Culture for the Non-Cultured

Join us as we head to the Fire Lotus Temple in Brooklyn to sit in Zazen on a Sunday morning.

Each Sunday from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, the temple offers a program that includes liturgy, zazen (Zen meditation), and a talk by a teacher or a senior student. The Sunday morning program will introduce you to the practice of Zen. Those joining this meditation for the first time will receive beginning instruction in zazen.

Meetup details:
Date: 6/15/2025 (Sunday)
Time: 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Location: Fire Lotus Temple (500 State Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217)

Note: Please arrive no later than 9:15 am. The meditation bell will ring sharp at 9:25 am and Zazen will begin. In order to not disturb those who are in Zazen, please make sure you arrive no later than 9:15 am. You are encouraged to arrive as early as 8:30 am to the temple.

From the Temple’s website:
“What to expect at the Sunday morning program?

All first-time attendees are welcome and encouraged to attend as participants in every aspect of the morning. Part of the power of experiencing practice and training at the Temple is in being open to not knowing, being a beginner, learning through observation, and trusting your own experience.

We’re often asked why we don’t explain more, or why we don’t have a little booklet or brochure that breaks down all the details of the form. To experience Zen training is to experience your own mind—in all of its particularity and vastness. Leaving room for you to have your own experience—and all of the questions that may arise from it—is a key part of how we train at the Temple and how practitioners have trained in Zen monasteries for centuries.

That said, we realize that a person’s capacity to feel safe and open to new experiences is shaped by their life experiences, their social identities (race, class, gender, gender identity, physical ability and so on), and other influences. To that end, we’d like to give you some sense of what to expect when you come to the Temple for the Sunday Morning program. You are welcome to contact us with any questions.
The morning program begins when the main bell begins to sound outside the meditation hall, at 9:25, to let the sangha, or community, know that service is about to begin. You are welcome to arrive before then to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, or to help us with caretaking (silent work practice) to prepare for the morning program.

If you have a coat or bag, we encourage you to leave it in the coat room on the second floor. Before entering the zendo, or meditation hall, leave your shoes on the shoe rack. If you have mobility issues or difficulty standing for long periods of time, you’re welcome to use a chair. Students serve as monitors in the front and back of the zendo and are there to assist you.

After the chanting service, those who are joining us for the first time proceed upstairs to the Buddha Hall, a smaller meditation hall, to receive beginning instruction in zazen from a senior student.
After that, newcomers join the rest of the sangha in the zendo for another period of zazen, followed by kinhin, or walking meditation, and then one of the teachers or senior students offers a talk. We ask that everyone sit in a formal zazen posture during the talk—seated on the floor cross-legged or kneeling, or sitting in a chair.

Following the talk, we head upstairs for conversation and refreshments. This is a good time to connect with the teachers, monastics, residents and formal training students to ask questions or find out more about the Temple’s programs.”

Hope you will join us.

Join us on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park for a day of healing, connection, and celebration. This unique experience blends yoga, meditation, live music, and spiritual conversations, bringing together seekers, artists, and thought leaders for an unforgettable journey of self-discovery and community.

This is a whole-day event. You can leave anytime you want.

Meetup details:
Date: 6/21/2025 (Saturday)
Time: 9:00 am (come early!) - 5:30 pm
Location: Rumsey Playfield, Central Park (5th Ave and 69th Street)

Meet 9-9:15am: Corner of 5th Ave & 69th St so we can practice together.

Let's go the Brooklyn Museum and go for early dinner after the visit. We'll meet at the Shrine Room and then explore other parts of the museum. Of course you can go earlier and explore!

Meetup details:
Date: 6/22/2025 (Sunday)
Museum Time: 3 pm to 5 pm (Brooklyn Museum)
Dinner Time: 5:30 pm to 7 pm (Dao Palate)

Museum Location: Brooklyn Museum (200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn)
Meet: at the Shrine Room

Dinner Location: Dao Palate (329 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn)

See you all there!

Join us as we make a day trip to the lovely city of Beacon that has a small-town vibe. Beacon is a city located on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York (approximately 60 miles north of NYC). As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 13,769. It is rich in history with an abundance of Victorian architecture, collectible shops, emerging art galleries, museums and more.

Meetup details:
Date: 6/29/2025 (Sunday)
Departure Time: 10:20 am at Grand Central station. We will take the 10:55 am Metro North train.
Location: Grand Central Station, NYC. We will meet and greet by the big clock in Grand Central.

Note: Please purchase the tickets online (see below for link) or arrive early and get the tickets at the counter. Meet us sharp at 10:20 am by the big clock, where we will meet and greet each other. We will take the 10:55 am Metro North train from Grand Central and arrive at Beacon station at 12:30 pm.

Once we get down at Beacon, we will walk to the Beacon Bread Company, which is a vegan-friendly establishment, to get some food. This restaurant is approximately 15-minutes walk from the train station.
After that, we will explore Dia Beacon, which boasts a world-class collection of contemporary, post-1960 art.

Later, we will explore more of the charming Main Street where there are many slow-moving, tree-lined thoroughfares packed with cute stores and charming restaurants.

Both the Dia Beacon and the Main Street are within walking distance from the train station.

Arrival Time: We will take the 6:13 pm train back to NYC at the Beacon train station. The train will arrive at Grand Central station in NYC close to 8 pm.

Additional Note: Please note that each one of us is individually responsible to purchase tickets, take the correct trains and ensure safety at all times. Also, the itinerary is subject to change if conditions change.

Hope you will join us.