Treetop Zen Center — Oakland, United States

A Soto Zen center in a converted garage zendo in Oakland, Maine

The name came before the building. When Stef and Margaret Barragato moved to Brewer, Maine, in the aftermath of 9/11, the sitting area of their home felt nestled in the treetops. They stayed less than a year before moving on to Orono, but the name held. They had arrived from Kerhonkson, New York, where they led the Dragon Cliff sangha at their home and taught Zen to inmates at a maximum-security prison. Stef has said that work required stripping practice down to its essentials. As New York City residents moved north into the Hudson Valley and the area already had many Buddhist teachers, the Barragatos looked to Maine, where, the center's history says, no Zen teachers lived at the time. In Orono the sangha began with three students: a professor of geospatial mathematics, an engineering professor at Maine Maritime Academy, and a trucker who had lived alone in the woods of Aroostook County for seven years. They sat in a sunroom off the teachers' bedroom, with sitting, kinhin and discussion and little else. As the group grew, a two-car garage was converted into a bright, airy zendo, and the first students took the precepts. Early sesshins ran through the Barragatos' living room, kitchen and backyard, and they were interrupted by a TV crew, a flock of birdwatchers and a black bear that tore apart a bird feeder during sitting. A student from Waterville joined around that time, which led to the later move to Oakland. Today the zendo sits above a garage just past the main house at 293 Country Club Road. Practice includes zazen, koan introspection, loving-kindness meditation, chanting, work with the moral precepts and study of Buddhist sutras. The center meets Wednesdays at 7 pm for zazen and Saturdays at 9 am for service and zazen, in person and by Zoom. First-time visitors are asked to arrive thirty minutes early for orientation, and no one is turned away for lack of resources.

Traditions: Soto Zen, Zazen, Koan introspection, Loving-kindness meditation, Chanting, Oryoki

Programs: Wednesday Night Weekly Meditation, Saturday Morning Weekly Meditation, Sesshin, Meditation instruction for newcomers, Jukai (taking the precepts), Koan study, Online meditation via Zoom, Dharma talks