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Montague Farm Zendo
March - April Schedule

Morning Sitting Meditation

Monday, Thursday, and Friday: 6:45-8:00 am
      No Zendo schedule on Monday Morning, March 29, after end of 3-Day Sesshin.

Saturday: 8:30-11:00 am

Sitting Meditation: 8:30 am
Study: 9:30 am
      Mar 13, Reflection on Precepts
      Apr 3, Zen Blues, Zen Schmooze:                Zen Master Bernie Glassman
      Apr 10, Celebration of Buddha's                     Birthday
Liturgy: Gate of Sweet Nectar:
                    10:30am

Evenings

Tuesdays:

     Mar 2, Apr 6: Beginning Instruction for Zen Meditation: 6:30 pm [Please call ahead of time]

Sitting meditation: 7:30-8:30 pm
Study: 8:30-9:30 pm
      Apr 13: Renewal of Vows
      Mar 30, Apr 27: Council, Tea


Montague Farm Zen House

Mission

The Montague Farm Zen House aims to alleviate suffering in Franklin County through service and by increasing community wealth and power.

We also serve as a training site for people who want to work in or create zen houses internationally.

Goals in Support of Our Mission

-Create a business and job training/ support to employ people who have been left out of the mainstream market economy;

-Collaborate with community members, local organizations, and interfaith groups on community organizing -building the collective power needed to actualize community-defined goals;

-Provide regular homemade community meals for people who experience food insecurity;

-Make interfaith offerings (particularly meditation/counsel practices as well as kirtan and zikr) available to the community at the Montague Farm campus and various other sites in Franklin County;

-Have clearly defined volunteer and training opportunities in support of these goals.


ZPS Gathering
October 15 - 17, 2010

Register Now!

gath-group

This is a time of meeting each other and learning about the activities of Sangha Groups. Roshi Bernie will also give teachings and have dialogue with the attendees. It is also a time for schmoozing with members of the ZPS. Fee includes food and miscellaneous expenses. Starts Oct. 15 at 7:30pm and ends Oct. 17 at 1pm.


First Major Symposium for Western Socially Engaged Buddhism

August 9 to 14, 2010 at the
Mother House of the
Zen Peacemakers in Montague, MA

Attendence is Limited.
Register Now!

To read more about the Symposium, link here

The event is sponsored by the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, the Lenz Foundation and the Zen Peacemakers. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review is the exclusive media partner.

Zen House Seminary

  • Prog. Descr.
  • Application
ResidentialTrainees

The Zen Peacemakers’ Zen House Seminary trains practitioners to work in Zen Houses. We are looking for mature, courageous self-starters who can combine the talents of an entrepreneur, social servant, and spiritual practitioner.

The program has two phases: four months’ in-residence study and training at the Mother House campus in Montague, MA, followed by a four-month internship serving in the Montague Farm Zen House, the Appalachian Zen House in rural central Pennsylvania, or Haley House in Boston. During these internships, trainees will have access to their Seminary cohort and instructors with biweekly check-ins. Training phases must be taken sequentially, but candidates can take time off between each phase. The goals of the program are to inspire and train a new generation of practitioners committed to serving the needs of people and communities in underserved urban and rural areas of the world. Zen Houses and their service projects will be run by graduates of our Seminary Program.

The Seminary Program’s four months of in-residence study utilizes a core curriculum that embodies Zen Peacemakers principles and includes: (1) social enterprise and business plan development, entrepreneurship, and administrative and financial management; (2) needs assessment techniques for community organizing, and discussion of social service procedures; (3) exploration of theories and case studies of social change and social service; spiritual principles of environmental service projects and local contexts for deep ecology and Green Buddhism; and techniques of peaceful communicating, such as Non-Violent Communication, Council Circle, Byron Katie’s “The Work,” and counseling from a Buddhist perspective; and (4) Buddhist meditation and liturgy and multi-faith study.

All aspects of the curriculum are considered spiritual practices.

Graphic depiction of the House of One PeopleThe House of One People of The Maezumi Institute

In addition to training in the core curriculum during in-residence study, participants also choose one of four tracks, each of which requires its own distinctive training. The track for Zen House Directors includes studying and practicing diverse models of leadership, and designing Zen Houses. The track for Zen House Ministers (which requires a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent) includes this training as well, with additional training in pastoral care and counseling. The track for Pathmakers includes experiential training in offering life-skills coaching for people in need. The track for Zen House Staff includes training in household budgeting and skills in intentional cooperative living.

