Press Releases

Naropa Guest to Deliver Buddhist Studies Lecture on the Five Expressions of Zen

BOULDER, Colo. (March 24, 2009)—On Friday, April 3, Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara will deliver, the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation Distinguished Lecture in Buddhist Studies and American Culture and Values at Naropa University. It is titled, “Five Expressions of Zen: A Path to Service.” The lecture will focus on balancing individual expression and service in the world using the five expressions of Zen—meditation, study, communication, action, and care. This event is being held at the Nalanda campus and begins at 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

In addition to the lecture, Roshi O’Hara is teaching a course for the Religious Studies Department called “Zen Intensive Weekend: The Bodhisattva Vow as Koan.” This workshop will investigate the question of what it means for each of us to serve as a Bodhisattva, to be ourselves and at the same time save all sentient beings. It will be taught on both Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.naropa.edu/extend/event01.cfm.

Roshi O’Hara, founder and abbot of the Village Zendo in downtown Manhattan, holds a PhD in media ecology from New York University. A Soto Zen Priest, she has taught meditation to many special-needs groups, including people with HIV/AIDS, young people in drug treatment, and women in an alternative facility to incarceration.

The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism, based in Los Angeles, is dedicated to promoting the benefits of Zen Buddhism, meditation, yoga and related Buddhist practices as a pathway to self-realization and the harmonious blending of the material and spiritual in contemporary American society. The Foundation encourages the study and practice of these disciplines so that Americans with a Western mindset may come to appreciate these ancient gifts of Eastern thought, and utilize them in a way that is relevant to American culture and values.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education. This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate degree programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology and religious studies.