Naikan: Opening the Heart of Gratitude & Joy Talk & Workshop with Jigetsu Osho

Public Talk: Friday 6/15, 7 pm

Workshop: Saturday, 6/16, 10 am – 4 pm

Naikan is a structured method of meditation that opens the heart. We all carry a story of who we are, and often that story is dominated by the hurts we have received and the injustices that have occurred. This preoccupation with what has been lacking provides only a partial view and limits our awareness of all that we have received. The method of Naikan is a simple one of taking up three questions: what have I received, what have I given and what troubles and difficulties have I caused, as we examine relationships and experiences in our life. The effect is profound: Naikan offers a corrective lens that broadens our view, restoring an appreciation for all that we have received and all that supports our life in this moment. Realizing this interconnectedness, our hearts naturally open in gratitude. The result is increased joy and a desire to reach out in compassionate service to others.

Jigetsu Osho has been practicing in the Buddhist tradition for almost forty years. She was a student of the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa, and in 1976 was invited by Rinpoche to begin meditation instruction and teaching. After Rinpoche's death she began practicing in the tradition and met at the Cincinnati Zen Center in 2005. In 2009 she received Inka (recognition as a dharma teacher) from Zen Master Dae Gak. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Religious Studies and has spent her entire adult life studying and teaching the ways in which people from all faith traditions and spiritual orientations understand and approach this great wonder of being human. She has recently received certification in Japanese Psychology authorizing her to teach Naikan and Morita practices. She has lived as a nun for a period of time and also as a single mother, working in the world. Jigetsu Osho currently lives at Furnace Mountain Zen Center in Kentucky.

The Public Talk is free and open to all. The workshop requires preregistration and has a suggested donation of $45. See cincinnatizencenter.org for details.