Zen group to stop York Minster meetings after religious row

Jul 16, 2019 by Jill

by Harriet Sherwood, Guardian:

A Zen meditation group is to cease meeting in the grounds of York Minster following controversy over “bilingual religion”.

The group has been told that its weekly 90-minute silent meditation sessions in the Old Palace must end in the autumn.

The sessions were initiated by Christopher Collingwood, the canon chancellor of the minster, who practises and teaches Zen meditation and has described himself as “religiously bilingual”.

On his Twitter feed, Collingwood says he is “leader of York Zen Group (part of Wild Goose Zen Sangha in the White Plum Asanga)”.

A book by Collingwood, Zen Wisdom for Christians, which argues that the practice of Zen can lead Christians towards deeper spirituality, was published in May. A launch party for the book was held at the minster’s Chapter House, and the book is on sale in the minster shop.

Read here

See also: Archbishop of York on interpreting the bible: Moral Equivalence and Moral Equivocation, by Stephen Noll, Contending Anglican

and: (from 2016) articles on ‘York Minster promotes Zen meditation’