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Greetings! My name is
Shudo Brian Schroeder and I
am the Buddhist chaplain at the
Center for Religious Life. I am
an ordained priest in the Soto
Zen tradition and a former
minister in the Lutheran Church
of America. I am also professor
and department chairperson of
Philosophy and coordinator of
the Religious Studies program at
RIT. With my background I bring
a diverse perspective to the RIT
community. Even though I am
officially the Buddhist
chaplain, my practice is shaped
by a strong ecumenical sense. I
recognize Zen foremost as an
affirmative philosophy and
psychology of life that is open
to many different paths and
traditions. While it is true
that Zen is generally identified
as one of the schools or
denominations of Buddhism, the
practice of Zen meditation, or
zazen, is not contingent on a
fixed set of beliefs and
affiliation. This is perhaps the
most unique aspect of Zen. Zen
practice is open to everyone
regardless of religious belief
or philosophical orientation.
Zen is the attempt to realize
the original intention of the
Buddha's teaching, a purely
rational, psychological, almost
scientific, approach to the
mind. Meditation is the heart of
this Buddhist approach.
According to this view,
meditative practice helps free
one from the attachments we form
that ultimately lead to much
suffering. Zen practice leads to
the development of
self-discipline and to a deeper
realization of one's
interconnection with others and
with the world in the general.
Awakening to this realization,
what has been called
"enlightenment" leads one to
an honest and real
confrontation with suffering
and the possibility of
understanding suffering in a
different way that helps one
become more compassionate and
wise. Meetings for Zen
meditation will occur in the
Allen Chapel at the Center
for Religious Life on the RIT
campus. For the schedule, please
check postings on either the
Center for Religious Life web
site or on the window monitor at
the Center's office, or contact
the Center directly. All
meetings are free and open to
the public. I think that you
will find this community to be
warm and welcoming. Please feel
free to contact me if you have
any questions or concerns, and
also before attending the first
time so that I can familiarize
you with some of the
fundamentals of Zen meditative
practice. Thank you and have a
wonderful day!