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Going deeper
And still deeper–
The green mountains
—Zen master and homeless poet Santoka Teneda (1882-1940)
Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community is a new sitting group in Vermont and a global virtual sangha that is committed to a contemplative life of social action, to the formation of small communities of friends, to sacred activism, and to discovering together the unique worth, dignity, and calling of every person and every community.
Affiliated with Upaya Zen Center in New Mexico, and guided by Sensei Joshin Byrnes, vice abbot of Upaya and frequent Vermonter. We are inspired by the teachings of Upaya Founder and Guiding Teacher Roshi Joan Halifax who wrote: “Awakening is based on passion for the world: to serve the world, to meet the world completely, and to end suffering in every way possible.”
We are also Zen Peacemakers, inspired by Bernie Glassman Roshi, committed joyfully to contemplative inner practice, deep inquiry, and healing action for others. We practice the three tenets of the Zen Peacemaker: Not Knowing, Bearing Witness, and Social Action.
Those who regard worldly affairs as a hindrance to buddha dharma think only that there is no buddha dharma in the secular world; they do not understand that there is no secular world in buddha dharma.
—Zen Master Dogen