中央寺 - Chuou temple

Every year several foreigners join us for experiencing authentic Zen culture.
Zazen meeting name - San Zen Kai ( 参禅会 )
Denomination - Soto-shu ( 曹洞宗 )
Schedule - Sunday 9:00 from April 1 to November 30. Sunday 9：30 from December 1 to March 31. It takes 2-3 hours.
Participation cost - First time free
Clothes - Free.
Reservation - No necessity .
Participation of foreigner - Possibility.
In addition The Chuoji Temple regards the weekly practice of Zazen at the temple as an important 　　missionary activity. Every Sunday morning we sit for Zazen and receive lectures from 　　the abbot of Chuoji on sutras, topics concerning modern society, or how to live our 　　lives in the spirit of Zen teachings.Our group of Zazen is made from about 50 persons, 20-40 persons practicing regularly. 　　Half men and half women. Every year several foreigners join us for experiencing 　　authentic Zen culture. If you are a beginner you can receive instructions of how to 　　practice Zazen in English of Japanese. The beginners are asked to come to the temple 　　30 minutes before the Zazen starts.

What is zazen in Chuou temple - The Zen school of Buddhism believes that the human being receives by birth a pure 　　mind and the capacity of free open-minded thinking in any circumstance. However, in 　　time, people start having worldly desires that leads to suffering, to the atrophy and 　　even destruction of the qualities granted by the birth as a human being. To understand 　　this better imagine you are participating in a competition. Even though you might have 　　the qualities necessary for winning the competition, by continuously thinking "I want 　　to win! I want to win! I want to win!" it is possible to get stuck, to be unable to 　　display your full potential and to end by loosing the competition. Continuously 　　thinking "I want this or that" humans loose their original qualities, the original 　　self, ending in a boring and empty inner life.

Address - South 6, West 2, Chuo-ku, Sapporo_city, The hokkaido
E mail - sorin_sabau_77@yahoo.co.jp
Fax - 011-512-7322
Map - Chuou temple