22 January 2016

Great River Tendai Sangha's Sunday Services on 1/24/16 are Canceled

The Great River Tendai Sangha's January 24th Sunday Services at Yoga in Daily Life have been canceled due to a declared weather emergency. We hope everyone stays safe this weekend, and we encourage you to practice at home. We look forward to seeing everyone the next Sunday when we will resume weekly services. Event Details ---------------------- What: Sutra Service and Meditation Who: Great River Tendai Sangha When: Sun Jan 24, 2016, 9:30-11 am EST Where: Yoga in Daily Life (upstairs!) 2402 Mt Vernon Ave Alexandria, VA 22301

18 January 2016

Welcome to Our New Sangha Leader

It is with open joy that the Board of Directors of the Great River Tendai Sangha welcomes our new Sangha Leader, Rev. Junsen Chris Nettles, PhD.  On January 10, 2016, the Board of Directors convened a special meeting to ratify the appointment of Junsen Chris Nettles by the Tendai Buddhist Institute as the new Sangha Leader. Monshin and Shumon Naamon, of the Tendai Buddhist Institute in Caanan, NY, also attended the special meeting via conference call. 

The Great River Tendai Sangha Board wishes to give Jikan Daniel Anderson, the former Sangha Leader, our sincerest gratitude for providing our sangha with gentle leadership and wise counsel.  His efforts have provided us with good direction and inspiration to our community’s practice.  The Board also recognizes the strong partnership between Jikan and Junsen, who, along with our active lay community, have built a firm foundation for this sangha.  We look forward to our future, with new and continued opportunities for growth and practice under Junsen’s leadership.  Please join us in welcoming Junsen as our new Sangha Leader!

The Great River Tendai Sangha Board of Directors:

Hoshu Anne Christoffel                                                
Jishin Michael Buck
Kosen Bill Pugh
Monshin Paul Naamon
Yusei Lan Van

05 January 2016

The Great River Tendai Sangha thanks Jikan for his service and leadership

A few days ago, Jikan Daniel Anderson publicly communicated, through a number of channels, his resignation as the Sangha Leader of the Great River Tendai Sangha. You can read his public letter on our blog,

In his letter to us, the Great River Tendai Sangha Board of Directors, Jikan indicated that the challenges around managing the ordinary commitments of life, work, and family, are difficult to balance with his sangha leadership role. Furthermore, he indicated his intention to leave the Tendai clergy and continue his Buddhist practice in the role of a layperson.

It is with a mixture of emotions that the Great River Tendai Sangha Board of Directors accepts Jikan's resignation. We are very sad to lose our Sangha Leader of the past 5+ years; yet, we celebrate the transitions that Jikan and his family are making.

We wish to express our deepest gratitude for the many years of service and leadership that Jikan has provided to our little community. Furthermore, we rejoice in the new roles Jikan will be assuming in his life.

We have made a formal request to the Tendai Buddhist Institute in New York for the appointment of a new Sangha Leader. When that process is complete, we will make an announcement to our membership.

For now, the programming of the Great River Tendai Sangha is not changing. We will continue our evening meditation meeting each Tuesday evening at 7:30, in the downstairs chapel at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington. We also will continue to meet for Sunday morning services, starting at 9:30am each Sunday, at Yoga in Daily Life (upstairs) in Alexandria.

Together in the Dharma,

The Great River Tendai Sangha Board of Directors:

Hoshu Anne Christoffel                                                
Jishin Michael Buck
Junsen Chris Nettles
Kosen Bill Pugh
Monshin Paul Naamon
Yusei Lan Van