Meditation Sessions Catch on With People of Various Faiths and Backgrounds in Maine

By JOHN RICHARDSON Staff Writer

Paul Nakroshis taps three times on a bowl-shaped chime called a "rin gong," filling the small room with a pure ringing tone.

Then, except for the sound of traffic passing by outside, the room falls silent as Nakroshis sits, straight and still as a statue, and opens his mind.

An empty room in the middle of the University of Southern Maine campus, at lunch hour, may seem a difficult place to practice Buddhist meditation. But, as a growing number of Mainers are discovering, temples and remote monasteries are not necessary.

"Every part of our life is practice," said Nakroshis.

Nakroshis organizes a small zazenkai, a zen Buddhist retreat, that gathers twice a week in a room provided by the Interfaith Chaplain's Office. A handful of faculty and staff, and sometimes students, sit and meditate together.

There are similar informal sitting groups around the state. While meditation is silent and individual, the gatherings are a way to give each other support and discipline. And, after sitting, the groups also typically read and discuss parts of the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings.