More info on Tree Leaf Zen

I received this additional info by email:

I have made a personal vow to sit Zazen online, every day (rain of shine) for the next 9 years. It is and will be netcast from wherever life takes me, on happy days and sad, no difference. So far, we have people sitting along with me in the US, UK, various places in Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. They all share in common the fact that they cannot easily commute to a Zen Center. Some have serious health concerns, some are elderly and do not drive, some live in remote areas, or just have to stay home to take care of their kids or other family members. Each has been cut off from participation in a Sangha on a regular basis. Now, by 'tuning in' to our 'Daily Zazen' broadcast, they can join in a Soto Zen sitting and Sangha.

The broadcast is very simple: We chat online for the first 5 minutes about Zen practice and life in general, laugh and cry together. People send me emails, and I respond to them as best I can. After those first few minutes, we sit Zazen. A bell rings, there is 20 or so minutes of silence, then the bell rings again. At that point, the sitting is over until we sit again the next day. The program is meant to be participatory: After the 5 minute chat, the viewers and I are meant to actually sit together ... all without thought of 'near' or 'far'.

I am a Soto priest in the line of Gudo Wafu Nishijima, and I live and teach in Ibaraki, Japan. (If it is important, I am a member of both the American Zen Teachers Association: http://americanzenteachers.org and the Soto Zen Buddhist Association: http://www.szba.org/ The only reason I mention that is because those organizations are attempting to uphold basic standards for Zen practice and teaching in the West). I like to describe myself as "Brad Warner's nice-but-less-exciting older brother"). I also will soon start live broadcasts of Sesshin and the like, that people can join in from home.

Please have a look at our daily broadcast. The one I recommend especially is:

Meditating with Kids (& other 'Distractions')

http://treeleafzen.blogspot.com/