Zen Center of New York City: Fire Lotus Temple is one of the few residential Buddhist training centers in New York City. Residence at the Temple is specifically designed to allow practitioners to live in a spiritual community and engage traditional Zen training in a dedicated manner, while at the same time maintaining work and other responsibilities outside of the Temple.
See the options for Residential Programs at ZCNYC.
ZCNYC follows a full schedule of daily zazen, liturgy, community work, and retreats specifically geared toward those who practice in the midst of family, work, and relationships. Spending a period of time in residential training at the Temple is a powerful way of concentrating all of one’s daily activities into a single stream of awareness. Residency can provide support, structure and stability, which in time, become deeply internalized and integrated into one’s own experience of the spiritual path.
In addition to the daily schedule of zazen and liturgy, residents also enjoy many other opportunities to deepen their Zen practice and take it into their lives:
- Daily liturgy services with training in liturgical service positions
- Frequent Daisan (face-to-face teaching) with a teacher in the Mountains and Rivers Order
- Weekly Dharma Talks or Senior’s Talks that inspire and guide one’s spiritual journey
- Monthly silent meditation intensives
- Weekly retreats, workshops and courses exploring the Eight Gates of training
- Discounts on sesshins and retreats at Zen Mountain Monastery
- The daily experience of living and practicing in a community of like-minded practitioners
- The opportunity to serve the sangha: residents are an integral part of attending to the Temple spaces and caring for the people who come to practice here.
Although part of the power of residence is the commitment to following the daily training schedule, there is some flexibility so that individual residents can also maintain their responsibilities outside of the Temple.
There are limited spaces available at the temple. If you are interested in applying for a period of residential training, we suggest that you join us for the Sunday morning program first, if you haven’t already, then contact the Temple office to see how to proceed. If a potential applicant is new to the MRO or to Zen training and practice, we may guide you to consider a period of residency at Zen Mountain Monastery, the MRO’s main house, as a first step. From experience, we’ve found that experiencing Zen training in a more structured environment can create a strong foundation to experience the more fluid, open container of residency at the Temple.
Some reflections from recent Zen Center residents:
“No matter what you think of your practice, the teachers, the monastics, and the sangha will meet you where you are. I’ve stayed for one month, many months, two weeks, a weekend here and there, through the morning, for a few hours, and overnight. Waking up to the quiet of the world before dawn, sitting in the zendo that feels like a true home . . . Zen Buddhist training in the heart of Brooklyn — a lotus truly growing in the fire.”
— Ben, Writer
“After hearing one of the teachers give a talk on the Heart Sutra in 2017, I decided to undergo a yearlong residential training at Fire Lotus Temple. I felt the Temple had a lot to offer me, and I wanted to support the place as much as I could. Without forgoing my full-time job, the residency lasted from December 2017 to December 2018.
The impact the Temple and people I met there have had on me is immeasurable. I had the opportunity and space to learn and practice with the skillful means, including zazen, listening to dharma talks and engaging various forms of art practice on a regular basis, cultivating a calmer mind and developing greater awareness of myself. In addition, my connections with other practitioners, lay and monastic, have helped shift my view of what’s possible in this life. Genuinely being themselves, the practitioners and teachers at Fire Lotus modeled a path that includes all with nothing cut off. This has created an open space for me to self-reflect and examine my own conditioned mind, which makes the year of 2018 the best in my life— it is only after experiencing compassion and aliveness that I could try my best to take them on and come closer and closer to truly living.”
—Bingwan, Social Worker -New York
Residential Program Options
Short-Term Residence
Residencies are available for periods as short as a week. Short-term residents may train full time at the Temple or do a mix of their own work and work for the Temple. Those who choose to train full time at the Temple follow the daily schedule, doing sangha work practice during the morning and engaging in study of the Eight Gates in the afternoon. Short-term residencies are reserved for those who already have a well-established practice within the MRO.
Long-Term Residence
Long-term residency is available for periods of up to a year, beginning with a one-month trial period, and is designed for those who want to dedicate themselves to intensive Zen training and Buddhist study while maintaining work or school responsibilities. The daily schedule begins with morning zazen and a short liturgical service, followed by a caretaking period (basic Temple chores). Residents are welcome and encouraged to join this schedule as circumstances permit before beginning their usual work, which can be either off-site or remote (i.e., from their living space at the Temple). The daily schedule concludes with evening zazen.
Residents receive training in liturgical service positions and are assigned a weekly housekeeping chore. Residents are also welcome to participate in our regular zazen intensives and other retreats. Artists are welcome; the Temple is an ideal space for writers and poets in particular.
Hosan
Each week, from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon, all residents have hosan, a period when the daily training schedule is lifted. This time allows residents to rest and take care of their personal affairs. Residents who work Monday through Friday may choose to be off schedule on most Saturdays. All residents are required to participate in the Sunday morning program.
Fees and Scholarships
The fee for residency is $300 per week, or $1,200 per month. This includes all training fees, meals, housing, retreats, workshops and courses at the Temple. Due to the small size of the Temple’s resident community, our ability to offer financial assistance is limited. Those who would like to enter residency but are financially unable to meet the full monthly fee may apply for a partial scholarship. These are awarded based on an applicant’s financial need, their work skills, and the needs of the Temple.
Application Process
If you have questions about residential training at Zen Center of New York City or if you would like to apply for a period of residency, please contact the Temple training office. We will send you an application, answer any questions you have, and if you choose to apply, schedule an interview.
