Editor's Note: As you may have heard, the New York Zen Center is moving! On November 30th, we'll begin a new chapter in our new home at 330 7th Avenue, Suite 1801, just 5 blocks north of our current zendo (the in-progress space pictured above).

Koshin Sensei and Chodo Sensei will be away for much of November, so we have a wonderful lineup of guest teachers and community events ahead, including a procession from our old zendo to the new one. And as we prepare for this next chapter, we invite you to help us settle into our new home by supporting our “A Thousand Hands” year-end fundraising campaign.

And now, a fitting reflection from Koshin Sensei on what it means to sustain our practice and care for one another through times of change...

What happens to our practice when no one is watching? When the teacher leaves the room, does our practice deepen or disappear?

As the New York Zen Center prepares to move into its new home, Koshin sensei reflects on what it means to belong to a sangha, and the responsibility each of us carries to keep the Dharma alive.

Drawing on the Buddha's final teachings to Ananda, Dogen's writings on continuous practice, and his own experiences as both student and teacher, Koshin explores the difference between relying on our teachers for guidance and depending on them to carry our practice for us.

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‍MUSIC

‍Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.