Online Meditation

If you can’t come to the zendo because you live too far away, or you have work or family commitments, or you are restricted in your ability to travel, we have a solution for you.

Meditation is available online via Zoom every Tuesday morning (6.55am – 7.30am) and Thursday evening (6.50pm – 8.30pm) as well as one retreat a year that runs concurrently in the zendo and online – Winter sesshin. All you need to do is to set up a quiet place in your home with access to your computer. You can even have a small altar with a candle, some flowers and/or other special objects and it’s important to make sure your cushion or seat that lets you sit upright and is comfortable for your legs and back.

If you are a newcomer, please contact one of our online teachers – Jane Andino – for some simple instructions before you before you sit with us.

Here is the Zoom link

Peter Bursky and Jane Andino are offering a new series on Thursday evenings on the writings and talks of Joko Beck, starting Thursday 16th October. Each week we will look at a chapter from Joko’s book ‘Now Zen’ as an opportunity to share and discuss our responses.
You can find a link to the chapter for each week in the ‘What’s On’ email. Please read the chapter (usually 2-3 pages) before our meeting begins.


There is a cost of $5 per zazen online session. You can make a bank transfer via PayID using our email:  info@szc.org.au. Please include your last name and the tag “FF” in the description line.

Online Membership:
And if you’ve been sitting with us for a while and would like to become a SZC member we have a special Online Membership of $150 annually (paid July 1) or $75 bi-annually (paid July 1 & January 1). The benefits are zazen on Thursday evenings with a discussion; wake up and sit with the sangha on Tuesday mornings; and access to and engagement in an online retreat – Winter – at membership rates. And you’ll also receive a digital version of our magazine ‘Mind Moon Circle‘. If you’re keen to become a SZC online member please fill out the  ‘online membership’ section of the membership form.

If you wish to engage in interviews with our teachers (dokusan), or want to sit with us on Monday or Wednesday evenings or sesshins at our zendo at Annandale, or attend sesshins at Kodoji, you are required to join as a full member (either Standard or Concessional fee – according to your financial circumstances). Our Standard membership fee is $575 and the Concession membership fee is $315 per year which covers all our meditation sessions, zazenkais, ceremonies, and a discounted fee for retreats.

If you’re looking for a way to connect with a group of like minded people and learn about the Dharma, book in for an online orientation today.

Contact: Jane Andino

 

Peter Bursky began serious meditation practice in 2007. His initial dive into the Insight and Tibetan traditions was followed with the intention to become a Buddhist monk, and he soon found himself wandering from monastery to monastery throughout Vietnam, Thailand and India. Upon discovering Dogen 'Mountains and Waters Sutra' and Robert Aitken's 'Taking the Path of Zen' in a far away library in India, he soon found himself back in Australia looking up the Sydney Zen Centre, a place that finally felt like home. Beginning koan practice in 2010 with Subhana Barzaghi Rōshi, he has since studied primarily with Subhana Barzaghi Rōshi and Allan Marett Rōshi. He was invited to become an apprentice teacher in 2019. He is also a musician, has a degree in music, runs a record label and is a student in the Ueda Sōko-ryū tradition of Chanoyu (Japanese Tea Ceremony). He lives amongst the mountains and rivers of the Hawkesbury river with his wife, two boys, two dogs and four lazy chickens.

Jane began Zen practice in 2006 and took up koan study with her teacher Paul Maloney. She has attended sesshin led by SZC teachers, Allan Marett and Jeff Shore. In 2011 Paul Maloney was invited to be teacher for the Blue Mountains Zen sangha, and since then Jane has been co-ordinator for the group. She has given dharma talks for the Blue Mountains group, and for the SZC in Annandale and online. In 2018 Jane was invited to become an apprentice teacher, and in 2022 she received Dharma transmission from Paul Maloney. Jane has a BA(Asian Studies) from A.N.U., but has devoted her working life to music as a pianist and composer in both Latin-American and Classical styles.