Where are MZC meetings held? Currently most MZC meetings are held at our small zendo, Kotsusoon-ji, in Glen Iris. Weekly Zazen meetings are also held at the RMIT Spiritual Centre in the city. From time to time some events are also held at other venues, for which the details are published in the respective listings.
How do I get to Kotsusoon-ji? Kotsusoon-ji is located at 96A High Street, Glen Iris. If coming by car, there is ample free parking available in High Street and all adjoining side streets (please do not use the large off-street carpark at 94 High Street which belongs not to MZC but to the monastery next door). If coming by public transport, the closest train station is Glen Iris on the Glen Waverley line, and the closest tram stop is at the end of the Glen Iris line, both about 10-15 minutes walk from Kotsusoon-ji. If cycling, there are off-street bike paths running along the Yarra river and Gardiner creek all the way from the city, travel time 30-40 minutes.
What do I do after arriving? Please aim to arrive about 5 minutes prior to a meeting's scheduled start. Check the outside white board for your allocated sitting spot. Leave your shoes on the shoe shelf under the front porch and then use the key attached to the front door to let yourself into the house. Leave any bags, jackets, hats, etc inside the entrance hall. If you need to use the bathroom, you find it straight ahead and to the left. When you are ready to enter the zendo, it is to the left from where you entered the house. Proceed to your sitting spot and start sitting zazen. Please note that Zazenkai meetings are basically silent without much opportunity for any introduction or guidance. So if you are new to Zen, it is best to select the Intro to Zen session (1st Thursday of each month 5.45pm-7.15pm), 3-Week Zen Course (2nd-4th Thursday of each month 5.45pm-7.15pm), or else the Lunchtime Zazen meeting at RMIT (every Tuesday 12.30pm-1.30pm). Should you wish to start directly with Zazenkai, you are welcome to do so as well, but please be aware of the format and that it includes no introduction to Zen practice.
MZC runs regular Zazen (Zen meditation) meetings for people from all walks of life. Whether you are new to Zen practice, or have had some prior experience, please feel free to come and sit. Consistent with Zen, MZC follows a clear and simple form of practice rather than expounding ideas or belief systems.
Regardless of what may bring you to Zen, Zazen is itself a practice of letting go. While there is now an extensive body of research that regular meditation practice will reliably create significant stress relief and many other health benefits, it is often our fixation and impatience with reaping those benefits which can get in the way of meditating simply and well.
To emphasize this, Zen master Kodo Sawaki (1880-1965) often used to say to newcomers that "Zazen is good for nothing". In doing so, Sawaki took issue not with Zazen itself, which he continued to practice throughout his life, but rather with people's narrow expectations of personal gain which can only undermine the practice.
The practice of Zazen is extremely simple and straightforward:Just Sitting.You simply sit with a straight posture and maintain awareness of your experience without getting caught up in assessing, comparing, or trying to change it. Basically you start exactly where you are, and in the end you are also just where you are. Along the way, there is no special technique and no pursuit of any special experience.
Zazen is not about imposing calmness, stillness, or any special state of mind. It simply involves being aware moment by moment which sets the ground from which calmness and peace of mind eventually develop as natural side-effects. Initially this approach can seem similar to "mindfulness", except that with Zazen there is ultimately no object of awareness and certainly none of the self-conscious mannerisms commonly associated with "trying to be mindful".
Zazen relies on regularity and habit much more so than on any special skill. Certainly it is no performance, contest, or forced activity. To sit Zazen is really as simple as choosing to do so. If you choose to do so, there is no question that you will be capable of it. So the real issue is not whether or not you will "succeed", but whether or not you may be willing to start accepting your experience just as it is.
Just sitting is to be one with your present experience. Being one with your present experience is to become one with yourself. And being one with yourself is actually to start losing our ideas about who you are. Whatever benefits that may come from Zen practice, they will come not from trying to control or change our lives, but from being wholeheartedly present and letting go.
Sawaki Roshi:"Hey what are you gawking at? Don't you see it's about you!"
MZC currently offers the following meeting formats:
Intro to Zen 1st Thursday of every month 5.45pm-7.00pm at Glen Iris: monthly introductory session for people new to Zen and meditation practice (Dana $8) 3-Week Zen Course2nd-4th Thursday of each month 5.45pm-7.00pm at Glen Iris: monthly Zen course over 3 consecutive weeks balanced between learning about Zen meditation and engaging in its actual practice, suitable for newcomers as well as people with prior experience (Dana $60). Lunchtime Zazen every Tuesday 12.30pm-1.30pm at RMIT City: weekly informal Zen meeting including Zazen and a talk on Zen practice, suitable for newcomers and regulars (Dana $3). Morning Zazen every Friday 6.30am-8am at Glen Iris: weekly formal Zen practice meeting including 2 Zazen periods and Kinhin (Dana $8). Evening Zazen every Monday and Thursday 7.30pm-9.30pm at Glen Iris: twice-weekly formal Zen practice meetings including 2 Zazen periods, Kinhin, Tea Ceremony on Mondays, and a Talk on Zen practice on Thursdays (Dana $8). Mini-Sesshin 1st Monday of every month 5.30pm(7pm)*-11pm at Glen Iris: monthly extended evening Zazen format with 6 Zazen periods (*those who are not able to make the 5.30pm start can optionally arrive at 7pm and sit for 4 Zazen periods), Takkesage, Heart Sutra, and Tea Ceremony (Dana $12). Sesshin Zazenheldfrom time to time in various formats and at different venues in Melbourne and elsewhere: extended Zen meetings including one or more days of intensive Zazen practice (Dana is set individually for each Sesshin).
All MZC meetings are listed in our Calendar on the left sidebar tab. Due to the limited seating at our main practice venue, Kotsusoon-ji in Glen Iris, please always be sure to RSVP before coming. RSVPs involve sending a Dana payment online via PayPal, which we have adopted as the most practical way of minimizing 'no shows', wait lists, manual accounting, and cash handling.
MZC is a non-profit operation and any surplus is directed toMelbourne Zen Hospice, a public benevolent institution providing free support for dying patients and their carers and families - thank you.
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