What Is Big Mind?
Big Mind is the name given, by Genpo Merzel, Roshi, to a special new way to discover, experience and appreciate your life. It’s also a good way of working out the kinks, the stuck places, and the unhealthy patterns that keep us down. Life is complex, and the inner self is an exquisite network of the psychological and the spiritual. Understanding it well leads to a better life.
Big Mind is a method of self investigation that is straightforward and effective, and it will open your heart and mind to the fullness and richness of life. It’s a new combination of tools, a blend of western psychology, and the non-dual wisdom traditions passed on to us, and it’s been developed for the express purpose of helping us to better understand the mind and the nature of human life.
“Stop wasting your time. Ask the big questions.”
(Genpo Roshi to one of his students in 1981)
You won’t need previous experience. Big Mind workshops and retreats are lively, engaging, thoughtful and profound. Everyone gets to have their say, as we try on intriguing new perspectives, see what they tell us, and share our insights. Genpo Roshi leads the process, like only a Zen Master can, with humor, wisdom, compassion and deep sincerity.
Big Mind is completely non threatening, safe and fun for young and old. You don’t have to know anything about psychology or Zen. You only need a burning desire to understand life.
Is it any surprise that a modern Zen Master would find a way for modern people to experience Zen?
Genpo Roshi is a man who has accomplished over 35 years of Zen meditation practice, a man who’s a certified Zen Master. He’s also been a champion athlete, and is a devoted husband and father, a successful businessperson, and the respected author of five books. He is the creator of the Big Mind•BIg Heart practice, and is the Founder and Abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center and Kanzeon Sangha International. His whole adult life has been dedicated to raising consciousness.
Why Should I try Big Mind?
We all have questions about the meaning and purpose of our lives and questions about how to get the most out of life. Lots of people have answers, but Big Mind will show you how to answer these questions for yourself, for what’s true in your own unique life, not someone else’s interpretation of how you should be.
Big Mind is easy to get into and you don’t have to join a group or be a member of anything. You can start out by watching a Big Mind DVD or reading Genpo Roshi’s book and trying the process on your own. It’s amazing.
You’ll get even more out of it if you come to one of our Big Mind retreats or weekend workshops. Doing it live with Genpo Roshi and a group of typically 75 to 150 people is fun,exciting and profound. You’ll probably laugh, you might shed a tear. But, either way, you’ll come out of it with a deep sense of appreciation for yourself and others, and a new, richer, more beautiful view of life.
Or, maybe you’ve been working on the big questions in life for a long time. How’s it going? Are you open to something a bit new and revolutionary that you can add to your current practice or tradition, be it yoga, meditation, wisdom study or prayer? Maybe you’re a Christian, Jew, Muslim or Atheist? Big Mind fits well with any of these. You won’t have to compromise your faith or tradition and we’re not here to convert you to Buddhism. Genpo Roshi’s Big Mind process is non denominational and dedicated to helping people to raise their level of consciousness for the good of themselves, and their relationships to others and the world we live in...
