The Zen Studies Society is a Buddhist community dedicated to realizing and actualizing our true nature. Cultivating an atmosphere of respect, harmony, deep insight, and boundless compassion, we offer the simple yet profound teachings and practice of Rinzai Zen Buddhism at our mountain monastery and our city temple under the auspices of ZSS.
The Zen Studies Society was established in 1956 to support the Buddhist scholar D.T. Suzuki in his efforts to introduce Zen to the West, and is one of the oldest Zen Buddhist organizations in the United States. To learn more about the study of Zen, explore recent talks by our teachers Chigan Roshi, Shinge Roshi and Hokuto Osho.
Our temples are open for in-person practice and events, see our calendar for details. We also offer ceremonies for those who would like to gather at our temples, see the Ceremonies & Life Events page for more information. For those who are unable to visit us in-person, we have a number of online offerings.
Please join us for our upcoming Introduction to Zen weekend, or learn more about our Monastery Restoration campaign!
Dai Bosatsu Zendo
Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monastery, opened on July 4, 1976. Located on the banks of the highest lake in the Catskills amid 1,400 acres of forest and meadows in the Catskill Mountains Preserve, Dai Bosatsu Zendo offers an inspiring setting for Zen practice. Traditional residential monastic training periods and retreats are offered to serious lay and ordained Zen students of all religious and cultural backgrounds. Here they are given the opportunity to actualize realization and understanding through deep, introspective inquiry. Read More
New York Zendo
New York Zendo Shobo-ji opened its doors on September 15, 1968. It was one of the first Rinzai Zen practice centers to be established in the West. An oasis of deep stillness in the heart of Manhattan, New York Zendo offers city dwellers the opportunity to experience traditional Zen practice in the midst of their daily lives, and provides ample opportunities for the Sangha to practice, work, and celebrate together. NYZ offers daily zazen and chanting services; monthly all-day sits and weekend sesshin providing teisho, dokusan, Dharma talks and practice interviews; and other related events. Read More
Sangha is the One Treasure we Create
Among the three treasures of buddha, dharma, and sangha, it is through sangha that we can impact the time and space in which we live. Please join us in co-creating sangha through your participation, efforts, and donations.
Only through our combined efforts, together, does sangha emerge. Read more of the letter from Abbot Chigan Roshi.
