The Zen of Writing Poetry: a workshop on silence and words

Zen is a transmission beyond words, yet words are essential to Zen: in koans, in sutras, in dharma talks, in poems. In this evening's Zen writing session we'll start by sharing a brief look at traditional qualities of Zen writing -- spontaneity, openness, brevity, alert observation, surprising metaphor, language emerging from silence -- then experience a quiet Zen meditation together. Next we'll write! Poetry, prose, whatever. At the end, you'll be able to share what you've written, if you wish. Open to everyone. Bring pen and paper and be ready to see what happens!

Rev. Steve Kanji Ruhl is a Zen Buddhist minister ordained in the Zen Peacemaker Order who received his Master of Divinity from Harvard University. He is the author of two books of poems, The Constant Yes of Things and Paintings of Rice Cakes Satisfy Hunger, as well as the academic study Enlightened Contemporaries and the critically acclaimed, prizewinning spiritual memoir Appalachian Zen. A faculty member of the Shogaku Zen Institute and Buddhist adviser at Deerfield Academy, Kanji teaches Zen students independently through his online Touch the Earth cyber-sangha and is a longtime Buddhist advisor with the Yale Buddhist Student Community.

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Co-hosted with: Yale Buddhist Student Community

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