Winter Practice Period 2023

From March 1st - 21st, 2023, Shao Shan Temple

was immersed in a Winter Practice Period. 

The Practice Period was designed to provide an opportunity for sangha members to make a individual commitment to intensive practice during these three weeks. There were opportunities for extended sitting,  experiencing the new chant, additional in-person & online practice times, a full weekend sesshin and Dharma talks by visiting teachers.

The theme for the Practice Period was the “Affirming Faith in Mind” (HsinHsinMing), an early Chinese poem which is a core Zen text in both the Soto and Rinzai traditions. The Dharma Talks all focused on this text and it was chanted in several programs each week. 

Sangha members expressed that this intensive time was rejuvenating for their practice. 

Rev.Shinshu from Ocean Gate Zen Center (Online Dharma Talk - 3/7/23)

Rev. Jisho Siebert of Zen Fields (Online Dharma Talk - 3/14/23)

Rev. Gendo Field of Upper Valley Zen Center (In-person Dharma Talk - 3/18/23)

The Winter Practice Period ended with a Spring Equinox Ceremony on March 21st

Celebrating Snow - March family program

For March's Family Program, the children celebrated the snow and the animals that live over and under it. We began by sharing our names and some things we'd been noticing in nature, such as the lengthening of the days, chickadees changing from winter to spring songs, melting snow, bumpy roads, and leaves still hanging on the beech trees. We then explored various animals and their movements in the snow. We used magnifying glasses to identify some tracks on top of the snow (fox perhaps?), slid on our bellies like otters, and dug tunnels and burrows in the snow banks. We then entered our burrows and sat quietly, listening as the beech leaves rustled and the woodpeckers pecked. We read the book Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner during snack, before joining the adults in the Temple for a breath meditation and closing.