The in-residence training program draws on progressive pedagogy inspired by John Dewey – a pedagogy grounded in pragmatism and utilizing a cyclical process of developing a hypothesis, testing, and reflecting. Progressive pedagogy also privileges opportunities for students to articulate and develop their passions within carefully defined required content areas. Far more than a “banking” model of learning, this is a relational, dialogical pedagogy.

Thus, at the start of the semester each participant in the Seminary Program will develop – with guidance from the training cohort and instructors – his or her personally tailored field of study that meets expectations in each of the four content areas of the core curriculum and of the individual training track. Each trainee’s personal field of study will include using books and resources (selected from an extensive and growing bibliography) as well as hands-on projects connected with the Montague Farm Zen House. The personal curriculum also will include time for analysis of, and reflection on, these learning experiences. Trainees will be encouraged, as well, to periodically post entries on a public Zen House Training Program Blog, so that a catalog exists of shared learning on socially engaged Buddhism and subtle aspects of social ministry.

The weekly schedule will include a two-hour morning class, occurring five days per week; three days per week of afternoon activities with the Montague Farm Zen House; and five days per week of meditation and instruction. There will be occasional weekend workshops.

During the four-month internships at Zen Houses, daily life will include meditation, liturgy, council, and working in the service projects sponsored by the Zen House.

Each Zen House develops its own social service projects, and structures its programs, schedules and staffing based on the needs of the community being served, delivering those services from a holistic, dignity-based perspective. Each Zen House, networking with social agencies, also offers training that provides the skills and tools necessary to empower people to hold market-wage jobs – preferably “green” jobs or other occupations that exemplify right livelihood – and to move toward economic self-sufficiency. Zen Houses also can teach people, whether in urban or rural settings, to supplement their jobs with sustainable and ecologically responsible strategies for growing their own food and healing the earth. The supervision and training of interns and staff by the Zen House Director will be supplemented by advanced workshops and retreats offered at the Mother House of the Zen Peacemakers in Montague.

Program Fees

Resident Program at Maezumi Institute Fees

Includes room, board, classes, and workshops: $4,000

Internship Fees

Includes room, board, followup, classes, and workshops: $2,000.

Scholarships

There are a limited number of scholarships available. These will be awarded on a competitive basis.

To Apply for this Program

Please fill in the application form (click on the Application Tab at the top of this page) and click on the submit button or copy and send it to:

Laurie Smith
Resident Program
Maezumi Institute
177 Ripley Road
Montague MA, 01351

Contact Information

Laurie Smith
Maezumi Institute
Phone: 413-367-5268
Fax: 508 507-4105
email: program_info@zenpeacemakers.com

Please fill out the form below and push the submit button (at the bottom of the form), the return key, or the enter key to send it to us. The tab key will take you from field to field.

First NameLast Name

Address

Address2

City State or Province

Country Zip Code


Home Telephone               Office Telephone                                     Cellular Telephone
   

E-Mail Address

Date of Birth Social Security Number


Medical History

Medical Insurance Company Ins. Card Number

Do you have any Mental or Physical Health Conditions? Yes No
If yes, please explain.

Are you prescribed any medications? Yes No
If so, what are they?

Have you been in an emergency room or a hospital in the past five years? Yes No
If so, please explain.


Emergency Contact Information

First NameLast Name

Address

Address2

City State or Province

Country Zip Code


Home Telephone               Office Telephone                                     Cellular Telephone
   

E-Mail Address


College Information

Undergraduale College

MajorYear GraduatedGPA



Graduate School

Major Year Graduated GPA




Employment History


Volunteer Work


Other Academic and/or Certification Programs


Certifications or Licenses



The fee is $4,000. What is the minimum amount of scholarship award that would allow you to enter this program?

We are currently compiling a waiting list and will notify those on the waiting list of the next available program start dates.


References (at least 3, 1 from your spiritual practice, 2 work or academic related)



Please write an 800 word description of your spiritual history, what you hope to learn through this Maezumi Institute program and what your goals are after you finish the program.


Please provide us with a bio and photo of yourself that we can put on our website. (Email photo to program_info@zenpeacemakers.com)


If you would like to use our website to solicit support for your participation in this program, please provide a few sentences describing your request that we can include with your bio and photo.



How did you hear about this program?




If you have questions please contact:

Laurie Smith
Seminary Program
Zen Peacemakers
177 Ripley Road
Montague MA, 01351
413-367-5268

program_info@zenpeacemakers.com