Surrounded by the grandiose architecture of Upper Herrick, a group of students regularly gather to sit in silence. Occidental’s meditation club meets bi-weekly for group meditations, according to student leader Isabel Friedl (junior). Each meeting looks different, but the welcoming environment is a mainstay, Friedl said. She encourages anyone who is at all interested in meditation, Buddhism and community to check it out.
The club is organized informally and run by spiritual advisor Nobuko Miyosho with the assistance of tudent leaders, Friedl said. Both Friedl and fellow student leader Ramit Shukla (senior) said they were grateful to Miyosho for the guidance and leadership she provides.
Friedl said she describes the club as a collective community experience. Shukla said the club has become a source of community and understanding.
“The meditation club has been a really powerful space,” Shukla said. “It‘s challenging to have transparency with yourself and with others, and having a community reflecting that back at you… is definitely enlightening.”
Shukla said that meetings vary based on the desires and needs of attendees.
“It‘s very spontaneous,” Shukla said. “We’ll ask, and if people want guidance, we’ll provide guidance, and if folks just want to be in silence and meditate, we’ll do that.”
For guided meditations, Shukla said that he or another student leader will set the group up with pointer instructions, such as how to breathe properly and how to hold the proper posture. At other meetings, the group will practice shikantaza, or “just sitting,” which is silent meditation, according to Shukla.
Friedl added that a final debrief is a key part of club meetings, especially with silent meditation, where participants are given the opportunity to share their thoughts and reflect on the day’s session.
Shukla, who joined the meditation club during the COVID-19 pandemic, said that the group has seen a significant influx in membership in recent years.
“When I joined it was just three, maybe four people over Zoom,” Shukla said.
Now, Shukla said a typical club meeting will have 10-15 attendees, and even as many as 30-35 on occasion. Friedl said part of this growth is due to the club’s accessibility, as any Occidental student can join regardless of familiarity with meditation practices.
“No experience is needed,” said Friedl. “You literally need nothing.”
Lodish reports that while about half the club members are experienced meditators, many join simply out of interest as well.
“I’d never really meditated before coming to Oxy,” Lodish said. “It’s nice to have a group. It’s a guided meditation. I just go to it, I don’t have to make that time for myself.”
Meditation club meets every Monday and Thursday at 6 p.m. in the upper level of Herrick Memorial Chapel, said Friedl. Monday sits are typically around twenty minutes, while Thursday sessions tend to be longer, said Shukla.
In addition to these regular meetings, Friedl said the club will occasionally organize special events.
On Wednesday, Jan. 31, the meditation club held a well-attended “sound bath” meditation, in which nature sounds were played over speakers, with the assistance of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, said Shukla.
“There were way more people than I’d ever seen,” said Lodish.
In the Fall 2023 semester, Friedl said that Soto Zen monk Rev. Shumyo Kojima visited and taught the club how to meditate in the style of zen. The organized practice was much appreciated, Friedl said, since the formal style of meditation is unusual for the club.
“He taught us all about Zen Buddhism and how their meditation practices are different,” said Lodish.
Additionally, the club organizes an annual field trip on Buddha’s birthday (Hanamatsuri) Friedl said. For the Spring 2023 trip, the club visited Little Tokyo, where they went to two temples and got lunch. They attended a Hanamatsuri service at the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, and participated in zen-style meditation at the Zenshuji Soto Mission, said Friedl. The club is organizing a similar trip on April 7, Friedl said, and encourages any Occidental students interested to attend both the trip and the regular meetings.
According to Friedl, one of the rewarding aspects of meditation comes from the diversity of practice.
“It’s really up to whoever you are as a meditator to make whatever you want of the meditation,” Friedl said. “You don’t owe meditating a certain way to anyone else; it’s just for you.”
Shukla attested to this sentiment and said that during his time at the meditation club, he has grown through exposure to different perspectives and traditions.
“[Meditation] is a very personal journey,” said Shukla. “What you give is what you get in meditation practice.”
Contact Eli Heringman at heringman@oxy.edu
