About
Eryl Kubicka began practicing Buddhism in 1969 through the London Buddhist Society. She joined the Rochester Zen Center's Madison affiliate in 1980 and moved to Rochester in 2004. Her primary teacher was Roshi Philip Kapleau. She was invested as a lay member of the Three Jewels Order in 2006. At Rochester Zen Center, Kubicka serves as Head of Zendo at Chapin Mill, leads sesshin, and offers private instruction. She coordinates the retreat center and co-founded The Zen of Living and Dying program with her late husband, Ven. Wayman Kubicka. She is involved in the center's prison dharma program at Attica Correctional Facility and mentors in the youth and family program.
Teaching focus
Eryl Kubicka's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Zen tradition. Several threads come up: steady attention to body and breath; the relationship between ethics and meditation; and short, direct teachings rather than long talks. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Eryl Kubicka works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include grief, advanced practice. The bigger move Eryl Kubicka keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Eryl Kubicka's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Eryl Kubicka's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Eryl Kubicka teaches in the Zen tradition. The teaching home is Rochester Zen Center. From the teacher's own profile: Eryl Kubicka first came to Buddhism in 1969 through Christmas Humphreys’ London Buddhist Society. In 1980 she joined the Rochester Zen Center’s affiliate group in Madison, WI, and then moved to Rochester in 2004. Her first teacher was Roshi Philip Kapleau. In 2006, she was invested as a lay member of the Three Jewels Order of the Center. In addition to being Chapin Mill’s Head of Zendo, offering Private instruction and leading, participating in, and monitoring sesshin, Eryl is the rental coordinator for our Retreat Center at Chapin Mill. She also helps facilitate The Zen of Living and Dying, a Sangha program she founded with her late husband, Ven. Wayman Kubicka. Eryl is actively involved in the Center’s Prison Dharma Program at Attica Correctional Facility, mentors in the Youth and Family Program, and participates in the Leadership and Planning Group for Uprooting Racism. In a Zen container, what Eryl Kubicka offers is steady, mostly silent practice with short pointed teachings. The form is the teaching as much as the words are. Sitting, walking, work practice, and the relationship with a teacher all carry weight. Eryl Kubicka's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eryl Kubicka's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eryl Kubicka's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eryl Kubicka's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eryl Kubicka's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eryl Kubicka's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eryl Kubicka's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography.
Lineage
Eryl Kubicka teaches as a lay teacher in the Zen tradition. The institutional home, per the source listing, is Rochester Zen Center, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. The Zen lineage frame here, where stated, is what authorizes a teacher to lead practice, and the source page usually names the dharma teacher or root teacher when relevant.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Eryl Kubicka, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. Retreats are part of the offering, usually a few days to a week, mostly silent. The container is shaped by Rochester Zen Center, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
