History of Our Sangha

Beginnings- Mansfield Zen Center

Living Lotus Zen began in 1996 as the "Mansfield Zen Center." Founder Michael Minock established the group to provide a community in Mansfield for those interested in the Buddhist path. The Mansfield Zen Center began sitting that year in the shared community/ laundry room of a Lexington Avenue Mansfield apartment complex.

Minock stated in a Mansfield News Journal article about the Center: "For years, I looked around and investigated New Age and Native American religions. Zen is probably the most down to earth form of religion, and I identified with that... when you quiet your mind, you wake up to your inner Buddha. It's observing your mind, not shutting it off completely. You experience things for yourself," he said.  

Minnock rode buses to Buddhist events from Mansfield, eventually connecting with Cleveland Zen groups. Michael asked for a teacher to come to Mansfield to help form & work with the group of interested people here. Sensei Dean Williams (then working on his robes to become fully ordained) volunteered and began making regular visits to Mansfield.

Eventually, the group decided a new name was in order...

Bellville Years

With the turn of the new millennium, the newly renamed "Living Lotus Zen Sangha" (Buddhist community) moved its sittings from Mansfield to All Souls Unitarian Church in Bellville. Sensei Dean Williams continued his leadership as the Sangha's guiding teacher, making the drive from Cleveland to Bellville twice a month for Monday evening sittings & sharing dharma talks for over a decade through 2014. Sensei Dean trained Sangha members on Zen practice forms, including how to run a Zen service, developed a chant book etc.

Living Lotus held joint multi-day weekend silent sitting retreats ("Sesshins") with Sensei Dean's Cleveland group (now Crooked River Zen) at Templed Hills camp outside of Bellville every Winter from 2005- 2013.  The 2009 retreat, with the efforts of Corby Smith, memorably featured a formal meditative meal ceremony ("Oryoki") in the zendo. 

Gallery of Group Photos from Templed Hills Weekend Retreats (Sesshins) 2005-2013

Under Sensei Dean's guidance, founder Michael Minock, Jacqueline Moore and three other Living Lotus members took the formal Zen practice step of the vowing to live by the Buddhist Precepts ("Jukai") ceremony in 2006 at Udumbara Zen Center in Evanston, IL.

Transitions & Return to Mansfield

In 2014, the Sangha became a lay-led group. The group started its migration back to Mansfield later that year, with the second Monday sittings replaced with a Buddhist book chat at Relax Coffee Shop in downtown Mansfield. (Book chats would move across the street to the late great Main Street Books' loft in 2018). 

In May 2017, after a happy accident of the Sangha & Mind Body Align (MBA) discovering each other, Living Lotus completed its move back to Mansfield, with the monthly sitting moved to the beautiful MBA facility (aka the Butterfly House) in downtown Mansfield. The first Guest Teacher visit to MBA in August of that year was Sensei Dean. In 2018, the Sangha for the first time began to hold weekly Sunday sittings, which was followed by the Sangha consolidating practice around Sundays with the long running 4th Monday Service & Talks moved to the 4th Sunday (2020). 

The traditional Sangha weekend retreats were discontinued in favor of daylong retreats ('Zazenkai'), starting in December 2015. Working with the Mt. Vernon Zen group, a 2016 Fall daylong retreat was held at Zen Farm outside of Wooster, with a small group but many, many cows. Beginning in Fall 2017, Living Lotus began holding 3 daylong retreats each year, with the Fall retreat moved to Hemlock Falls near Lucas & a Spring Retreat & Buddha's Enlightenment Day Halfday sitting retreat both held at MBA.   

In January 2018, a 'Fire Ceremony' was added to the practice calendar as a ceremonial way to start a new year of practice. That year also saw the first out of state Guest Teachers coming to Mansfield. Based on connections made from that guest teacher visit, in 2019, two Living Lotus members received the Zen precepts from Vice Abbot Hoko Karnegis in a Jukai ceremony at Sanshin Zen in Bloomington, IN.