About Us

 

Hokori-Ji, "a speck of dust" temple, is located in the heart of Central Florida's I-4 corridor, in the city of Lakeland, FL. We come together in a warm and open environment to practice in the Zen Tradition under the guidance of Lou Mitsunen Nordstrom Roshi.

 

At Lakeland Zen Community we are committed to passionate zazen (Zen meditation) practice that is free from ideological, "spiritual" rhetoric, and that focuses on visceral awareness of the body, liberated from the programmed notion of a separate, disembodied mind.  We emphasize the vital importance of unself-conscious zazen, which we see as the Taoist wu wei (non-doing): "doing" zazen without self-conscious awareness of yourself doing it.  In accordance with this emphasis, we construe group zazen-samadhi as an experience of sangha, which involves the shift from "my zazen" to "our zazen," and we affirm the truly magical power embodied in this transformation.  This represents a new way of looking at sangha that is rooted in zazen practice rather than ideology.  We are also committed to a rather non-institutional view of Zen, a maverick view strongly influenced by the teaching of Nyogen Senzaki and Soen Nakagawa.  To put it simply: we try to "keep it simple."

Practice is open to all, and you are welcome to join us at whatever level of commitment you wish. 

For information please contact Greg Shisho Hicks, Sangha Priest at lakelandzencommunity@gmail.com