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Special EventsPoetry Circle at Clear Mountain Clear Mountain Zendo occasionally holds poetry sessions at our zendo at 7 Oak Place, Montclair NJ. These sessions are a time for poetry lovers involved with Zen (or just involved with life), to gather, share favorite poems or other bits of wisdom, and just ponder our being, within the congenial space where the Clear Mountain sangha sits each week. We recently held two Poetry Circle gatherings, on Sunday March 8th and February 9th, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
A friend of our sangha has gathered a group of poems that were shared during a 2019 Poetry Circle, and printed them into an attractive booklet, which he made available at the most recent Circle. You can view and download the digital version of this booklet HERE. Sensei Carl Genjo Bachmann's New Book
Sensei Carl Genjo Bachmann of Clear Mountain Zendo, together with long-term friend and associate Alan Gettis, PhD, are about to publish their first co-authored book entitled "Embracing Life as It Is: Lessons From Wabi-Sabi, Haiku, and Zen". This book combines haiku poetry, striking imagery of otherwise ordinary subjects, and Zen wisdom, so as to convey important lessons regarding selflessness, acceptance, non-discrimination, compassion, and self-compassion. The book was released on Thursday November 15, and is available on Amazon. CLICK HERE FOR LINK Clear Mountain / NCJW Food Drive, Period Project
Clear Mountain Zendo partnered with the National Council of Jewish Women of Essex (NCJW/Essex) in holding a November food drive to support the "Empty Bowls No More" anti-hunger initiative. Gail Sample of NCJW/Essex thanks everyone from Clear Mountain who donated food items for the Thanksgiving food drive or feminine hygiene products for their Period Project. CLEAR MOUNTAIN ZEN CENTER, Current Location On January 15, 2017, after approximately 10 years at a storefront location on Lackawanna Plaza in Montclair, Clear Mountain Zendo moved to its present location, which is at 7 Oak Place in Montclair. We are located in an office suite on the ground floor of "The Mill at Walnut Street" professional center, a former knitting mill that was converted to office space. This building is near the NJ Transit Walnut Street train station on the Montclair-Boonton Line (it is on the same side that the restaurant / former train station is located, just a few hundred yards to the north; for long-term Montclarians, "it's near the former State inspection station"). The building has several entrances; our zendo can only be accessed via the 7 Oak Place doorway, which is in the northwest quadrant of the building, facing away from the railroad line and closest to Oak Place. There will be adequate off-street parking available at the center for our members during non-business hours, i.e. on weekends. On week days, our members may only park in the lot before 9 am and after 6 pm, which is when most of our weekday activities take place. Iyengar Yoga at Oakside Cultural Center Various members of our sangha have established practices in other traditions that are related to Zen, including yoga. One such member, Elizabeth Pagan, is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher who offers weekly classes at the Oakeside Cultural Center in Bloomfield, NJ. Iyengar emphasizes precise, careful body alignment, maximum spinal extension and balanced development of muscular flexibility, strength and stamina. Elizabeth's classes are held on Monday evenings between 7:30 and 8:45 pm. For more information and costs, please see the website announcement at oakeside.org/programs/. Elizabeth can also be contacted at lizpagan@verizon.net. For more on the Iyengar yoga tradition, see iyanus.org. Thursday Evening ONE LOVE SANGHA, 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM In September of 2018, a new meditation group will begin using the Clear Mountain Zen Center, usually once a month, from 7:30 to 9 PM. From December 2018 on, the group will meet and sit on the third Thursday of each month. In September, the first meeting for the group will be held on Thursday, Sept. 6 from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. There won't be any meetings in October, but there will be two meetings in November: Thursday, Nov. 1 and Thursday, Nov. 15, from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. Thereafter, meetings will be held on the third Thursday of the month, starting on December 20 from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. There may be occasional changes to this schedule, please consult the ONE LOVE SANGHA Facebook page for further information.
Friday Morning Meditation Group, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM The SpiritDoodle meditation group meets weekly at Clear Mountain Zen Center. This group is led by Chantel, and provides a good starting point for those who are new and unfamiliar with meditation. Meetings will be held on a weekly basis, on Friday mornings from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM. Tuesday Evening Wing Chun Training, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM The North Jersey Wing Chun Training School meets every Tuesday evening from 7 to 9PM at Clear Mountain Zendo. This training, in the Kung Fu tradition, is led by Mike. It consists of guided body movement training along with skill and strength exercises, all integrated with meditation and self-reflection. There is a weekly fee for participation. Note -- this group is not formally associated with Clear Mountain Zen Center, but shares the Zen tradition's dedication to meditative practice. For further information, contact 302-364-6855. Also see www.northjerseywingchun.com. Sensei Carl's Note Regarding "The Meaning of Life" Sensei Carl Bachmann contributed an essay on "The Meaning of Life" to Nicolae Tanase's "Excellence Reporter" web site. Here is the link to Sensei's thoughts. You can also hear Sensei's talk this past Sunday at Clear Mountain regarding life's meaning, and whether the idea of a "meaning to life" is even an important matter, at our web site using this link The Excellence Reporter is a collection of over 700 short and valuable essays on life from a wide variety of writers, thinkers, teachers, religious leaders, scientists, therapists, etc. The Clear Mountain sangha thanks Mr. Tanase for inviting our teacher to be a part of this wonderful resource to the world. For Groups Interested in Short-Term Rental Use of the Clear Mountain Zendo Space The Clear Mountain Zendo facility is available at certain times throughout the week for short-term use by other small meeting groups with similar spiritual / community-service objectives. We require a fee for each use, but are willing to negotiate the payment amount based upon the group's mission and fiscal means. Our zendo is located in an office suite in "The Mill at Walnut Street" professional building downtown Montclair. Off-street parking is available after 7pm and on Sunday. Our space consists of several smaller rooms with the main meditation hall in the center (this area is carpeted). Bathrooms are available in the office building hallway; refrigeration and food warming are not available. Several electrical outlets are available to power small-sized computer devices, recording devices or visual presentation devices. Approximately 10 folding chairs and a small folding table can be utilized (although the group can bring its own additional chairs or tables as appropriate for the space available – but storage before or after meetings would not be available). Sitting cushions are also available for meditation or floor-level group discussions.
Practice Circle for Spring, 2020 Our practice study circle continues to discuss various readings from a variety of modern women teachers. We seek to deepen our appreciation of the contributions to the dharma by women teachers through modern Buddhist literature. |
![]() Clear Mountain Zen Center 7 Oak Place Montclair, NJ 07042 ![]() ![]() PLEASE NOTE: Donations to Clear Mountain Zendo are NOT tax-deductible. | ||||
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