WORKING INDIVIDUALLY WITH A TEACHER

Individual meetings with the teacher, which we call “Work in the room,” are opportunities to sit face to face and take up what is most alive for you. Here’s how Joan Sutherland describes this (Acequias & Gates page 76).

“Work in the room is an encounter at the heart of Zen, a private meeting between teacher and student. The style has varied from school to school and teacher to teacher; the common element is an encounter that goes beyond what’s conceivable. Zen meetings have the simplest of forms: two people sitting on the floor, face inches from face, in a candlelit room. Sometimes there’s a third presence in the form of a koan. That small room is a large field; traditionally it was named for Vimalakirti’s 10×10-foot chamber, which accommodated multitudes and had portals to infinite numbers of other worlds.”

For more words about Work in the Room, see Acequias & Gates  pages 76-78

Once a month, during morning meditation on the third Saturday, there’s a chance to meet individually with Sarah Bender, Roshi. To schedule, please contact Sarah at sembender@gmail.com or 719 594-0724.