The Village Zendo is a Zen community in the heart of downtown New York City. Serving as a sanctuary in busy Manhattan, we offer daily meditation, dharma talks, Buddhist services, retreats, workshops and study groups. Participation is open to all.
Daily Schedule
Calendar
About Practice
Teachers
About Us
In Person
Body, Breath, and Mind: An Introduction to Zen
First Sunday of Every Month
9:30am – 11:00am
Are you new to Zen practice, or visiting us for the first time? This monthly class is open to all who wish to learn to meditate, or would like a refresher.
Recommendations for a comfortable, stable sitting posture are given, as well as guidance on how to begin a meditation practice and do walking meditation.
There will be an emphasis on finding ease in practice, and on the significance of practicing with a community and with teachers. The instruction is punctuated with short periods of silent meditation.
There will be ample opportunity for Q & A.
Online
Learn to Meditate Online
Every Monday via Zoom
6:30pm Eastern Time
Beginners and experienced meditators alike are welcome to join us every Monday for our online Learn to Meditate class. Recommendations for a comfortable, stable sitting posture are given, as well as guidance on how to begin a meditation practice and do walking meditation. There will be ample opportunity for Q & A.
If you are new to Zen or meditation practice, this is an opportunity to learn about Zen meditation practice and ask questions in a welcoming and relaxed environment.
Online
Learn to Meditate Online
Every Monday via Zoom
6:30pm Eastern Time
Beginners and experienced meditators alike are welcome to join us every Monday for our online Learn to Meditate class. Recommendations for a comfortable, stable sitting posture are given, as well as guidance on how to begin a meditation practice and do walking meditation. There will be ample opportunity for Q & A.
If you are new to Zen or meditation practice, this is an opportunity to learn about Zen meditation practice and ask questions in a welcoming and relaxed environment.
“The Village Zendo has made a profound difference in my life and the lives of many others. It is a welcoming group that balances serious practice with great joy and fun. Come to learn to meditate, stay to change your life.”
“Profound authentic Zen practice in a welcoming environment. Great experienced teachers and senior students. Beautiful quiet meditation daily. On Sunday’s and Thursday evening there are interesting contemporary Dharma talks. Beginning instruction is every Monday evening. The are cool events, workshops and activities that support a lively community.”
“My spiritual home for 30 years and I’m still amazed at the depth, warmth, intelligence and creativity of teachers and students alike. And more teachers per capita probably than any sangha around!”
“Similar to other reviewers, I live quite a distance from the Village Zendo. I, nonetheless, am a member and formal student of VZ. I find the community welcoming, vibrant, diverse and deeply intentional. Led by Enkyo Roshi, our teachers are engaged, astute, open, available… true mentors and practice leaders. VZ retreats and programs are powerful, challenging, transformative. I am so grateful for and to this sangha! Belonging to the VZ community is well-worth the logistics of my living at a distance.”
Daily Meditation Schedule
TUESDAYS
7:30am - 8:30am
6:30pm - 8:00pm
WEDNESDAYS
7:30am - 8:30am
6:30pm - 8:00pm
THURSDAYS
7:30am - 8:30am
5:30pm - 6:00pm
Dharma Talk & Service:
6:05pm - 6:30pm
SUNDAYS
Service:
9:30am - 9:35am
Zazen:
9:35am - 10:05am
Dharma Talk, or
Practice & Inquiry Circle:
10:10am - 10:40am
MONDAY
7:30am - 8:30am
Learn to Meditate:
6:30pm - 7:30pm
TUESDAY
7:30am - 8:30am
6:30pm - 7:30pm
WEDNESDAY
7:30am - 8:30am
6:30pm - 7:30pm
THURSDAY
7:30am - 8:30am
5:30pm - 6:00pm
Dharma Talk & Service:
6:05pm - 6:40pm
FRIDAY
7:30am - 8:30am
SATURDAY
Bolivian Sitting Group:
7:00am - 8:00am
People of Color Sitting Group
10:30am - 12:00pm
SUNDAY
Service:
9:30am - 9:35am
Zazen:
9:35am - 10:05am
Dharma Talk, or
Practice & Inquiry Circle:
10:10am - 10:40am
Upcoming Events
Featured Retreats, Workshops & Events

Summer Ango 2023: The Heart and Wisdom of Compassion
July 23 - August 6
Explore the heart of wisdom and compassion at two back-to back summer sesshins—July 23 through August 6 at Wisdom House in Litchfield, Connecticut. You may join us for part of a week, a whole week, or both weeks.

