One Heart Sangha

News

  • Zen Brush Art Workshop Nov 8

    Zen Brush Art Workshop Nov 8

    Don’t miss our Zen brush art workshop on Sunday November 8 at 10:30 AM. The workshop will be in the main hall at Washington Ethical Society. Sensei Bob JinGen Ertman, who has studied brush art and calligraphy extensively with Japanese masters, will be leading the workshop. You can learn more on our event page, or click here to go directly to the sign-up form.

    The image featured on this post is “Home/Family” by Kaz Tanahashi, commissioned by Berkeley Zen Center, 2026. It is drawn with transgender pride colors. Brush art is at the heart of Kaz’s Zen practice. He is a master of his art, and he shows how just a few simple brush strokes can covey a powerful message of oneness.

  • Winter Sesshin Registration is Open

    Winter Sesshin Registration is Open

    General registration for our three night residential Zen retreat January 7-10 at the beautiful Wellspring Conference Center is open now through December 12. Visit our event page for more details and to register.

    We have space for a few people to join the Winter Sesshin for a day long zazenkai. If you can’t commit to the full sesshin, the zazenkai is an opportunity to experience the stillness of sesshin. Registration is here.

    We will spend our time sitting zazen, walking kinhin, chanting sutras, and in other types of Zen practice. Our teachers will give dharma talks and offer dokusan (private meetings). The price includes a private room and meals from dinner Thursday to lunch Sunday. To learn more about our sesshin and see pictures of Wellspring, visit our sesshin page.

  • Fall Events

    Fall Events

    We are having a busy fall at One Heart Sangha.

    On October 3, we will be bearing witness to the WWII Holocaust by visiting the National Holocaust Memorial Museum in downtown Washington DC. Bearing witness is an important step in the Zen Peacemakers Three Tenets of Engaged Buddhism. By not knowing, setting aside our fixed notions and ideas about the Holocaust, we can bear witness to what arises in our hearts and minds as we tour the museum. The event is free, but you must register in advance. Visit the event page to learn more.

    On October 10, we will be holding a Jukai ceremony after a shortened morning Zazenkai and Shusho Hossen. Our three students who are taking vows have been studying, sewing rakusus, and working on their lineage charts all year. Please join us for the morning Zazenkai, Jukai ceremony, or both. Register here.

    Finally, on Sunday, November 10 Sensei Bob will be offering a Zen Brush Art workshop. Brush art is a Japanese art form typically featuring natural subjects, Japanese characters, or traditional shapes like the circular enso. Zen brush art emphasizes spontaneity and minimalism, contrasting black ink and white paper. Learn more and sign up on the event page.

  • Upcoming Local Sesshins

    Upcoming Local Sesshins

    Two Zen sesshins are coming up this fall and winter at the beautiful Wellspring Conference Center in Gaithersburg. Sesshin is a rare opportunity to practice in a more formal and extended way in order to deepen your Zen practice.

    Joyful Mind Zen Community will be holding their fall sesshin on October 29 to November 1. Bruce Shiho Lindsay, Sensei from One Heart Sangha is co-organizing and teaching. The sesshin is 3 nights, with an option to attend 2 nights. There are a limited number of private rooms onsite, opportunities to commute daily, and an option to attend remotely on Saturday. General registration is currently open through JMZC. Lean More here.

    One Heart Sangha will be holding our winter sesshin on January 7-10, 2027. The sesshin is 3 nights, starting Thursday evening and ending the middle of the day Sunday. We have a few spaces for sitters to join us on Saturday at Wellspring for a zazenkai. We will have a preregistration for regular sitters at One Heart Sangha starting October 15. General registration will open November 1 and links will be posted to the event pages.

  • Joyful Mind Zen Movie Night Sept 4

    Joyful Mind Zen Movie Night Sept 4

    Please join our sister sangha, Joyful Mind Zen Community, for a movie night, snacks and discussion on Friday, September 4th. we will be screening The Diving Bell and the Butterfly from 6:30 PM-8:30 PM with pizza and snacks starting at 6:00 PM. Please bring any snack you wish to share. Enter the back door of Rockville United Church 355 Linthicum Street, Rockville (free parking)  and we will be watching the movie in the Zendo.

    For more information, contact Information@joyfulmindzendo.org.

  • Summer Mini Ango

    Summer Mini Ango

    It’s that time again! Sensei Bruce will be leading a Mini Ango from June 23 to July 21. During the Ango period, there will be weekly online Way of Council meetings for participants to share their experiences and receive encouragement.

    Ango periods provide a supportive structure to commit to an additional level of practice for a set period of time. The primary purpose is to deepen your practice, renew your commitment to the Dharma, and if you like, make a commitment to other aspects that can help make positive changes in your life.

    Learn more and sign up

    Read more about Zen intensives