Two Arrows Zen - Interfaith Event
Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend and interfaith event sponsored by the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable at a local Zendo (meditation hall) near downtown Salt Lake City called Two Arrows Zen.
Background on Zen Buddhism
Zen is a school of thought within the Mahayana Buddhist tradition which emphasizes the value of meditation and intuition. Buddhism itself arose from the teachings of Siddartha Gautama ("the Buddha"), the son of an elected statesman in India thought to have lived around the 6th century to 4th century BCE.
While there are many different forms of Buddhism with varying beliefs regarding deities, Buddhism in its Western form is largely more of a philosophy or practice-based rather than established religious dogma. Thus, the practices of Buddhism can be followed while maintaining beliefs in other religions. Buddhism, at least in its Western form, is deeply rooted in psychology. What makes Buddhism "true" is not based on the accuracy of historical narratives around the Buddha but whether the practice adds value to one's daily life. The same could also be argued within contemplative forms of each of the other major world religious traditions of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
The core of Buddhist teaching revolves around the Four Noble Truths: in short, 1) that the human condition contains "duhkha" - roughly translated as suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness or stress, 2) dukkha has a cause - largely desire, aversion or delusion, 3) there is a way to relieve duhkha, and 4) the way to relieve duhkha is through the Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, intentions, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration.
One of the main focuses of Buddhist practice is meditation, which is seen as a means of freeing the mind by focusing entirely on the present moment. Often, this is accomplished by focusing deeply on the sensations associated with breathing - the cool air entering the nostrils, the expansion and retraction of the chest and abdomen. As distracting thoughts arise, one is to observe the thoughts and let them go and refocus on the object of their meditation (e.g. breath sensations).
My experience at Two Arrows Zen
The Two Arrows Zendo in Salt Lake presumably gets its name from a famous parable attributed to the Buddha, summarized as follows:
The Buddha once asked a student, “If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?” The student replied , “It is.” The Buddha then asked, “If the person is struck by a second arrow, is that even more painful?” The student replied again, “It is.” The Buddha then explained, “In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. And with this second arrow comes the possibility of choice.”
A couple weeks ago, my wife was looking at the events scheduled for "interfaith season" by the Salt Lake City Interfaith Roundtable. I have been interested in exploring the wisdom in other traditions and recently have had an interest in Buddhism. So she pointed out this event to me which I found intriguing.
Two Arrows Zen is located within the "Artspace" building near downtown Salt Lake City. I was a bit confused as to where to go at first as there are no signs, but seeing my confusion and the confusion of others around me, a kind lady in front of the building asked if we were there for the interfaith event and directed us down a long, non-descript narrow hallway toward the meditation hall. We were offered coffee or tea, and directed to a small seating area. One of the leaders of the Zendo, Diana Hamilton, gifted each individual a copy of her book, The Zen of You and Me. There were probably about 15 individuals in attendance from a somewhat diverse background. A few were from the interfaith roundtable (a couple Episcopalian, one Latter-day Saint, a local Hindu leader, and a couple Muslim women). A few more were attending as part of their world religions class at the University of Utah. And a few more like me who were attending just because the event sounded intriguing.
The Two Arrows Zendo is led by Michael Zimmerman and Diane Hamilton, who also led the interfaith presentation Thursday night. To use their words, they are "transmitted" Zen Buddhist teachers (certified teachers having been taught by another Zen Master). In their Zen teacher roles, they have assumed the names of Mugaku Roshi and Musho Roshi.
Both shared a bit of their personal background and how they found Buddhist practice, which I found fascinating. I love hearing people's stories.
Michael Zimmerman was a prominent attorney and justice of the Utah Supreme Court for 16 years starting in 1984 as the successor to Dallen Oaks. Around 1993, he described that his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He described himself as having a difficult time coping with the impending reality of her absence and being left to raise his young girls by himself, and he did not find much solace the mythology of his Christian background. Ultimately, he found solace in beginning a practice of meditation - arising early in the morning and sitting on his front porch as the sun rose. His wife passed away in 1994. Shortly thereafter, he met Diane Hamilton, a co-worker in the Utah courts, who later referred him to a local Zen center. Around 1998, Zimmerman stepped down as the Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court and with Hamilton began study with Genpo Merzel Roshi. The two were married by Genpo Merzel in 1998 and were ordained as Zen monks together in 2003.
