A New Online Zen Teaching Programme
Do I need a teacher?
How do I work with Buddhist teachings, especially those I do not understand?
How does Zen Practice actually work as a practice?
Do I have what it takes to awaken?
What is enlightenment?
If I wish to practice, what is the commitment I have to make?
What is the path of practice and how do navigate it?
How do I work with a teacher in Zen practice?
What is samadhi and how is it cultivated?
There are many questions that come up as we dig into Zen and even more arise as we continue to further explore our practice. The practice of Zen invites us in to see ourself and the things around us, the people around us, the world we live in, and our own body and mind in a way that our life and culture usually does not encourage or support us in seeing. If we wish to explore Zen practice for our self, what is essential?
Specially offered for New Zealand and Australian community in 2023, Practical Zen is a new programme led by Ron Hogen Green Sensei that will run once a month this year. These sessions are offered for anyone interested in developing the practice of Zen Buddhism. Each 90 minute session will delve into an aspect of Zen training, offering clarification of essential Zen teachings and practices, and the opportunity for questions and answers. Optional follow up support for these sessions will also be run by senior student Gwitha Kaido Nash for anyone interested in further discussion.
- FIRST SEMESTER DATES 2023 (4 months):
One Sunday of each month at 10:30am NZT. We recommend sitting zazen prior to the teaching. Some of the regional groups may offer a Sunday programme beforehand. Our dates are:
March 12th 10:30am
April 9th 10:30am
May 7th 10:30am
June 11th 10:30am - Dana / Koha: We're suggesting $40 dana for this first semester.
Half this fee will be donated to disaster relief here in New Zealand. Details are on the registration form. - Please register using this link: forms.gle/SppCvUjhJbomCoAC9
Ron Hogen Green Sensei
Ron Hogen Green is a husband, father, grandfather, sports-enthusiast, retired podiatrist, and a lay teacher in the Mountains and Rivers Order. Hogen Sensei formally began practising Zen in 1978 with Philip Kapleau Roshi, shortly after graduating medical school and entering private practice. In time, Hogen and his wife, Cindy Eiho Green, helped run the Denver Zen Center, an affiliate of Kapleau Roshi’s Rochester Zen Center. He attended his first retreat at Zen Mountain Monastery in 1988, and not long after began studying with Daido Roshi. In 1993, Hogen completed his training in the Kapleau Lineage and was designated a senior student in the Mountains and Rivers Order. He and Eiho left Denver in 1995 and entered full time residency at ZMM. At the Monastery, Hogen served as Director of Operations for Dharma Communications for 10 years and, in 2000, ordained as a monastic.
In 2007, Hogen Sensei returned to lay life, spending time with family while continuing to play an active role in the MRO, its practice centers and affiliates. In 2016, he received dharma transmission from Shugen Roshi, becoming the first lay teacher in the Order. He served as co-director of the Zen Center of NYC for a number of years and currently divides his time between rural Pennsylvania and South Florida.
Ron Hogen Green is a husband, father, grandfather, sports-enthusiast, retired podiatrist, and a lay teacher in the Mountains and Rivers Order. Hogen Sensei formally began practising Zen in 1978 with Philip Kapleau Roshi, shortly after graduating medical school and entering private practice. In time, Hogen and his wife, Cindy Eiho Green, helped run the Denver Zen Center, an affiliate of Kapleau Roshi’s Rochester Zen Center. He attended his first retreat at Zen Mountain Monastery in 1988, and not long after began studying with Daido Roshi. In 1993, Hogen completed his training in the Kapleau Lineage and was designated a senior student in the Mountains and Rivers Order. He and Eiho left Denver in 1995 and entered full time residency at ZMM. At the Monastery, Hogen served as Director of Operations for Dharma Communications for 10 years and, in 2000, ordained as a monastic.
In 2007, Hogen Sensei returned to lay life, spending time with family while continuing to play an active role in the MRO, its practice centers and affiliates. In 2016, he received dharma transmission from Shugen Roshi, becoming the first lay teacher in the Order. He served as co-director of the Zen Center of NYC for a number of years and currently divides his time between rural Pennsylvania and South Florida.
