If you study at Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center of New York City (part of the Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen), you will be exposed to the Eight Gates of Zen.

• Zazen: Zazen is the formal seated practice of seated meditation and the “cornerstone of Zen training.”

• Zen Study: Zen is an ancestral lineage, and the Zen teacher is “indispensable in helping to navigate the difficulties along the way, directly pointing to your inherent perfection.”

• Liturgy: An outward manifestation of what is known intuitively, and involves bowing and chanting as expressions of the truths that are cultivated in practice.

• Art Practice: “Creativity and spirituality share a common source.” Art, both traditional and contemporary, can help the practitioner, as with liturgy, to express the truths experienced in Zen practice.

• Body Practice: Exploring the physical body as a “vehicle for self-realization.” These practices range from Tai Chi to eating meals.

• Buddhist Studies: “Academic study of Buddhist texts and commentaries is an essential part of establishing sound religious practice.”

• Work Practice: Every dimension of life can be “transformed into a sacred activity.” Work practice becomes an opportunity to broaden spiritual practice.

• Right Action: The study and practice of the Buddhist Precepts, “the moral and ethical teachings of the Buddha. Engaging the precepts teaches you to embody compassion as the selfless activity of the awakened mind.”