PSZC 2020 Intensive Practice Period “the heart of our practice” Personal Practice Plan worksheets

Creating your Practice Plan for the 2020 Intensive Practice Period . (The Intensive Practice Period will be five weeks long, starting Sunday March 15 with a meeting of participants after the regular service, and concluding at the close of the Spring Sesshin on Sunday 19 April. The theme of this year’s Intensive Practice Period is “The Heart of Our Practice”, as we read together ’s translation and commen- taries on the Heart , and look deeply into its significance for our practice.)

Here’s what you do: 1. pick up materials (brochure and worksheets) at the zendo or on-line, and review. They will be available in hard copy and on-line at the All meeting on 5 January 2020 and be- yond. 2. Play with it! Sit, think, read, research, talk to your family and sangha friends. Reflect on and write out your intention, either as a paragraph, or a succinct phrase. 3. If you decide to enroll in the Intensive Practice Period program, you can use these work- sheets to formulate your Practice Plan, choosing from “core”, “recommended”, and “sup- porting” practices, and adding in your own personal elements. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, but make a sincere effort to come up with a sustainable plan that fits your own circumstances and interests, and which feels like important work that you are hungry for. 4. Make an appointment with a preceptor sometime after 15 January and before the begin- ning of the Intensive Practice Period on 15 March. A list of Preceptors and their contacts will be available. 5. Together you and the preceptor will discuss and tweak your Practice Plan, and you will commit to it, and formally enroll in the Intensive Practice Period program. Please Register at PSZC.org (instructions for registering will be on-line). There is no cost, but only dues- paying PSZC members may participate. 6. The Practice Period starts 15 March. The registered participants will meet on that day to mark the opening of the period, and to discuss our intentions for our five weeks of intensive practice. 7. Throughout the five weeks, you may find it valuable to keep a practice journal and/or to chart practice (see an example worksheet) activities to record your work. 8. During the practice period, you will receive support and encouragement from teachers (Koshin and Genko) during periodic dokusan, and from your practice partner (if you choose to have one). 9. The Intensive Practice Period will conclude with a ceremony on the final day of session (19 April). On the following Sunday after the service, the participants will meet to review and discuss their period of intensive practice, and their plans and intentions for the path ahead.

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Let’s get going.... (refer to the brochure as you create your Practice Plan)

Intention: ______

And/Or, succinctly:

______

2 BUDDHA

Core practices:

Zazen (make a specific plan- times a week, minutes per day, place- home or zendo?)

Zazen focus (try and make a specific plan for one or several or sequential practice tech- niques- will you count breaths, do a body scan, practice , work with lojong slogans (which ones?), practice , any other techniques you find useful? Will you prac- tice each technique for a certain number of days, or rotate techniques during each zazen peri- od?)

Strongly Recommended Practice:

Spring Session attendance:

Supporting Practices (choose at least one, or create your own)

Body Practice:

Art Practice:

At Home or at Work:

Other:

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Dharma

Core Practice:

working with the teacher (specify your commitment to meet with the teacher in doku- san at least twice (and preferably four times) during the five weeks. Dokusan will be offered during Sunday services, and twice daily during the sesshin during the concluding week.

Dharma Study: All participants will be reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamite Heart Sutra.”

Supporting practices (choose at least one, or another that interests you, please specify your plan for the five week period)):

Writing:

Additional reading:

Sangha core practices (choose at least one)

Volunteering 2 hours amount of time to support the sangha in the following way (please specify, see some ideas under “Resources”):

4 ************************************************************************** Notes on preceptor meeting and adjustments to Practice Plan:

______

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Resources

Books: There are of course thousands out there, here are a few favorites: • The Posture of , by Will Johnson. See also his You Tube video discussing this • The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh • The Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings On the Zen Practice of edited by John Daido Loori. Wisdom Publications. (This is a collection of historical and contemporary writings on sitting zazen) •On Zen Practice: Body, Breath and Mind by Tazan Maezumi Roshi. Wisdom Publications (A very good introduction to Zen practice) • Taking the Path of Zen by Robert Aitken Roshi. North Point Press • Everyday Zen: Love and Work by Charlotte Joko Beck Roshi. HarperOne Publisher (One of the best introductory books on Zen published) • What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula. Grove Press (This is not a book on Zen, but it is an excellent book on the , the Eight Fold Path and Buddha’s original teaching)

On-line meditation practice, instruction: There is a ton of stuff on-line- take a look. Here are a very few: • audio downloads for guided by various teachers: www.audiodharma.org, and also at www.zencast.org • Zen meditation apps for your phone: many available, including iTunes Insight Timer, which includes meditation timers and time recorders, plus guided meditations •Chozen Bays online class on Mindful Eating , Center for Mindful Eating •Thich Nhat Hanh on the Practice of Mindfullness (five meditation exercises) at www.lion- sroar.com •Thich Nhat Hanh “A Guide to ” at www.dhammatalks.net

Dharma talks: There are many on-line dharma talks by prominent teachers.

Practice techniques: • following the breath • body scanning • walking meditation • tonglen (for those who have attended Genko’s workshops; also you can get tonglen instruc- tion from Pema Chodron on-line or on DVD) • working with lojong slogans (again for those who took Genko’s dharma class) • shikantaza (“just sitting”- see readings by Zoketsu Norman Fischer at shoresofzen.com and by Roshi Joan Halifax at upaya.com, also John Daido Loori above)

6 ideas for sangha service: • keeping zendo clean (whisk and spot clean cushions, clean and polish candlesticks, keep fresh flowers in the vase, clean out incense bowls, mend chant books that are coming apart, etc.) The Property Committee will schedule a work party during the practice period (see Elizabeth Fitterer). • write an “Everyday Zen” article to put on the website/monthly emails (see Kaj) • Participate in a work party on the land ( see Elizabeth Fitterer, chair of Property commit- tee) • sign up to be a barista for Sunday service • Help Sokan Chris Ezzell clean the tea house in Burton • volunteer to write thank you notes for donations, etc (see Elizabeth Nelson, chair of the Membership committee) • Sign up for helping with a community meal (Joyce and Jim Hunziker)

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Practice chart (you might use this to record activities for a week) Weekly zazen check-list; minutes/day Week: ______

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

other Practice activities: Buddha:______Dharma:______Sangha: ______

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