Fusatsu with Precepts Talk by Ryotan Roshi
Thursday, March 23
Join us for Fusatsu, a ceremony of repentance or atonement. It is our way of acknowledging that we are not separate from all the harm and disharmony in our world. The ceremony will be followed by a Dharma talk focussing on the Zen precepts of ethical conduct.

Body, Breath, and Mind: An Introduction to Zen
1st Sunday of the Month
Join us in person at the Village Zendo with Howard Thoresen, who will introduce Zen meditation and the other aspects of Village Zendo practice. There will be ample opportunity for Q & A.

Online Practice and Inquiry Circle
1st Sunday of the Month
Practice and Inquiry Circle explores in real time the Zen Peacemaker Precepts of Not Knowing, Bearing Witness and Compassion in Action. A theme is presented as an avenue of inquiry and participants are invited into dialogue.
Learn to Meditate Online
Every Monday, 6:30pm
For those new to Zen meditation or who have not practiced meditation in a zendo before. Recommendations for a comfortable, stable sitting posture are given, as well as guidance on how to begin a meditation practice and do walking meditation. There will be ample opportunity for Q & A.

Sorting Out Our Stuff
Every Tuesday
The group’s purpose is to support one another in cleaning up and clearing out whatever needs our attention, and whatever it might be. A will? a closet? a file cabinet? a relationship? Let’s handle it, with the knowledge that “time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost.”
People of Color Sitting Group
Every Saturday, 10:30am
The People of Color Sitting Group aims to embody the three tenets by being a sanctuary for People of Color to study, support and discuss how in a system (society) of oppression and racial bias we can create a community where we recognize our interdependence.
Newcomers' Meeting
Select Thursdays
Are you new to the Village Zendo online community? Would you like to get to know some of the teachers, meet other community members and ask questions informally? If so, please consider joining us for an open conversation on the second Thursday evening of every month.

Bolivian Sitting Group
Every Saturday, 8:00am
You are invited to join Village Zendo’s affiliated Bolivian sangha, Phajjsi Qollut Jalsu Zen Center, every Saturday from 7:00am to 8:00 am. No Spanish-language proficiency required.

VZ Book Discussion: Opening to Oneness
Rescheduled
Roshi Nancy Mujo Baker will join us for an online discussion of her new book, Opening to Oneness. In Opening to Oneness, Zen teacher Nancy Baker offers a detailed path of practice for Zen students planning to take the precepts and for anyone, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, interested in deepening their personal study of ethical living.
About the Village Zendo
Vision Statement
We envision a world of peace where all beings treat each other and their environment with awareness, wisdom and compassion.
Mission Statement
To provide a way for realizing a life of awareness, wisdom and compassion. We do this by offering training in the teachings of Zen Buddhism and by cultivating and maintaining a practice environment that is supported by teachers and a community of practitioners in the heart of New York City.
Inclusivity
We welcome people of different cultures, colors, abilities, ages, identifications, and beliefs who can practice within the guidelines for meditation and harmonious practice that we have laid out for the Village Zendo. We appreciate and explore our differences in order to build understanding, harmony, and openness for the whole community.
Our Community
The Village Zendo is a community of people who come together to practice in the Soto Zen tradition. We offer zazen (sitting meditation), one-on-one instruction with a teacher, dharma talks, chanting services, retreats, workshops and study groups.
Co-founded in 1986 by Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara and Roshi Barbara Joshin O’Hara, the Village Zendo is committed to authentically continuing the Zen tradition while keeping it contemporary and relevant to today’s world. We are located in lower Manhattan, offering a place of healing and sanctuary in the midst of one of the world’s busiest and most vital cities.
Our abbot, Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, received dharma transmission in the White Plum lineage of Taizan Maezumi Roshi, which incorporates both the Soto and Rinzai Zen traditions. Our zendo has been given the Japanese name Dotoku-ji (True Expression Temple).
Enkyo Roshi is supported by eight dharma successors who form the VZ teaching staff. The zendo is known for its vibrant and diverse community and the stability of a sangha that draws from a core of longtime dedicated practitioners. Our programming emphasizes the myriad ways Zen relates to our daily lives writing, social action, health and well-being, and the arts as well as traditional Zen studies.
Participation is open to all. We welcome practitioners and students of various traditions to join us at whatever level of commitment they wish. We welcome people of different cultures, colors, abilities, ages, identifications, and beliefs who can practice within the guidelines for meditation and harmonious practice that we have laid out for the Village Zendo. We appreciate and explore our differences in order to build understanding, harmony, and openness for the whole community.