Upcoming events
Monthly Saturday Morning Meditation Events
Almost every month (about 10 times a year) the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community holds a silent Saturday morning half-day meditation event. These events are held at the Network of Religious Communities building on 1272 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, NY. The doors open at 8:00 AM and participants are asked to be in seated meditation by 8:25 AM. The half-day meditation event lasts until about 12:30 PM. Afterwards many times participants leave and meet for lunch at a nearby restaurant.
There are six 25-30 minute periods of meditation (zazen) separated by 10 minutes of walking meditation (kinhin). There are three periods of meditation to start the morning with a 20 minute break and three more periods to finish. Even though participants are encouraged to stay for the whole morning, there is the option for participants to stay for less. Participants who start at the beginning may leave during this break. People may also join during the break for the last three periods. Participants are asked to bring their own meditation cushions as there are no cushions stored at that facility. Chairs will be provided if needed however. These zazen events are not generally open to the public as the expectation is that participants will need to be able to sit comfortably still in a proper zazen posture for up to 30 minutes and many in the general public are not able to do so without proper instruction, training and experience. Invitational emails go out to those who have formally contacted and practiced with the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community, have been able to meet the above sitting requirement and are on their email list. These half-day events are open to only those have have received an email invitation due to the intensity of this practice event, however, if someone has been instructed in how to do zazen elsewhere and believe that they are able to meet the above sitting requirements without practicing with the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community, they have the option of contacting us through the email link before to discuss their training, experience, and interest further.
Before participating in these events, it is best to first go to the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community's first Tuesday of the month program at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 724 Delaware Avenue, which offers beginning instruction on Zen meditation and orientation to our Buddhist practice. However, if someone has had previous experiences in Zen meditation, it may be possible to participate in a Saturday half-day event without going to the first Tuesday of the month program and receiving instructions. If there are any questions or to be notified of upcoming dates for these or other events, please use the contact information below to contact us and to be added to our mailing list.
The schedule for the half-day zazen intensives is:
8:00 AM: Doors to the Network of Religious Communities open
8:25 AM: Everyone should be seated and doing zazen
8:30 AM-9:00 AM: 1st zazen period (30 minutes)
9:00 AM-9:10 AM: Kinhin (walking meditation)
9:10 AM-9:40 AM: 2nd zazen period (30 minutes)
9:40 AM-9:50 AM: Kinhin (walking meditation)
9:50 AM- 10:20 AM: 3rd zazen period (30 minutes)
10:20 AM-10-40 AM: Chant Four Immeasurables and Verse of the Kesa and break. People may leave at this time or new people may arrive to participate in the second half of the morning zazen intensive.
10:40 AM-11:05 AM: 4th zazen period (25 minutes)
11:05 AM-11:15 AM: Kinhin (walking meditation)
11:15 AM-11:40 AM: 5th zazen period (25 minutes)
11:40 AM-11:50 AM: Kinhin (walking meditation)
11:50 AM-12:15 PM: 6th zazen peroid (25 minutes)
12:15 PM-12:25 PM: Chant Bodhisattva Vows, announcements and ending.
During kinhin participants are able to go to the bathroom, get something to drink, stretch, etc.
Half-day zazen intensives dates for 2026 (at the Network of Religious Communities).
January 17th
February 21st
March 21st
April 18th
May 16th
June 20th
If anyone is interested in attending these events and has not received a prior invitation, please contact us to find out how you can receive an email invitation to the event.
