Simply SITTING…

Edinburgh Zen Dōjō • Mushin-dō (無心道)
under the guidance of Master Jikō Simone Wolf at Ryokuinzan Kōsetsu-ji

Wednesday Morning Sitting, 9am
Sunday Morning Sitting, 9am

Zazen (25 minutes)
Kinhin (5 minutes)
Zazen (25 minutes)
Tea

• Loose clothing for sitting

• I have zafu’s, but you can bring your own

• No fee, just sitting and tea

• Please arrive 15 minutes before

• Send me a message if you want to come along

My name is Luke Teikō Cunningham and I am an ordained Zen monk in the Sōtō Zen tradition training under the continued guidance of my master Simone Jikō Wolf at her temple, Kōsetsu-ji in Switzerland.

The dōjō is simply at my home and I carry out weekly zazen sittings on Wednesday and Sunday mornings. I am a committed student of zen who is more than happy to share in the core of the practice with like minded people. I will provide zafu's, tea and an hour of meditation broken up into 25 minutes of zazen (seated meditation), 5 minutes of kinhin (walking meditation) and another 25 minutes of zazen. There is no charge for these sessions, send me an email if you are interested in joining and I’ll have a zafu here waiting for you!

Simone Jikō Wolf was ordained by Taisen Deshimaru Rōshi in the late 1970’s, and subsequently received shihō (dharma transmission) from Yuko Okamoto Rōshi in 2004. Sensi Deshimaru was a disciple of Kōdō Sawaki Roshi and after Sawaki died he received shiho from Yamada Reirin Zenji. Deshimaru came to France after his transmission and soon founded the Association Zen Internationale and La Gendronnière Temple. This was the first zen temple in Europe and currently serves as the collective headquarters for European Sōtō Zen. Kōsetsu-ji actively encourages an ongoing, open exchange between Sōtōshū/Japanese Sōtō Zen and AZI/European Sōtō Zen and so remains closely connected to La Gendronnière and Sōji-ji in Japan.

Mushin-dō (無心道)

Mushin-dō is the name I have given to the Zen dōjō. The first time I saw these characters written together they left a deep impression on me, for their simplicity carries a depth that proves difficult to express in words. A fellow Zen monk, Doshin Inez, gave me a calligraphy painting with these characters (see photo below), and this became the inspiration for the name.

Mu (無) means without, no, or non. Shin (心) means heart, mind, or consciousness. Dō (道) means the way, the path. Taken together, Mushin-dō can be understood as the way of no-mind. It is the practice of zazen. Simply sitting, beyond gaining, beyond grasping, returning again and again to direct presence.

“They want the startling view, the horrid pinnacle - sips of beer and tea instead of milk. Yet often the mountain gives itself most completely when I have no destination, when I reach nowhere in particular, but have gone out merely to be with the mountain as one visits a friend with no intention but to be with him.” - Nan Shepherd, The Living Mountain

Lineage