Open Mind Zen Louisville

1013 Bardstown Rd.

alley entrance through the orange door

Louisville, Kentucky

and by

ZOOM

Welcome!

Open Mind Zen Louisville [OMZL] provides in-person and distance opportunities to practice and train in Zen. Angie Reed Garner ("Hoshi," White Plum Asanga) offers practice opportunities  in-person and by Zoom, including: daily zazen, weekly dharma talks and discussion, practice meetings and koan work, and classes. 

OMZL talks make use of both traditional Buddhist and secular research-oriented frameworks. We need poetry, and science too.*

Our weekly in-person & zoom hybrid practice is Saturday 10:30 AM EST. 

For the week's topic, please see the newsletter. Email omzlouiville@gmail.com to be added to the newsletter list. You can easily unsubscribe.

An orientation to the practice is available by Zoom or in person: email omzlouisville@gmail.com or text (502) 303-7259.  It is not required. Here are guidelines for online practice. Note that your camera should be on while you attend, and sound off unless you are speaking.

7-8 am EST Daily unprogrammed meditation by Zoom: email omzlouisville@gmail.com or text (502) 303-7259 for link.

Non-local students are welcome and encouraged. 

For a historical peek at distance Zen practice, check out 12th-century Chinese Chan (Zen) master Dahui. He developed technique specifically for working with lay students through the mail, namely the hua-tou.  Zen teachers and students find a way. 

Zoom lends itself to regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings. These may be supportive in forming a stable practice, for trouble-shooting practice difficulties, and koan study.

*We study the Six/Ten Realms of Rebirth as psychological perceptions and activities, and rebirth as the transition between them. This approach is not a modern invention. At least four key historical Zen/Chan teachers explicitly taught the Realms to describe moment-to-moment experiences of the human mind:  Linji Yixuan (Rinzai Gigen, d. 866 CE), Huineng (The Sixth Patriarch, 638–713 CE), Huangbo Xiyun (d. 850 CE), Master Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769). 

ABOUT THE TEACHER

OMZL is an affiliate of Open Mind Zen in the White Plum Asanga . OMZL is run by Assistant Teacher ("Hoshi") Angie Reed Garner under the auspices of Al Fusho Rapaport, Roshi. Read more about them here.  

WHERE

OMZL is located in a contemporary art gallery—signed and web-findable as garner LARGE (art) at 1013 Bardstown Rd., alley entrance. Search "garner LARGE" with a mapping program. Google Maps 

There are 3-4 parking spaces by the orange door that you are welcome to use. Don't park at Jack Fry's. There is on-street parking, metered and free, on Highland Ave. There is free on-street parking on Cherokee Rd.

Most sangha activities are accessible via Zoom.

HOW TO BEGIN

Show up, in person or Zoom. In person, kindest to yourself may be to arrive ten minutes early to find your seat and locate the bathroom. Instructions are given as needed. By Zoom, arrive a few minutes early for a sound check.

You may make an appointment for an introduction and orientation, in person or by zoom. They are designed to help a new student (new to Zen, or new to this zendo) understand what to expect, and to feel comfortable. Expect an orientation to take about 30-45 minutes.  

WHO CAN PRACTICE HERE? BELONGING AND ACCESSIBILITY

Zen practice can offer something to pretty much anyone who has interest. 

Race, ethnicity, neurodiversity, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, physical and intellectual ability, religion, and economic standing are vital parts of a person's unique story. These differences are valued and treated with respect and care. 

Students are invited to maintain their religious identities and practices. While Zen can become a person's religion, it also layers well. Meanwhile for some, Zen does not feel like a "religion" at all because of the de-emphasis on belief in favor of direct experience. Zen is Buddhist and Buddhism is a religion... but Zen has a unique and paradoxical position within Buddhist tradition. It is hyper-faithful to the foundational goal of the historical Buddha: relief of suffering through direct awakening. Zen is also radical, iconoclastic, and culturally syncretic in its methods. The White Plum Asanga lineages including Open Mind Zen are especially so. 

In OMZL spaces, Zen teachers are called teachers, not "Zen masters." Our past teachers are described as ancestors, not "patriarchs." Past and present people who train are students or practitioners, not "monks." It is perfectly fine to address the teacher by first name, or by their teaching rank. 

Neurodiversity

Different bodyminds absolutely require different practices. One size fits all teaching has caused much harm. The function of the teacher in Zen is to serve a resource in adjusting and evolving one's personal practice. The purpose of practice is relief from suffering. 

If someone has an open mind about what meditation is or should be,  and how it is all supposed to work, they may be ready to study and practice Zen in some kind of way. 

The student's own direct experience with whatever practices is the true teacher.

Movement and Posture

Standing, walking, sitting or lying down,

As long as one is devoid of torpor,

One resolves upon this mindfulness

—This is known as sublime abiding here. —Metta Sutra

Kinhin  ["moving meditation"] is understood to include whatever movement is available to students, at whatever pace. Students may remain entirely seated, and are invited to participate with mobility devices. People do not need to sit for meditation on the floor, or remain sitting when uncomfortable. Lying down is fine.

Practitioners are encouraged to set aside the goal of stillness in favor of sensitivity and compassion for their own particular experience. By prioritizing comfort and stability, and including intentional movement such as walking, adjusting posture, and use of a mala, etc. students generally relax and settle. Stillness finds the practitioner when it is not chased or required.

Some OMZL students meditate in a chair plus an angled chair cushion, which helps bring the spine into alignment without muscular tension and gripping. These are provided. Our wedge cushions have gotten good reviews from most students.

If you prefer to sit or lay on the floor,  zafus/zabutons and a thick pilates mat are available. You may bring your own supports. Cane stands are available. You are invited to change your posture at need, do walking meditation, or otherwise take care of yourself at any time.

There is a small step to enter the front door, and a small step to enter the bathroom. The warehouse bay door opens, which allows for wheelchair access via a small but steep ramp. Manual wheelchair users will likely need an assist up and down the ramp, and this assistance is available. Text in advance if possible (502) 303-7259, beep car horn on arrival, or knock on the orange door.

Front door step: 8" 

Bathroom door step: 7"

OMZL READINGS

Here is a link to the OMZL vows and readings that may be used during practice. Here are the precepts OMZ students may choose to vow formally during a ceremony for that purpose. They are also the basis of ethical training.