Writing to Study the Self with Farnoosh Fathi

This is a half-day writing course, not a sitting retreat — the work happens on the page. The title riffs on Dogen's well-known line from the Genjōkōan ('to study the self is to forget the self'), and Dogen is one of the sources the listing names for the course's practices, so the frame is explicitly Zen even though the activity is writing.

The stated focus is the three energies of mindfulness as the fundamental medium of poetry. The listing doesn't spell out what those three energies are, so it's a fair question to put to the center if that framework is what's drawing you. The practices draw on Dogen (the 13th-century Japanese founder of the Soto school) and Dongshan (the 9th-century Chinese master of the Caodong line that became Soto in Japan) alongside contemporary poets. Both figures wrote work that Zen treats as practice literature in its own right, which fits a course that treats writing itself as the contemplative act.

Logistics

• Half-day course, in person at Brooklyn Zen Center, November 8, 2026
• Tuition: $75

The listing doesn't yet include a start time, a detailed schedule, or a statement about who the course is for — nothing on whether prior writing or meditation experience is expected. Contact Brooklyn Zen Center for those details.