12 Years of Sitting
and Counting...

In the Fall of 2013, interest in the formation of a new Zen meditation group arose from discussions between Dr. Roger Cochran, and the philosophy departments of Jacksonville University and The University of North Florida.  It was proposed that Dr. Cochran present the idea of forming a Zen group supported by students from those departments.  He met with these students to assess their level interest, and decided it was not sufficient to support launching at that time.

This led to Dr. Cochran pursuing this idea with his church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville.  Partnering with, Dorothy Merrick, they spoke with the church leadership at the time and proposed starting the group as part of the church's Adult Religious Education Program.  The leadership's support, combined with interest in Buddhism and meditation from six of the church members at the time, resulted in the creation of the Great Cloud Sangha.

On November 7, 2013, the first sitting was held in a classroom at UUCJ.  About a dozen practitioners attended the first sitting.  For a while, weekly sittings were held on Thursday evenings with invitations open to anyone interested in learning more about Zen and meditation.

By 2016, the sangha had a stable membership that included one person with a long-term interest in Buddhism, but no place to practice it; a practitioner of Korean Zen Buddhism; a Rinzai practitioner; three long-time Sōtō practitioners; and a small but regular group of participants who were new to Zen.  The new members enriched the dharma by offering up meaningful questions for the group to consider.

During this time, our zendo lacked a dedicated space.  The group would meet in the Susan B. Anthony room. Before the start of the service, practitioners would set up zabutons, zafus, mokugyo (wood block), gongs and a small altar, and then they would break it all back down after the service.  The time need to  set up and breaking down the zendo provided a great opportunity for sangha members to talk and know each other better.

In 2017, leadership of the sangha moved from Dr. Roger Cochran and Dorthy Merrick — who were planning a move to Atlanta — to our current practice leader, Ungan Zenko Bill Mayhew

Under Mayhew, the group hosted its first zazenkai in 2019.  It was attended by Michael Elliston, Roshi, and attracted nineteen participants, including six who had never previously sat with the sangha.  The zazenkai gave Elliston a chance to assess the room, altar and liturgy for the first time, and he offered up some improvements that helpd us move in a direction more consistent with other affiliates within of the Silent Thunder Order.

Today, the group has grown into hosting twice-weekly orientations and sittings, and quarterly zazenkai retreats.  But what hasn't changed is the wonderful diversity of our members and their experience with Zen.