Diane Hamilton also shared her experience. She was raised in Utah in the LDS faith. At around the age of 17, several of her friends died within a short period due to accidents or suicide, which caused her to do deep soul searching. Similar to Zimmerman, she did not find much solace in the religious tradition of her childhood. She was introduced to Buddhist meditation and in 1983 began her studies at Naropa University under the teaching of the university's founder, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher named Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche. As noted above, she later studied under Zen master Genpo Merzel and became known as Musho Roshi and married Michael Mugaku Zimmerman Roshi. The two founded the Two Arrows Zendo in Salt Lake City in 2011.
After sharing their experiences, they asked each of us to briefly introduce ourselves and explained some of the basic narrative around the Buddha and Buddhist practice. They described Buddhism as compatible with all other worldviews. The foundation of Zen Buddhism is meditation practice, which can certainly work in harmony with various religious beliefs and practices.
Next, Diane dismissed herself as she had an early morning meditation session she was leading Friday morning, and Mugaku Roshi (Michael Zimmerman) led the group through a guided body-scan meditation for probably about 15 minutes. In the last few months, I have personally started meditating each morning and have found a great sense of peace from this practice (which is usually then interrupted from the chaos of getting four young children ready for the day). My own meditation consist of sitting cross-legged, usually with light meditative music from an app on my phone called Insight Timer.
This, however, was my first experience in a group meditation and was also different than most of my own meditation as it was guided by an instructor. I felt a profound sense of peace during the experience and a feeling of connectedness to those around me. Mugaku described it as a "softening" of the mind or a softening of your own boundaries - which I thought was a fitting description. For brief moments, I was able to be entirely focused on the present moment without the worries of the past or future. I was able to observe thoughts as they arose with a sense of curiosity and then let the thoughts go and re-focus on the sensations of breathing.
After the meditation, he briefly answered a few questions and concluded the event. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to gain additional insight into meditation practices of Zen Buddhism. Perhaps when I have a free Sunday morning I may visit them for their weekly meetings.
Background on Zen Buddhism
Zen is a school of thought within the Mahayana Buddhist tradition which emphasizes the value of meditation and intuition. Buddhism itself arose from the teachings of Siddartha Gautama ("the Buddha"), the son of an elected statesman in India thought to have lived around the 6th century to 4th century BCE.
While there are many different forms of Buddhism with varying beliefs regarding deities, Buddhism in its Western form is largely more of a philosophy or practice-based rather than established religious dogma. Thus, the practices of Buddhism can be followed while maintaining beliefs in other religions. Buddhism, at least in its Western form, is deeply rooted in psychology. What makes Buddhism "true" is not based on the accuracy of historical narratives around the Buddha but whether the practice adds value to one's daily life. The same could also be argued within contemplative forms of each of the other major world religious traditions of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
The core of Buddhist teaching revolves around the Four Noble Truths: in short, 1) that the human condition contains "duhkha" - roughly translated as suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness or stress, 2) dukkha has a cause - largely desire, aversion or delusion, 3) there is a way to relieve duhkha, and 4) the way to relieve duhkha is through the Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, intentions, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration.
One of the main focuses of Buddhist practice is meditation, which is seen as a means of freeing the mind by focusing entirely on the present moment. Often, this is accomplished by focusing deeply on the sensations associated with breathing - the cool air entering the nostrils, the expansion and retraction of the chest and abdomen. As distracting thoughts arise, one is to observe the thoughts and let them go and refocus on the object of their meditation (e.g. breath sensations).
My experience at Two Arrows Zen
The Two Arrows Zendo in Salt Lake presumably gets its name from a famous parable attributed to the Buddha, summarized as follows:
The Buddha once asked a student, “If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?” The student replied , “It is.” The Buddha then asked, “If the person is struck by a second arrow, is that even more painful?” The student replied again, “It is.” The Buddha then explained, “In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. And with this second arrow comes the possibility of choice.”
