You are invited to join this fall's meditation season. You'll notice some wonderful new changes to the way we gather as you read through the details. Please remember, we are not a group of expert meditators. We gather in the spirit of beginner's mind. Even the one who has never sat on a cushion before ~ you are most welcome and capable! Together, we are here to support you.

This fall we will study Upaya Zen Centres 16 Buddhist Precepts, also known as vows or ethics. 

A commitment to vows/ethics begins with recognizing that everything

we do makes waves. These waves begin in body, speech, and

mind, and ripple through our lives and the lives of those around

us. Although we often think of ethics as rules, choosing an ethical

way of life is also an expression of deep interconnectedness.

Fall session opens and closes with a Saturday evening practice on the 14th of September and 21st Day of December (Winter Solstice).

Between these two Saturdays, we will gather every other week on Wednesdays.  Wednesdays offer a morning and evening practice at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. These two practices in one day are provided to experience the depth of 'book-ending' our day in the support of community meditation ~ intensifying our commitment and felt experience of meditation.

Saturday Sept 14th  5 - 8 p.m. 

meditation, Three Treasures, sharing soup & breaking bread.

Wednesdays  

7-8:15 am meditation, precepts & tea

7-8:30 pm meditation, dharma study, evening chant

Sept 18 - Three Tenets

Oct 2 - Three Pure Precepts

Oct 16 - Ten Pure Mind Practices (1/2)

October 30 - Ten Pure Mind Practices (3/4)

Nov 13 - Ten Pure Mind Practices (5/6)

Nov 27 - Ten Pure Mind Practices (7/8)

Dec 11 - Ten Pure Mind Practices (9/10)

Saturday Dec 21st 5 - 8 p.m.

Sit, walk, write, Four Commitments, sharing soup & breaking bread

Location

The Domestic Monastery Home Studio

637 Kincaid Road

Kelowna BC V1W 4P5

Contact : melissaberryappleton@gmail.com

250-870-2101

*All cushions & chairs provided. You are welcome to bring personal meditation benches. 

MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY PRACTICE

ZEN IS A PATH ~  definitely not for the expert meditator or a journey to be travelled alone. Gathering in practice generates great support and commitment. 

The word “Zen” is tossed around so carelessly in the commercial world, the human potential world, the world of design, and in popular culture in general, that for someone new to it as an authentic spiritual tradition, it has become too vague to have much meaning. Real Zen is the practice of coming back to the actual right-now-in-this-moment self, coming back to the naturalness, the intimacy and simplicity of our true nature. Zen practice is not about getting away from our life as it is; it is about getting into our life as it is, with all of its vividness, beauty, hardship, joy and sorrow. Zen is a path of awakening: awakening to who we really are, and awakening the aspiration to serve others and take responsibility for all of life.

Stillwater Zen Community ~ A New Name

Have you even seen flowing water?

Have you ever seen still water?

If your mind is peaceful it will be just like still, flowing water.

Have you ever seen still, flowing water?

There! You've only ever seen flowing water and still water, haven't you?

But you've never seen still, flowing water. 

Right there, right where your thinking cannot take you, even though it's peaceful you can develop wisdom. 

Your mind will be like flowing water, and yet it's still.

It's almost as if it were still, and yet it's flowing. 

So, I call it "still, flowing water."

Wisdom can arise here.

(Ajahn Chah)

Who Are We?

We are a gathering of regular householders, neighbours, and meditation friends in Kelowna ~ both brand new and old. We have chores, jobs, family responsibilities, and pets, amidst the messiness and joy of life. Together we enliven the idea of a domestic monastery ~ walking the path of a seeker and spiritual formation through meditation and Zen Buddhism. Our commitment builds strength, courage, wisdom and action to support vulnerable aspects of our community.

We have become an Upaya Seed Sangha!

Seeds are “bundles of creation” that hold both history and the future within their firm seed coat.  When the earth warms and the seed coat breaks open, the radicle roots deep into the dark ground, followed by the shoot which extends toward the light, connecting earth and sky.

Ancestral seeds can be passed down for thousands of years. They reflect the richness of the past and the potential of the future, also hope for survival and for a future rich with possibility. This is the way of dharma, a transmission through time and space, through meeting darkness and light, through acknowledging the past and caring for the present and  future.

Thus we have given the name of  “Seed Sanghas” to and deepening communities of practice and service. These local communities are dedicated to watering seeds of care and awakening in others and ourselves and cultivating the heart and mind of the Buddha.

It is with this deep honoring and understanding that the Upaya community is supporting Seed Sanghas in many parts of the world. Seed Sanghas gather locally and in person, practice together and join together in acts of service as socially and environmentally engaged sanghas. They are grounded in the tradition of Upaya Zen Centre, Soto Zen, and follow the teachings of Roshi Joan Halifax and the spirit of Thich Nhat Hanh and Roshi Bernie Glassman.

