All events in Eastern Standard Time
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 6:30am Morning Zazen – 40 minute period of zazen followed by a short service. In person and online see www.allbeingszen.org home page to sign in
July Full Moon Ceremony follows Thursday evening practice on July 10, 2025. 7:00pm
Thursday July 10, 2025 7- 8:15pm Evening Zazen – Evening Service with one period of Zazen and one interval of 5 minute kinhin (slow walking) followed be a Full Moon Service We will close with Chanting the Refuges . In person and online – visit www.allbeingszen.org home page to sign in.
***ABZS Affinity Groups ***
Sundays 5-6pm Healing Circle – every Sunday Note the activity is canceled for Sunday June 29, 2025. Contact Shinren markstone1924@gmail.com Online only
Tuesdays – 1st and 3rd monthly 6-7pm Baikaryu Eisanka – Japanese Plum Blossom Style Hymns with bells. in person only – The current song we are learning is “Magokoro ni Ikiru” which means “Living with a Sincere Heart” Contact Zen’etsu @ zenjoyclay@gmail.com for more information. In person only
Monthly Dharma Book Club – contact Shoku @ cristinamariabenavides@gmail.com Online only.
July 14,2025 6pm — Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles
Born in Fukushima in 1933, the same year as the Emperor, Kazu’s life is tied by a series of coincidences to Japan’s Imperial family and to one particular spot in Tokyo; the park near Ueno Station – the same place his unquiet spirit now haunts in death. It is here that Kazu’s life in Tokyo began, as a labourer in the run up to the 1964 Olympics, and later where he ended his days, living in the park’s vast homeless ‘villages’, traumatised by the destruction of the 2011 tsunami and enraged by the announcement of the 2020 Olympics. Akutagawa-award-winning author Yū Miri uses her outsider’s perspective as a Zainichi (Korean-Japanese) writer to craft a novel of utmost importance to this moment, a powerful rebuke to the Imperial system and a sensitive, deeply felt depiction of the lives of Japan’s most vulnerable people.
DATE TBD — The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson **please note this is a fairly complex book which is why we are taking two months for it.
The Years of Rice and Salt is an Alternate History novel by writer Kim Stanley Robinson. The story spans hundreds of years, from the army of the Muslim conqueror Timur to the 21st century. The novel depicts world history in an alternate timeline where the Black Plague epidemic that ravaged Europe in the 14th century was even more destructive, killing 90% of the European population. The story includes Europe being re-populated by Muslim pioneers, the indigenous peoples of the Americas forming a league to resist Chinese and Muslim invaders, and a 67-year-long world war being fought primarily between Muslim states and the Chinese and their allies
2025 – this week
Ongoing Zen Sewing Class First and Third Thursdays and Sunday- 10am to noon – urban zendo In person only. Next class Sunday July 17 rsvp to inryu@allbeingszen.org
June 25-29, 2025 – ABZS Visit to Green Gulch Farm/Green Dragon Temple Daily work practice and Dharma study activities. Registration details: $90/night for private room. Here is the booking link for sangha week at GGF.
Here is additional information about Sangha week.
July 19 2025 – BORN I (Ofosu Jones-Quartey) Album and Book Release Concert – Come support our fellow-Sangha brother for a special release concert celebrating his new album, Komorebi, and his new book, Lyrical Dharma: Hip-Hop as Mindfulness.
Komorebi is a soulful, meditative fusion of hip-hop and mindfulness that explores healing, awakening, and inner strength. Named after the Japanese word meaning “sunlight filtering through the trees,” the album invites listeners into a space of reflection, presence, and transformation. With poetic lyricism, Zen-infused storytelling, and powerful personal truths, Komorebi is more than an album—it’s a sonic dharma talk for the modern soul.
Location: Arts Barn in Gaithersburg Maryland
Link for concert tickets here: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36017/performance/11654735?performanceId=11654735
August Saturday 2nd – Wednesday 5th, 2025 – 5 day Summer Zen Retreat – Woodburn Hill, MD – Join All Beings Zen Sangha members for a five day retreat at our un-urban practice place in Southern Maryland, Woodburn Hill Farm. Meals will be vegan and served Oryoki style. In-person only. Suggested donation $50-$70 per night. Volunteers needed for: Tenzo, Work Practice Leader and Kokyo. Please contact inryu@allbeingszen.org to register/and volunteer to help.
Below is a photograph of sangha members walking Kinhin in the Woodburn Hill Farm Kitchen Garden at a previous retreat. Woodburn Hill Farm is approx 50 miles from the center of Washington DC. It may be possible to carpool. Please advise if you need or wish to ride with someone to the farm for the retreat.
September 15-18, 2025 – Suzuki Roshi Branching Streams Conference, Loyola University’s Retreat and Ecology Center, Woodstock, IL. More details to follow
October 23-26, 2025 – Annual U.S. Soto Zen Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii
Interested in attending? Please visit www.sotomission.com or www.sotomission.org to sign up for updates. Or register your interest by filling out this form
