It's Alive: Zen Meditation

It's Alive: Zen Meditation It's Alive! is a branch of Pacific Zen Institute that offers meditation groups, individual teaching, and workshops in the San Antonio, TX, area.

Our meditation group consists of 30 minutes of seated meditation, followed by a discussion. Chairs are available for sitting, or feel free to bring your own cushion or sitting gear. If you would like additional introduction to the practice, feel free to contact us ahead of time. For more detailed information about the meditation group, visit our MeetUp page: http://www.meetup.com/Its-Alive-Zen-Med

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Koans (pronounced KO-ahn) are bits of poetry or stories used in the Zen tradition to bring about a change of heart. There is often a shift in perspective that happens when working with koans; you might notice that the life you actually have is much more interesting than the one you thought you should be having. People find that working with a koan tends to make their lives stranger and more interesting, and also more free. And freedom can be fun. There is no need to have any previous experience with koans or meditation (in fact, you may be better off without it). Jesse Cardin, Sensei, is a koan teacher in the Pacific Zen School. He is the practice leader for It's Alive!, the author of the blog It’s Alive!, and also accepts students for private instruction. Jesse has been working with koans since 2006 under the guidance of John Tarrant, Roshi (Director of Pacific Zen Institute). He is interested in how koans use the circumstances of each individual’s life to facilitate awakening. He is also particularly curious about how koans can be used in mental health and substance abuse recovery, as well as to discover novel solutions to social problems.

The world is on fire. What can we do? The path begins within, by fully inhabiting our own lives. Here's a guided meditat...
04/29/2026

The world is on fire. What can we do? The path begins within, by fully inhabiting our own lives. Here's a guided meditation to point you in that direction.



The world is on fire, plagued by myriad troubles both personal and universal. A loved one's fate takes a dark turn, a government is acting against its people, there are children in danger. This is always so. In some cases there might be something we can do to help, but often the situation is insolub...

I'll be giving a talk tonight about our current crisis, The Odyssey and the koan Save a Ghost, the importance of acknowl...
04/08/2020

I'll be giving a talk tonight about our current crisis, The Odyssey and the koan Save a Ghost, the importance of acknowledging our place in the journey, and how visiting the underworld and grieving what has been lost is necessary to finding our way home.

Through your generosity, you help people find their own path into awakening, keep our doors open to everyone regardless of means, support our teachers, and help our systems run smoothly.  

To do our part in slowing the spread of the Coronavirus, we will be suspending our in-person events for the time being. ...
03/15/2020

To do our part in slowing the spread of the Coronavirus, we will be suspending our in-person events for the time being. To do our part in promoting mental, spiritual, and social health, we will be continuing our events online through Zoom! Join our MeetUp page to stay apprised of new developments. First online meditation group will be this Wednesday, 3/18.

It’s Alive! (http://www.itsalivezen.org) is not your granddaddy’s Zen. You will not find many of the traditional forms here and there are no complicated rituals or foreign words to learn. What you wil

Here's a talk by Jesse Cardin, Roshi about receiving dharma transmission and the magic of letting the world come to you....
02/22/2020

Here's a talk by Jesse Cardin, Roshi about receiving dharma transmission and the magic of letting the world come to you.
From PZI Winter retreat, January 2020.

Video February 8, 2020 42' 38" Roshification- What is This? Jesse Cardin Description Becoming a Roshi, thoughts on the eve of his transmission ceremony. Koans Picking and choosing, What is this? Tagged Creativity, koan practice, Roshi, Transmission, Winter Sesshin 2020, zhaozhou

Check out our sometimes-monthly-sometimes-quarterly newsletter for early 2020. There's a fair amount of exciting stuff ...
02/11/2020

Check out our sometimes-monthly-sometimes-quarterly newsletter for early 2020. There's a fair amount of exciting stuff in here, I think.

Check out the new ZenByte. The whole universe can be yours if you just stop refusing it.
02/04/2020

Check out the new ZenByte. The whole universe can be yours if you just stop refusing it.

The life we have can includes all that we don't have, too. Join Jesse Cardin, Roshi, and It's Alive! Zen in San Antonio, Texas for a meditation practice that...

Enjoy our latest ZenByte. It's about the stories we live, the stories we tell ourselves, and the question of which to be...
01/13/2020

Enjoy our latest ZenByte. It's about the stories we live, the stories we tell ourselves, and the question of which to believe.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda, mighta did. Join Jesse Cardin, Sensei, and It's Alive! Zen in San Antonio, Texas for a meditation practice that welcomes all possibi...

Give our latest brief dharma talk a listen. It's about how stepping outside the confines of the mind can lead to a life ...
12/13/2019

Give our latest brief dharma talk a listen. It's about how stepping outside the confines of the mind can lead to a life of...well, life.

Join Jesse Cardin, Sensei, and It's Alive! Zen for a meditation practice that will leave you in the dark. It's Alive! Zen is a branch of Pacific Zen Institut...

Enjoy this new ZenByte about the benefits of not knowing.
12/06/2019

Enjoy this new ZenByte about the benefits of not knowing.

Join Jesse Cardin, Sensei, and It's Alive! Zen for a meditation practice that will leave you in the dark. It's Alive! Zen is a branch of Pacific Zen Institut...

Happy Holidays to all! We will not be meeting this Wednesday, 11/27. Please join us when we resume regular programming...
11/26/2019

Happy Holidays to all! We will not be meeting this Wednesday, 11/27. Please join us when we resume regular programming next Wednesday, 12/4. Buddha on!

This wonderful comic was done by Sara Zimmerman and pulled from Unearthed Comics. There are plenty more where that came from...

http://unearthedcomics.com/unearthed-recommendations/thanksgiving-comics/

Here's another ZenByte for you. Instructions for lowering the bar for your meditation practice and not being a dumb robo...
11/23/2019

Here's another ZenByte for you. Instructions for lowering the bar for your meditation practice and not being a dumb robot.

Enjoy!

Hey you! Stop being a robot. Join Jesse Cardin, Sensei, and It's Alive! Zen for a meditation practice for real humans. It's Alive! Zen is a branch of Pacific...

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7150 IH-10 West
San Antonio, TX
78213

Opening Hours

6:30pm - 7:30pm

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