Welcome to the website of the Williamstown Zen Group, a sitting group based in Williamstown, Massachusetts, led by Bernie Rhie.
The group meets in person and on Zoom every Tuesday evening from 7:30-8:30pm Eastern Time. Each Tuesday evening class consists of a 25-30-minute guided meditation, a talk about meditation practice, and a little time for Q&A. All are welcome!
Note about the upcoming schedule: Unfortunately, I need to reschedule the sittings scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, and Tuesday, May 21. I’m bumping each one up by a day. The May 14 sitting will moved to Monday, May 13, and the May 21 sitting will be moved to Monday, May 20 (at our usual time, 7:30-8:30pm, on Zoom and in person at Tasha Yoga). We’ll return to our regular Tuesday evening schedule on Tuesday, May 28.
Attending in person: Our in-person location is Tasha Yoga, a yoga studio located at 20 Spring St. in Williamstown. The front door will be unlocked by 7:20pm. Please arrive a few minutes early to set up your seat before the class begins at 7:30. There are plenty of yoga blankets and bolsters in the studio to use as meditation mats and cushions, along with a limited number of zafus. There are also many backless folding chairs (sometimes called “yoga chairs”) for those of you who would prefer to sit on a chair. If you own a meditation cushion or bench, you’re welcome to bring it with you.
Attending online: If you would like to attend on Zoom, use the following link:
https://williams.zoom.us/j/95504505503?pwd=eU1DRk1adHZ5ZnpXeisrR0Y3WXE4dz09
The Zoom meeting room will be open by 7:25pm. Once you log on, please make sure your microphone is muted, but I encourage you to leave your camera on so that we can all see each other (but do feel free to mute your camera if you’d prefer that).
Email list and audio recordings: To receive reminders and announcements about the group, subscribe to our email list (it’s a good idea to do this if you plan to come at all regularly, since I use this email list to let the group know when class is canceled). Audio recordings of past classes are available on the “Intro to Zen Online” podcast.
About me: My name is Bernie Rhie, and I’m a teacher associated with the Ordinary Mind School of Zen. I began my Zen training in 1989 when I moved to the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center (SMZC), a Soto Zen temple located in Santa Rosa, California. SMZC was founded by Jakusho Kwong Roshi to carry on the lineage and practice traditions of his teacher, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (founder of San Francisco Zen Center and author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind). I lived at SMZC for a little over three years, serving for most of that time as the tenzo (head cook). After leaving Sonoma Mountain, I began studying with Ezra Bayda, and then later with Elizabeth Hamilton as well, and I received dharma transmission from both of them in 2022. My view of Zen practice is deeply indebted to Ezra and Elizabeth and to the outlook of their own teacher, Joko Beck, author of Everyday Zen and founder of the Ordinary Mind School of Zen.
I am a member of the Lay Zen Teachers Association. I’m also a professor of English at Williams College, which is what first brought me to Williamstown. For more about that part of my life, click here.
Williamstown Zen Group 