We’re a small, friendly group of men and women with varying levels of experience in meditation and in Zen Buddhism. Everybody works at their own level, there are no expectations, and we welcome anyone who would like to come and dip their toes in the water and see if it’s for them.
Our group began life in April 2015. It sprang from a two-day retreat led by our visiting teacher Karen Terzano, after which a group of us decided to set up an ongoing group to continue sitting and studying Zen.
At present, we meet on Tuesday evenings at 8pm (see our schedule page for details). Usually, an hour of meditation, both sitting and walking, is followed by an informal chat over tea and biscuits. We might talk about Buddhist practice, our own experiences, questions we have or things we’ve puzzled over. It’s a friendly and relaxed gathering, intended to help us all in our Zen practice, whatever experience we have and however long we’ve been doing it.
Our group has no leaders or formal titles, and we don’t wear robes or ceremonial garments. There are no qualifications or requirements to join us, and we welcome new people, whether they are experienced Zen practitioners or newcomers. There is no formal membership and no fee, though we do have a donation box to cover the cost of tea, biscuits and firewood.
In future, we are likely to be running some day-long sittings, and we hope also to put on longer retreats of several days, led by our visiting teacher Karen Terzano. Any events we organise will appear on our schedule page.
Ordinary Mind Zen Galway 