Hardscrabble Zendo

Tō Kō Ji (Temple of the Eastern Light) is a small mountain temple in the Rinzai Zen tradition located in the shadow of Zuiunzan (Auspicious Cloud Mountain). The fundamental practice is zazen, a time-tested way of fostering spiritual development. Meditators of all schools are welcome, and instruction in zazen is available for beginners. You are invited to come and experience it for yourself.

Zendo Schedule

There is no longer a set schedule for public zazen practice at Hardscrabble Zendo. Public zazen practice sessions and all-day zazenkai are held in accord with the circumstances that arise. Practitioners and those interested in zen study are invited to call or e-mail me to discuss any questions they might have or to make an appointment for an in-person meeting for such a discussion.

Kyonen
Jim Gordon

Kyonen Jim Gordon has been a zen practitioner for over fifty-five years. After seven years of study with Sōen Nakagawa, Roshi at New York Zendo and Daibosatsu Zendo, he began study with Kyōzan Joshu Sasaki, Roshi, a study that continued from 1977 until Roshi’s death in 2014.

Photo by Hosen Christiane Ranger

“Paralleling the experience of a man of old, I received a half-ladle of the teaching at my father Soen’s place and a half-ladle of the teaching at my mother Kyōzan’s place. The resultant full ladle has satisfied my hunger up until now.”

Zen Buddhism

Although the Zen branch of the Buddhist tradition traces its origins back to India 2500 years ago at the time of the historical Buddha, the characteristics of the Zen School as it exists today began around 1500 years ago when the Indian monk, Bodhidharma, journeyed to China and, finding a successor, initiated a line of transmission that has carried through to present-day America. The principle of the Zen School has often been described as:

 A special transmission outside the scriptures;
No dependence upon words and letters;
Direct pointing at the mind of man;
Seeing into one’s nature and attaining Buddhahood.