We practice zazen once a week in our zendo in Hamburg-Neustadt. We sit 2 periods of approximately 25 minutes with walking meditation (kinhin) in between. At the end we recite the practice principles - Joko Beck`s version of the 4 noble truths:
Caught in a self-centered dream, only suffering
Holding to self-centered thoughts, exactly the dream
Each moment, life as it is, the only teacher
Being just this moment, compassion’s way.
The group is open to everyone: followers of all denominations or none. Meditation is not about achieving a particularly pleasurable state, being calm or gaining clarity, but only about experiencing life as it is in that very moment. I asked my teacher Karen Terzano how I could be sure to preserve the spirit of Ordinary Mind Zen. She said:
No gain, no goal