Arrival. Please try to arrive a few minutes prior to 7:30. If you would like a quick introduction to Zen meditation, please arrive at 7:15. If you arrive late, that is OK, just try to enter the sitting area quietly.

Sitting meditation. We begin at 7:30 with a 30-minute sitting meditation period. Please sit down near the outer edge of the room and face towards the center of the room.

Walking meditation. This is the best time to use the bathroom. We walk around the room in a clockwise direction. There is about 5 minutes of slow walking. The pace for slow walking is one half-foot step per breath. Following slow walking, there is about 5 minutes of fast walking. Fast walking is fairly fast: please try to stay close to the person in front of you.

Sitting meditation. We sit for another 30 minutes, again facing towards the center of the room. There may be some people leaving the room for one-on-one practice discussion meetings during this period.

Talk. During the last 30 minutes of the formal program, I give a talk on a Zen topic that is usually announced ahead of time. Continue sitting facing towards the center of the room for the talk, but feel free to stand and stretch for a couple of minutes before the talk begins. The talk ends with a question and answer period.

Closing verse. We recite the Practice Principles once while still sitting:

In spacious stillness,

With thoughts not followed,
conditioning loses its hold.

With hardship and humiliation embraced,
fear and separation dissolve.

Letting go of my agenda,
anger and frustration have nowhere to breed.

Letting go of my opinions,
ignorance has nowhere to hide.

Admitting to the treasure within,
desires lose their grip.

Admitting to human frailty,
grace is everywhere apparent.

Announcements. Following the closing verse, we stand for announcements and a final bow.