Do you offer a weekly zen buddhist practice group with meditation?

Yes, Henry David Thoreau Sangha, also known as Hank, sits together each Monday evening at 7:30pm eastern time on Zoom. When we have opportunities for in-person practice or sesshin retreats, we'll announce those in advance.

What should I expect if I’m new to zen buddhism?

Weekly meetings always include Zen meditation (zazen) and Zen liturgy. See the calendar for featured dharma talks, etc. Meetings start at 7:30 pm and usually wind up around 9:00pm, though you are free to leave at any time.

A good introduction to our form of meditation can be found in this “Mindfulness Meditation” guide written by our fellow Zen teacher Ken Walkama.

Zoom links for Monday evening practice are shared through our mailing list.

Why is our sangha named Hank?

In his inspiring account of living alone at Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau, also known as Hank, wrote: “To be awake is to be alive...I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” We follow the path of Zen with the intention that we, too, may wake up and live our lives more fully, in a spirit of freedom unknown before.

Tell me more about the leadership of Hank zen sangha?

Robert Waldinger (Ryudo Tetsumu), Roshi is the Guiding Teacher at Henry David Thoreau Sangha.  
Bob is a fully-transmitted Zen teacher who is Dharma heir to Melissa Myozen Blacker, Roshi, in two lineages: an ordained Soto transmission through Jiyu Kennett, Roshi and a lay koan-teaching lineage through John Tarrant, Roshi. Bob is also a senior Soto Zen priest (Osho) and was ordained in 2013. He is a psychiatrist who directs a psychotherapy teaching program at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also directs the 80-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest study of adult life ever done. He lives in Newton with his wife Jennifer and is the father of two adult sons.