Meditation in Liverpool
The Liverpool Zen Group meets for zazen – literally, 'sitting meditation' – regularly at our centre in Blackburne Terrace (except Wednesdays, which are at The Dojo on Hope Street), and we always welcome practitioners old and new. If you're coming for the first time, please see the Beginners section for details on our Wednesday night introductions.
Weekly schedule
| Monday evening* | 6.45 for 7.00pm; Two 25-minute periods, usually followed by a short 'Big Mind' session (more info below). |
| Tuesday morning | 6.50 for 7.00am; Two 30-minute periods, to finish by 8.05am. |
| Wednesday evening | 6.45 for 7.00pm; Two 30-minute periods, then weekly service. Service** followed by tea and "dharma talk" (teaching) by Dave Scott. Note: Wednesday evening sessions are held at the larger space at The Dojo on Hope Street - see the Find Us section for details. |
| Thursday morning | 6.50 for 7.00am; Two 30-minute periods, to finish by 8.05am. |
| Friday morning | 6.50 for 7.00am; Two 30-minute periods, to finish by 8.05am. |
* Note: Some weeks the schedule will vary to make room for one-off events or courses – these changes will be listed in the 'Events' section of this site.
** Service Sheets: You can get copies of the LZG service sheet in the Downloads section of the site.
Suggested donation for any single period is £3.00 - just place this in the dana box on the table by the door. If you are going to be attending regularly, please consider making a regular monthly contribution of £20.00 (or more) by direct debit, as this makes dealing with the finances of the group much easier (forms can be picked up at the centre).
No-one will be turned away because of lack of funds!
Location
All morning sittings, Monday evening sittings and most occasional events are held at our centre at:
1 Blackburne TerraceBlackburne Place
Liverpool L8 7PE (see map)
Wednesday evening sittings are held at the larger space at The Dojo (the same premises where we used to have all our meetings):
The DojoTop Floor, The Annex
13 Hope Street
Liverpool L1 9BQ (see map)
Please note that neither venue is accessible for wheelchair users.
'Formal' Sittings
From 2007, the first Wednesday evening sitting of each month will be a 'formal' sitting. For those who have robes, you are asked to wear them on these evenings. For those without robes, please try to ensure that you are wearing dark clothing. Apart from one addition in the service (the offering of incense during the recitation of the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo chant), there are no other changes from the usual sittings, and the fact that no beginners' sessios will be held on these dates.
The remaining 'formal' dates for 2007 are: 3 October, 7 November and 5 December.
Big Mind
Genpo Roshi, leader of the White Plum Sangha of which the Liverpool Zen Group is a part, has developed a technique he calls "Big Mind", which involves combining the psychotherapeutic technique of giving voice to our 'subpersonalities' or 'inner voices' with a Zen Buddhist perspective on the absolute and relative. Most Mondays in the final period of zazen, Dave Scott Hoshi, who has been authorised to lead Big Mind groups by Genpo Roshi, leads a short Big Mind session. While this may seem a little daunting to beginners, the technique itself is very simple (Dave will give instructions) and even short sessions can prove worthwhile.
If you really don't wish to participate, this is fine – we'd ask that you just sit quietly until the end of the session when we chant the Four Vows as is traditional at the end of sitting. You can find more infomation from our Big Mind section, or from Genpo Roshi's own Big Mind website.
