Meditative Inquiry in Rochester

Bio:

I started working with Roshi Kapleau at the Rochester Zen Center around 1971. Soon after I was part of a young staff that helped form Sharon Springs Zen Center, located near Albany, NY. Sharon Springs Zen Center became one of the first affiliate centers of the Rochester Zen Center. It was led by Richard Clarke who was a senior student of Kapleau at the time.

Sharon Springs Zen Center disbanded several years later. I moved to Rochester in 1975, and soon began working with Toni Packer, who was the designated successor to Kapleau. Around 1979 I began working at Rochester Zen Center as a member of Toni Packer's staff. Toni left the Zen Center in approximately 1981 because she no longer wished to work within the context of a traditional, formal religion. She had been very influenced at the time by the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, someone to whom her husband Kyle had introduced her. During this time period those of us who followed Toni joined together to help form The Genesee Valley Zen Center in Rochester. Toni had a vision of building a meditation retreat center in the country, and it was during that time I embarked on a land search for the property that was eventually to become Springwater Center. Initially I worked on staff as part of the original building project in Springwater, and in 1985 I began to work as Toni's assistant administrator, a position I held until I left staff in 2008 in order to help my wife with her solo medical practice.

In the mid 1990's I started leading retreats, giving talks and holding private meetings with people at Springwater Center and I am one of several people who Toni invited to continue the teaching work at Springwater Center.

Even before the Springwater building project began, it felt important to me to have a place in the city where like-minded people could come together to sit quietly and also to look at whatever someone might share with the group. Whenever I brought up the idea of a city center while on staff in Springwater, Toni was supportive of the idea, but for numerous reasons such a place never materialized.

After a couple years of living full time in Rochester, I started an informal weekly meeting opportunity for people to sit quietly and inquire together. We get together on Sunday mornings for quiet sitting followed by a group inquiry/discussion, in the spirit of the work that we developed at Springwater Center. If you are interested, please contact me via email and I would be happy to discuss it further and meet together privately if you wish.

stewmg@frontiernet.net