Presently, the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community is meeting for their weekly Tuesday night meditation program via Zoom. For more information, please see the contact information at the bottom of this page.
WHO ARE WE?
The Buffalo Zen Dharma Community (BZDC) is a group of people from the Buffalo, NY area who have come together to learn about and practice Zen Buddhism as an affiliate of the Mountains and Rivers Order and to offer this opportunity to others.
What is the Mountains and Rivers order of Zen Buddhism?
The Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO), headquartered at Zen Mountain Monastery, is a Western Zen Buddhist lineage established by the late John Daido Loori Roshi and is dedicated to sharing the dharma as it has been passed down, generation to generation, since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. Although the MRO is distinctly American, much of the training, liturgy, and practice forms used in the Order come from the tradition of Zen as it evolved in ancient China and Japan. To learn more about Zen Mountain Monastery and the Mountain and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism, and our connection with it, please click the button below and go to the "ABOUT" page of this website.
How do I learn more about the buffalo Zen Dharma community?
To get more information, please click on the "INFO@BUFFLAOZEN.ORG" button below and someone will personally contact you to help answer your questions. You can also visit the BZDC Facebook site by clicking on the "LIKE US ON FACEBOOK" button below. To continue to get more information, and to be notified of events, please fill out and submit the "JOIN OUR MAILING LIST TODAY" form by clicking on that button also below.
What does it take to be an active participant in the Buffalo Zen DharMA Community?
It does not take much; you just need interest, some meditation (zazen) training, and orientation to our practice. If you have had little to no formal meditation experience, we offer instruction. Pre-COVID, we met personally with interested people at 7:00 PM on the first Tuesday of each month at our home in the Westminster Presbyterian Church, and post-COVID we will return to that schedule. At that meeting we offer meditation instruction, and orientation on the specifics of meditation and liturgy in a group setting. While we are not able to meet in the church, we have been meeting on Tuesday nights for our regular program via ZOOM, through email invitation. Although this does not allow for the usual face-to-face instruction, and orientation, we have a designated group member to help you if you are interested in joining -- or visiting -- our group. To get in touch with this representative, simply click on the "INFO@BUFFALOZEN.ORG" button below. We also offer online instructions on meditation on the "Newcomers" page through the "Zazen insructions," and "Arranging the body for zazen" links. There is also a video explaining how to do zazen from the founding Zen master, John Daido Loori.
When will the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community meet again?
It is not clear when the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community will start meeting again in person. With the new COVID vaccines coming out recently, Dr. Fauci -- the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease -- predicts our usual way of life may return about mid to late 2021, if the vaccination rates occur as expected. Until then, our in-person activities are suspended and we are only meeting through Zoom events. But don't let that stop you. Come on in and give us a try by clicking the "INFO@BUFFALOZEN.ORG."