Ango

Ango is an intensive six-week practice period offered to foster deeper commitment to practice and study and is based on the annual gatherings of the Buddha’s original monastic community. Ango is held every winter and is open only to Still Mind members.

For a lay (as opposed to monastic) community such as ours, in which Zen practitioners must continue living in the world, Ango offers particular challenge and opportunity. Participants commit to deepening their practice in three areas: zazen, dharma study, and Zen-in-life practice. The weekly study evenings, led by one of our teachers with a senior student assisting, are held on Thursdays and are devoted to exploring a classic Zen texts. The second half of the evening is devoted to discussion about Zen-in-Life practice, focusing on teachings such as the Buddha’s Eight Fold Path to Awakening.