WEEKLY UPDATE
MON 15 DECEMBER - SUN 21 DECEMBER 2025
You mustn’t worry about how your practice is, whether you are making progress or not, whether you are in anguish or not. All these things are not important. They are like clouds passing in front of the moon. You must not be attached to anything that appears in your mind.
…Zen Master Seung Sahn
Special Programs
Classes / Talks / Interviews / Groups
SPECIAL PROGRAM
Classes / Talks / Interviews / Groups
TUESDAY COMMUNITY DINNER at 5:30 PM Come early and join us for dinner with a $10 suggested donation followed by chanting at 6:30 prior to the standard Tuesday Long Sitting.
TUESDAY LONG SITTING & CONSULTING INTERVIEWS with Francisco Irby, Senior Dharma Teacher
Tuesday, 16 December 7:30-9:30PM
Join URL: Tuesday Zoom Meditation Practice / Meeting ID 858 3084 3540
There will be two sitting periods of 30 mins each with 10 mins break in between periods. You may join the Zoom meeting at 7:25-7:30 PM or 8:00-8:10 PM. If you are new, please arrive 10-15 minutes early for brief instruction on our practice forms.
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY INITIATIVE / Unpacking Whiteness
Wednesday, 7 January 8:15-9:15 PM
Description: CZC provides safe spaces in which to share and work through sensitive topics for spiritual growth.
Please Note: This group continues to meet over Zoom on the 1st and 3rd weeks of the month. The BIPOC group is temporarily paused, we will notify you when it resumes meeting.
Join URL: SJDI / 817 4548 4299
MEDITATION INSTRUCTION FOR NEWCOMERS
Thursday, 18 December 6:45-7:25 PM*
(Next two weeks are cancelled due to Holidays. Will resume January 8th.)
This introduction to meditation is offered weekly in person for those new to Cambridge Zen Center or meditation practice. Highly recommended for new students prior to attending a practice session. Your questions will be answered and you are welcome to repeat sessions. Meditation Instruction is in person.
DHARMA TALK with introductory talk by Veronique Struis, DTIT with Zen Master Bon Yeon, Jane Dobisz answering questions.
Thursday, December 18 7:30 PM
Join URL: Dharma Talk / Meeting ID 876 2455 3876
Zen Master Bon Yeon (Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz) is our Guiding Teacher at Cambridge Zen Center since 1993. She received inka (authorization to teach) in 1991, and transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn to become a Zen Master in 2000. Before training in the Kwan Um School of Zen, she spent several years in the Tibetan and the Vipassana traditions. Zen Master Bon Yeon has completed and led many Kyol Che 90 day retreats in the US, Europe, and Korea, and taught around the world. She is an editor of The Whole World Is A Single Flower, a collection of kong-ans by Zen Master Seung Sahn. She is also the author of One Hundred Days of Solitude: Losing Myself and Finding Grace on a Zen Retreat, which chronicles a one hundred-day solo meditation retreat in the winter woods of New England. She is a native of Rhode Island and lives in the Boston Area. She is married and has two grown children.
Veronique Struis is a Dharma Teacher in Training in the Kwan Um School of Zen. She began her practice at Cambridge Zen Center and was a resident twelve years ago. She returned to the Netherlands, her home country, and continued her practice with Kwan Um Zen Online. She has volunteered with the European Sangha since 2018 and was the European Director from 2021-2024. She lives with her family in the Boston suburbs.
CZC HAT MAKING NIGHT
FRIDAY 19 DECEMBER 8:30-10 PM
We will be knitting / crocheting hats to donate to Food Not Bombs, an organization that distributes food, clothing and hygiene items to those in need. Yarn and some needles will be provided, but please feel free to bring your own as well. No experience is needed as there will be some instruction for how to knit and crochet. We welcome knitters, crocheters, quilters & more!