A couple weeks ago, my wife was looking at the events scheduled for "interfaith season" by the Salt Lake City Interfaith Roundtable. I have been interested in exploring the wisdom in other traditions and recently have had an interest in Buddhism. So she pointed out this event to me which I found intriguing.
Two Arrows Zen is located within the "Artspace" building near downtown Salt Lake City. I was a bit confused as to where to go at first as there are no signs, but seeing my confusion and the confusion of others around me, a kind lady in front of the building asked if we were there for the interfaith event and directed us down a long, non-descript narrow hallway toward the meditation hall. We were offered coffee or tea, and directed to a small seating area. One of the leaders of the Zendo, Diana Hamilton, gifted each individual a copy of her book, The Zen of You and Me. There were probably about 15 individuals in attendance from a somewhat diverse background. A few were from the interfaith roundtable (a couple Episcopalian, one Latter-day Saint, a local Hindu leader, and a couple Muslim women). A few more were attending as part of their world religions class at the University of Utah. And a few more like me who were attending just because the event sounded intriguing.
The Two Arrows Zendo is led by Michael Zimmerman and Diane Hamilton, who also led the interfaith presentation Thursday night. To use their words, they are "transmitted" Zen Buddhist teachers (certified teachers having been taught by another Zen Master). In their Zen teacher roles, they have assumed the names of Mugaku Roshi and Musho Roshi.
Both shared a bit of their personal background and how they found Buddhist practice, which I found fascinating. I love hearing people's stories.
Michael Zimmerman was a prominent attorney and justice of the Utah Supreme Court for 16 years starting in 1984 as the successor to Dallen Oaks. Around 1993, he described that his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He described himself as having a difficult time coping with the impending reality of her absence and being left to raise his young girls by himself, and he did not find much solace the mythology of his Christian background. Ultimately, he found solace in beginning a practice of meditation - arising early in the morning and sitting on his front porch as the sun rose. His wife passed away in 1994. Shortly thereafter, he met Diane Hamilton, a co-worker in the Utah courts, who later referred him to a local Zen center. Around 1998, Zimmerman stepped down as the Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court and with Hamilton began study with Genpo Merzel Roshi. The two were married by Genpo Merzel in 1998 and were ordained as Zen monks together in 2003.
Diane Hamilton also shared her experience. She was raised in Utah in the LDS faith. At around the age of 17, several of her friends died within a short period due to accidents or suicide, which caused her to do deep soul searching. Similar to Zimmerman, she did not find much solace in the religious tradition of her childhood. She was introduced to Buddhist meditation and in 1983 began her studies at Naropa University under the teaching of the university's founder, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher named Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche. As noted above, she later studied under Zen master Genpo Merzel and became known as Musho Roshi and married Michael Mugaku Zimmerman Roshi. The two founded the Two Arrows Zendo in Salt Lake City in 2011.
After sharing their experiences, they asked each of us to briefly introduce ourselves and explained some of the basic narrative around the Buddha and Buddhist practice. They described Buddhism as compatible with all other worldviews. The foundation of Zen Buddhism is meditation practice, which can certainly work in harmony with various religious beliefs and practices.
Next, Diane dismissed herself as she had an early morning meditation session she was leading Friday morning, and Mugaku Roshi (Michael Zimmerman) led the group through a guided body-scan meditation for probably about 15 minutes. In the last few months, I have personally started meditating each morning and have found a great sense of peace from this practice (which is usually then interrupted from the chaos of getting four young children ready for the day). My own meditation consist of sitting cross-legged, usually with light meditative music from an app on my phone called Insight Timer.
This, however, was my first experience in a group meditation and was also different than most of my own meditation as it was guided by an instructor. I felt a profound sense of peace during the experience and a feeling of connectedness to those around me. Mugaku described it as a "softening" of the mind or a softening of your own boundaries - which I thought was a fitting description. For brief moments, I was able to be entirely focused on the present moment without the worries of the past or future. I was able to observe thoughts as they arose with a sense of curiosity and then let the thoughts go and re-focus on the sensations of breathing.
After the meditation, he briefly answered a few questions and concluded the event. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to gain additional insight into meditation practices of Zen Buddhism. Perhaps when I have a free Sunday morning I may visit them for their weekly meetings.
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