Beginners Course
The Zen beginners class is once again being held every Saturday from Jan 31, 2026 to Apr 18, 2026, except Mar 28, 2026.
The Beginners Classes were first taught in the Fall of 2009 to provide a foundation for the beginner’s practice and understanding of Zen. Below are the framework notes of what has been taught previously:
- Lesson 1A: The Buddha and his Teachings
- Lesson 1B: Sitting Zen
- Lesson 2: Preparing for Zen Practice
- Lesson 3: What is Zen?
- Lesson 4: Soto and Rinzai Zen School
- Lesson 5: Suffering and Impermanence
- Lesson 6: No Self
- Lesson 7: Karma and the Buddhist Psychology
- Lesson 8: The Ten Ox Herding Pictures
- Lesson 9: The Six Paramitas
- Lesson 10: The Three Gems Ceremony & Five Lay Precepts
Our sitting time starts at 10:30 AM CST on Saturday mornings. Please do not arrive any later than 5 minutes before the sitting starts. The 2nd floor door of the Centennial Lounge (our usual room within the Knox) will be closed at 10:30 AM and re-opened after the 30 minutes sitting session. If you arrive late, you will have to wait outside until 11 AM when the Dharma Talk starts.
Anyone is welcome anytime to join our regular sittings. We begin each sitting with three bows to acknowledge and show respect to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. This is then followed by a 30 minute sitting in quiet, unguided meditation. After the sitting, the teacher will often give a talk about Zen practice (also known as a “Dharma Talk”). Once the Dharma Talk is over, feel free to ask questions and participate in any discussions that might arise.
Prior to entering the Centennial Lounge, we kindly ask that you remove your shoes and leave them outside of the room as our Sangha tries to keep our rental space as clean as possible. And while our regular Saturday sittings and teachings are free, we welcome donations to our Dana box to help cover the cost of the room rental.