All skill levels are welcome. For more information email: jtbarnes820@gmail.com
CZC SPREAD LOVE
SATURDAY 20 DECEMBER 1-3 PM. JAMES CRONIN PARK
Join us on Sat 12/20 from 1 - 3p at James Cronin park to distribute food, clothing, and hygiene products with Boston Food Not Bombs. Here's a website for more information about this organization: https://sites.google.com/view/bostonfoodnotbombs/about/faq?authuser=0
SUNDAY LONG SITTING & CONSULTING INTERVIEWS with Senior Dharma Teacher Lori DiSabato.
Sunday, 21 December 9:00-11:30 AM
Join Zoom URL: Sun Long Sitting / Meeting ID 816 7973 3521
Note: There will be two sitting periods of 30 mins each with 10 mins break in between periods. You may join the Zoom meeting at 9:00 AM or 9:30-9:40 AM. If new, please arrive 10-15 minutes early for brief instruction on our practice forms. Join us for refreshments after the siting.
YOUNG ZEN SUNDAY 21 DECEMBER
Sundays 12:30 - 1:30 PM
Description: Come to the center to begin or deepen your meditation practice in community with other students and young adults. Each session includes sitting and walking meditation, a check-in, and a short talk or reading about how to integrate Zen practice into everyday life. You are also welcome to join our PM Zen Meditation Practice (see below). If you are new, please arrive 10-15 minutes early for brief instruction on our practice forms.
Regular Practice
Daily Sitting & Chanting
AM ZEN MEDITATION PRACTICE
Bows 5:45 AM daily except Sunday
Chanting 6:10 AM daily except Tuesday and Sunday
Sitting 6:35 AM daily except on Tuesday and Sunday
Description: AM Meditation Practice in person consists of bows and the Morning Bell Chant followed by the Heart Sutra in English. There is a 30-minute period of sitting.
MID DAY ZEN MEDITATION PRACTICE
Sitting 12:30 PM on Tuesday and Thursday for 30 minutes. There is no need to register, just ring the door bell for entrance 10 minutes beforehand.
PM ZEN MEDITATION PRACTICE
Special chanting 6:30 PM daily
Regular chanting 7:00 PM daily
Sitting 7:30 PM daily except on Thursday*
Description: PM Meditation Practice consists of a 35-minute period of sitting followed by a short reading concluding at 8:10 PM. Note: *On Tuesday evenings, join us for two sitting periods with interviews from 7:30 PM - 8:40PM. You may join the Tuesday Zoom Meditation Practice / Meeting ID 85830843540 Please join the meeting on time.
Upcoming & Ongoing
Events / News
Protect The Jewel We are so grateful for your support in keeping our doors open for 50 years! Please help us continue to serve the needs of the community for a long time to come by using any of the following ways to donate: click on the “Protect the Jewel” for GoFundMe; find Venmo@cambridgezencenter under “Czc Zen”; a new plate for credit card donations is near the wood stove, and a donation box is located in the Reception Room for cash or mail us a check to Cambridge Zen Center. We are a 501(c)(3) organization and our Tax ID is listed at the bottom of this page.
CZC Residency: If you have wanted to live in a practicing community, for either short or long-term, your opportunity awaits! Check out our residential requirements and for more information contact abbot@cambridgezen.org. Applications can be submitted online.
Membership is the most effective way to help the Cambridge Zen Center and receive discounts. When you join as a member, you also join the Kwan Um School of Zen, a worldwide community. Become a member today by completing this https://americas.kwa
Online Sangha Events are also available at any sister sangha in the Kwan Um School of Zen Americas. See other opportunities in Europe and Asia, plus another calendar of KUOS events with schedules for online retreats and practice opportunities.
Composting Our Karma; Turning Confusion into Lessons for Awakening Our Innate Wisdom. A new book by our School Zen Master, Barbara Rhodes, Zen Master Soeng Hyang is out and is available for purchase at Shambhalla Publishers, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, at the CZC Book Store and at Providence Zen Center.
KWan UM WorldwidE
Events at Sister Sanghas