Important schedule changes Please Note: There will be no Sunday Practice sessions for the rest of 2022! The Next Sunday Practice session will be on January 8, 2023. Wednesday Evening Practice sessions will continue through the rest of the year. We will meet every Wednesday, as scheduled. Our retreat is still scheduled for January 7th, 2023. However, that is also subject to change! Myakka River State Park sustained extensive wind and water damage from Hurricane Ian and will be closed […]
Category Archives: Events
Workshops, Retreats, Talks
The gift of our Meditation practice
Transcript of the Podcast – I have no words I have no words, which is rather unusual for me. I’m sure I’ll think of something in a moment or two. Having no words reminds me to get to the root, relaxing into my nature without relying on the trappings of conceptualization or making something up. It sounds so simple, just being in the moment, as we say. However, there are so many distractions in our lives. When your mind is […]
January 2023 – All Day Retreat in Nature
Saturday, January 7, 2023! Bring in the New Year with Ordinary Zen Sangha All-day retreat at Myakka River State Park. The natural setting surrounded by the beauty of nature will help us to relax, reflect, and renew ourselves. We will start promptly at 9:00 am (arrive by 8:45 am). There will be several sitting and walking meditations during the day, Dharma Talks, and a vegetarian/vegan potluck lunch. The retreat will be over at 4:30 pm. RSVP is recommended. The retreat will […]
All-day retreat at Myakka River State Park – Registration Form
Register here for the all-day retreat at Myakka River State Park on Saturday, January 7, 2023. We will start promptly at 9:00 am (arrive by 8:45 am). There will be several sitting and walking meditations during the day, Dharma Talks, and a vegetarian/vegan potluck lunch. The retreat will be over at 5:00 pm. The retreat will be limited to 40 participants. ( as of 01/01/2023 we are filling up, please rsvp) There is a park entrance fee of $6.00 per […]
OZS News for August – 2022
OZS News Once a month we invite those Sangha members present at the Sunday Morning Practice Session to join us for Brunch afterward. It is a way for us to have some together action and get to know each other better. Please let me know if you will be joining us for brunch on Sunday, August 7, 2022. We occasionally invite Sangha members to take the “High Seat” and experience leading a practice session at our Sangha. It is a wonderful experience […]
This Is Zen – An all-day retreat
Saturday, October 2, 2021. The Retreat will be on Zoom and in person at our Zendo for fully vaccinated individuals. 6:50 am to 7:30 am – Our day starts with Meditation Practice on Siesta Key Beach (weather permitting). Directions: We will meet Northeast of the last lifeguard tower furthest north of the pavilion. Park in the North Lot. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – We begin our retreat with an opening ceremony, chanting the Heart Sutra, and a 30-minute meditation, followed by an introductory […]
Advice for the Zoom Retreat
Pause and Reflect A Zen Retreat/Workshop – January 30, 2021 7:00 am to 7:30 am – Our day starts with Meditation Practice on Siesta Key Beach (weather permitting). Directions: We will meet Northeast of the last lifeguard tower furthest north of the pavilion. Park in the North Lot. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – The Retreat/workshop will be on Zoom. We begin our retreat with an opening ceremony, chanting the Heart Sutra, and a 30-minute meditation, followed by an introductory talk by Abbot Will […]
Campaign Nonviolence Conference events August 6-8, 2020
Hi Will: This is the national Conference that we organized, I was very involved in the organizing. As you will see I am teaching on Friday and presenting on Saturday. I would like to extend an invitation to all members of the Sangha. To participate for free you just need to enter the code: CNVFRIEND2020. Would you kindly pass on? Thanks, Veronica Pelicaric https://paceebene.salsalabs.org/saturdayeblast-8-1-20?wvpId=4e804234-829e-4092-863f-ad0e8e6784be
4/5/20 – Online Practice Session at OZS and Won Kwang Sa Temple
Two Zoom Sessions this Sunday starting at 9:00 am… Sunday, April 5, 2020 – Online Practice Session at OZS and Dharma Talk at Won Kwang Sa Temple Dear Sangha, OZS is inviting you to two scheduled Zoom meetings this Sunday, April 5, 2020. We are changing the start time for this Sunday to 9:00 AM and adding a second Dharma talk with Chong An Sunim at 10:00 AM from Won Kwang Sa Temple in Budapest, Hungary. We had a wonderful […]
COVID-19 response update for OZS practice sessions
All OZS sessions at our Sarasota Zendo on Fruitville Road are canceled till May 1, 2020. With COVID-19 active on our continent and locally, as a precaution, I have canceled Wednesday evening and Sunday morning meditation sessions at our Zendo, effective immediately for the rest of March. As we navigate through this health concern, the most important thing is for everyone to take care of each other. If we work together as a community to slow the transmission, our health […]