Two class options will be offered for Fall of 2026.

Mondays 7-8 pm EST/GMT -4   Sept. 21, 28 Oct. 5, 12

Wednesdays 7-8 pm EST/GMT -4   Sept. 23, 30 Oct. 7, 14

Cost: donation. $40 suggested, more or less as you can. /\

Register: omzlouisville@gmail.com by September 14

You are ready to take this class if...

You are comfortable doing 10 minutes of "open monitoring" meditation. This means sitting, attentive and receptive to whatever arises... without use of a guided meditation script or an object of concentration such as the breath. 

You are able to appear on camera (Zoom) for the duration of the class.

You can commit to keep all your monster drawings private and safe in a notebook or folder, without destroying them, for the duration of the class. 

Between classes...

1. You will be offered optional email reflections via a google email group. You may write, or not. You may share your written reflections in your group (consisting of the teacher and your classmates), or not.

2. After the first class, you might choose to incorporate the 100 Monsters practice into your own personal sitting. Or not.

3. You can simply take the class for an hour a week and be done. So the basic time commitment per week is one hour and three minutes (for the Zoom sound check!). Yes, we can do a LOT with this.

Want to give Monstering a try? Please email to register and indicate whether you are in for Mondays or Wednesdays. omzlouisville@gmail.com

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This practice has its roots in Japanese folklore, in the Hyakki Yagyō [Night Parade]— a Japanese myth over 1,000 years old. Imagine a procession of fantastic, frightening creatures, ogres and goblins, orderly or riotous, marching through the nighttime streets. The Night Parade served as a literary trope and also a fantastic opportunity for Japanese artists to draw and paint grotesques.

It was Zen Master Hakuin Ekaku (January 19, 1686 – January 18, 1769) who took up the Night Parade as an introspective Zen practice. He painted 100 creatures—monsters—each reflecting some aspect of his personal experience. In 2002 Lynda Barry shared 17 of her own monsters, and told their (her) stories, in her illustrated book  One! Hundred! Demons!.

100 monsters is not  an art class, but a supporting method for Zen inquiry and self-realization. While a creative professional might take up this practice to generate content and overcome blocks, the intent for this course is not to produce skillful drawings. Stick figures, word descriptions and scribbles also make for effective, powerful practice.

Again, to be clear: skill in painting and drawing are not taught or praised in this class space. Picking and choosing what is or isn't a "good" drawing of a monster is a distraction, and possibly a spiritual bypass. If we choose, we can learn to be just as pleased (even more so) by humble marks, made with honesty and courage, that reveal personal truth.

Guidelines 

Keep your monster drawings strictly private for the duration of the class. What is it like to do a thing in sangha, with people and without the possibility or pressure of external validation?

For the duration of the course, students commit to preserve their own monster work.  Whether you kinda like your last drawing or you think you wasted the paper... let it be, turn the page and move on. This is choosing equanimity over reactivity. Experience has shown that we look back on past monster drawings with far more loving eyes. 

It's suggested to use a bound blank book of some type, like a spiral bound notebook. A Mead composition notebook is fine (and has exactly 100 sheets).  If you choose to use water media (a brush and ink or watercolors) you might like heavier art paper... but please know that Lynda Barry painted her monsters on lined yellow legal pads, and would use nothing else. 

Be visible on camera. Sharing of yourself supports sangha!

Be ready to sit comfortably in silent meditation for (at most) ten minutes.