Traverse City Mindfulness Meditation Group (tcmmg.org) meets at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation building, 6726 Center Road, Traverse City, from 5-7 each Sunday night. Contact Linda Hebert, lthebert@gmail.com for more information.

On the first Sunday of each month, there is a four-hour open sitting from 2:30-6:30. You may come and go any time during those four hours. For information about these sittings, contact Joy Zimke, joy.ziemke@gmail.com.

You can check here in the Weekly Message tab for updates to sitting opportunities in the community.

Our sangha is open to all who want a place to meditate, whatever your practice, or if you’re new to meditation. We sit for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, then sit another 30 minutes. The second hour is book study. The book tends to be basic Buddhist practice materials. No need to bring a book if you visit. We take turns reading a paragraph slowly and talking about it, relating to it in whatever personal way comes up.

When the Buddha was asked to sum up his teaching in a single word, he said, “awareness.” Not awareness of something in particular, but awareness itself–being awake, alert, in touch with what is actually happening. , , , ,It’s about examining and exploring the most basic questions of life. It’s about relying on the immediate experience of this present moment. It’s not about belief, doctrine, formula, or tradition. It’s about freedom of mind.


—-Steve Hagen, Buddhism: Plain and Simple

Two good books for beginning meditators are: Mindfulness In Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana  and Steve Hagen’s Buddhism: Plain and Simple.  If you’re new to the practice, there are a number of good websites to help you: dharma.org, Shinzen Young’s YouTube site, Adyashanti’s website, among others.

(Another option) Zen Practice:   Also at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Building, there is a sangha that meets from 6:30-8:30 on Tuesdays, facilitated by Kozan Karen McLean. This sangha is connected to Sokukoji Buddhist Monastery and Temple in Battle Creek, Kyoun Sokuzan Bob Brown, head teacher. Visit http://sokukojitc.org/ for details.