zen Center. He has 25 years of Zen training including residential training at Rochester and at Windhorse Zen Center in Asheville. He studied under Bodhin Roshi at Rochester, then under Lawson Satcher Roshi at Windhorse, and completed his study under Sevan Ross Roshi and was given full sanction to teach by him in 2015. Teshin has been teaching for five years through a Zen group at the University of Rochester.

Teshin and his wife, Dana, are permanently relocating to North Carolina.  Dana has taken a position with the Unitarian Universalist Church in Chapel Hill.  Teshin will be teaching Zen and continuing his practice as a psychotherapist.  Teshin expects to immediately begin to offer an expanded schedule of teaching at the Center, including additional practice sessions on mornings and evenings during the week in addition to our traditional Thursday and Sunday services.  We will post details of our new schedule shortly.

Teshin teaches in a tradition that blends a combination of Rinzai and Soto Zen practices.  Those of our Sangha who have practiced in the Rinzai tradition and taken up koan practice will be happy to find that Teshin is highly trained in koan teaching and practice and will continue this type of Zen teaching at the Center.

The Board and the Center’s leadership wish to offer a profound thanks to Teshin and Dana for their willingness to make the NC Zen Center their home and place to practice and teach.  We also wish to thank all who have offered their time, effort, care, and love to the Center over these last several years.  We look forward with great hope for the future of the Center, the growth of the Sangha, and the continuance of our wonderful community of Zen.

The North Carolina Zen Center is happy to announce that it will hold its Summer Sesshin from August 3 through August 6.  The retreat will begin with informal dinner at 6PM on Thursday, August 3, and will end at noon on Sunday, August 6.

This retreat will be guided by Teshin Matt Sweger.  Teshin was trained in the lineage of Philip Kapleau Roshi and the Rochester Zen Center. He has 25 years of Zen training including residential training at Rochester and at Windhorse Zen Center in Asheville. He studied under Bodhin Roshi at Rochester, then under Lawson Satcher Roshi at Windhorse, and completed his study under Sevan Ross Roshi and was given full sanction to teach by him in 2015. He has been teaching for five years through a Zen group at the University of Rochester.

This will be Teshin’s first retreat with the NCZC.  Teshin has been a candidate for the Center’s teacher position, and is currently in discussions with the Center with the intent of Teshin joining the Center and becoming the Center’s teacher and abbot.  This will be a great opportunity to practice with Teshin and to get to know him as a Zen teacher.

The retreat will be conducted in a format similar to past retreats at the Center, although there will be some modest changes to form and schedule based on Teshin’s wishes.  The retreat will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, interview with the teacher, Dharma talks, and periods of work around the Center.  Some of the work will be out-of-doors, possibly involving grounds maintenance, so come prepared to work outside in the summer, with appropriate light clothing.

Cost of the retreat will be $55 per night.  Part-time attendance is permitted, however lodging preference will be given to full-time participants.  Deposits are due by Friday, July 20, which will help with planning for meals and lodging.  After that date the cost of the retreat will be $60 per night.  For more information about retreats at the NC Zen Center please visit the Retreats Page on the Center’s website.