Author: oxbowadmin

A number of us have become more curious about the “Gate of Sweet Nectar” service.

On October 17, we’ve been invited to join our Zen cousins at the Green River Zen Center for their morning program at the at Windhorse Hill Retreat Center (595 River Rd, Deerfield, MA 01342), which includes the “cook’s version” of the Gate.

The morning includes Zazen, the celebration of the Gate, and an invitation to stay after the program for questions, reactions, discussion, etc. after 10 am.

You’re warmly invited to come along!

This fall, we’ll be reading “A Temporary Affair: Talks on Awakening and Zen” by Yoshin David Radin, based on talks given at the Ithaca Zen Center.  All are welcome to participate!

Study typically takes place on the third Sunday of the month: Sept 20, Oct 18, Nov 15, Dec 20.

On Sunday, September 13 2026, we’ll have a Sangha Meeting after the Sunday morning sit and check-in.  In part, we’d like to plan the October 4 Zazenkai with Soshin Sensei.  If you have any other agenda items we could discuss, please email them to oxbowzensangha@gmail.com a few days ahead of time.

Looking forward to connecting!

An intrepid crew of Oxbow friends spent a few hours this afternoon moving a good part of the Zendo from the upstairs “Nest” into our First Churches basement Zendo (Room 06).

Many thanks to Hongo, Linda, Meikame, and Kyokushin, and Kenko!

As of Sunday, August 9, we are sitting downstairs in Room 06 at First Churches.

Enter through the same door as before.  Use the usual doorbell, as needed.  We’ll have a greeter at the door, as before.  They will point you in the right direction 😉

In addition, there is also an accessible path for a wheelchair, using the ramp from Center Street and the elevator into the basement!  Let us know if this path would be helpful to you!

Looking forward to practicing with all of you!

The stairs to the upstairs Zendo in the “Nest” at First Churches are increasingly developing into an accessibility barrier for folks, so we are looking at alternatives, both short-term and medium-term.  Soshin and Meikame facilitated a process to help us clarify what’s important for us individually and what would serve the Sangha.

As our next step, we will be staying at First Churches, but moving downstairs to Room 06, probably starting some time in August.  Once we start sitting downstairs, you can go downstairs at the usual outside entry door and follow the hallway to the end.  Room 06 will be on your left.  As usual, we will have a greeter by the door, who can point you in the right direction.

We expect the transition downstairs will take a little time before we’re fully settled in, so thank you for working with us during this transition.

Looking forward to practicing with you!

During the Village Zendo Summer Retreat Talks and Events will be streamed on their YouTube Channel

Daily Talks at 11 am (Monday – Friday)

Saturday, August 1 at 7 pm:  Shuso Hossen

On June 14 after the Sunday morning sit, we’ll come together for shared stewardship in a Sangha Meeting. All are invited!  Meikame is coordinating an agenda, so please let her know of any topics you’d like us to discuss.

[Edit: Added details below about the space search process on Jun 7.]

Right now, we have a space that, under typical conditions, works well and meets our needs. However, we are aware that it might not work well in the future primarily because of accessibility issues and occupancy limitations due to fire codes. 

As we think about whether we want to look for another space or not, we need to clarify what is important to each one of us individually and what each of us thinks is the best for the sangha. 

The Pre-Meeting prep survey that was shared asks you to reflect on Oxbow Zen and clarify your personal perspective ahead of the sangha meeting next Sunday, June 14.  If you’d like a copy, please email us. Please bring this page with you to the meeting — or email it to Meikame and Soshin if you can’t attend.