Stillwater Guiding  Counsel

Jody Pihl

Alysha MacKenzie Feder

Melissa Berry Appleton

Optional Fall Resources

Living By Vow, Shohaku Okumura

Opening To Oneness, Nancy Mujo Baker

Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts, Reb Anderson

Zen Vows for Daily LIfe, Robert Aitken

(CHROME TEXTS WILL BE SENT OUT AFTER REGISTRATION)

Home Teacher 

Melissa Seikai Berry Appleton, received jukai lay ordination by Roshi Joan Halifax in 2018, Psychotherapist, Buddhist Chaplain, Somatic Movement Teacher (University of British Columbia Okanagan, Third Space Charity, Interior Health British Columbia)

Shared Leadership 

Jody Pihl (former lawyer and Upaya Zen Centre Chaplain in training)

Dr. Alysha Mackenzi-Feder (Interior Health B.C. paediatrician & Upaya Zen Centre GRACE student)

Visiting Teachers (Zoom Dharma Talks)

Elena Ansui Brower has taught yoga and meditation since 1999. She received Jukai from Roshi Joan Halifax in 2023 and is a chaplain candidate in Upaya’s Chaplaincy Training. Her first book, Art of Attention, has been translated into seven languages; her second, Practice You, is a bestseller.  Elena also works to elevate bright futures for girls, women and children through her support for Girls on Fire Leaders, On The Inside and Free Food Kitchen.

Matthew Kozan Palevsky Sensei, President & Guiding Teacher, Upaya Zen Centre

Sensei Matthew Kozan Palevsky entered Upaya’s mandala in 2006 to participate in a sesshin. After eight years of serving in the marketplace as a political activist and journalist, he returned to the Zen Center to join Upaya’s resident body in 2014. He was ordained as a novice priest by Roshi Joan Halifax in January, 2016, received Hoshi in early 2020, and received Dharma Transmission from Roshi Joan on September 22, 2022. He has served in various roles at Upaya, including President, Resident Director, Practice Mentor, Samu Leader, and has served in Upaya’s Nomads Clinic, which delivers health care to remote regions of the Himalayas. Kozan co-leads a number of Upaya programs and retreats each year and hosts practice interviews with residents and members of the larger sangha. He also serves on Upaya’s Board of Directors.

Before moving to Upaya, Kozan worked as a social and political activist, organizing large-scale civic engagement on issues ranging from climate change and political corruption to criminal justice reform and workers’ rights. In the spirit of engaged Buddhism, Kozan continues to serve as the Chairman of CleanChoice Energy, which delivers renewable energy to thousands of families in the United States, and as a board member of New Energy Economy, an environmental and consumer advocacy nonprofit in New Mexico. He has had the good fortune to pursue academic studies at Brown University, St. John’s College in Santa Fe, and Harvard Divinity School.

Possible Surprise Guest TBA 

THREE REFUGES 

Inviting all creations into the mandala of my practice and vowing to serve them, I take refuge in: 

Buddha, the awakened nature of all beings, 

Dharma, the ocean of wisdom and compassion, 

Sangha, the interdependence of all creations 

THE THREE TENETS and THREE PURE PRECEPTS 

Taking refuge and entering the stream of engaged practice, I vow to: 

• First, do no harm: I vow not to harm others or myself, and to live in not knowing as the source of all manifestations. 

• Second, do good: I vow to bear witness to the joys and pain of all life, and clearly see what is, without attachment or judgment. 

• Third, do good for others: I vow to invite all hungry spirits into my life, and commit my energy and love to the healing of the earth, humanity, and all beings. 

THE TEN PURE MIND PRACTICES 

Endeavoring to actualize my vows, I engage in the practices of: 

1. Recognizing that I am not separate from all that is: this is the practice of Non-harming. I will not lead a harmful life nor encourage others to do so, and I will live in harmony with all life and the environment sustaining it. 

2. Being satisfied with what I have: this is the practice of Non-Stealing. I will not take anything not given, practicing contentment by freely giving, asking for, and accepting what is needed. 

3. Encountering all creations with respect and dignity; this is the practice of Chaste Conduct. I will give and accept love and friendship without using or clinging 

4. Listening and speaking truthfully with kindness: this is the practice of NonLying. I will compassionately and constructively speak the truth as I perceive it, deceiving and harming no one. 

5. Cultivating a mind that sees clearly: this is the practice of Not Being Deluded. I will embrace all experiences directly, without the many intoxicants of this world.  

6. Realizing kindness: this is the practice of Not Talking About Others’ Faults and Errors. Accepting what each moment offers, I vow to realize that I am not separate from any aspect of life and will abstain from criticizing others, taking responsibility for my own life. 

7. Cultivating humility. This is the practice of Not Elevating Myself and Blaming Others. I will not blame or judge others, nor compete with others or covet recognition. I will hold all beings in equal regard and practice inclusiveness. 

8. Being generous: this is the practice of Not Being Stingy. I will not foster a mind of poverty in others or myself, and I will use all the ingredients of my life, giving my best effort and accepting the result. 

9. Transforming suffering into wisdom: this is the practice of Not Being Angry. I will not harbor resentment, rage, or revenge, and I will let anger teach me. 

10. Honoring my life as a source of compassion and wisdom: this is the practice of Not Disparaging the Three Treasures. I will recognize that all beings, including myself, are expressions of oneness, diversity, and interdependence. 

THE FOUR COMMITMENTS

I commit myself to a culture of nonviolence and reverence for life. I commit myself to a culture of solidarity and a just economic order. I commit myself to a culture of inclusiveness and a life based on truthfulness. I commit myself to a culture of equal rights for all people regardless of race, gender, ability, and economic status.