UPDATE: KCC Urban Center Closure — The Omicron Variant

December 24, 2021

IMPORTANT INFORMATION — PLEASE READ

Dear Precious KCC Sangha,

Effective immediately, KCC has suspended all group gatherings at the Urban Center on Skidmore until further notice. Please do not come to KCC’s meditation hall. We will be Zooming all programming.

KCC leadership has deeply considered the skillful actions we should take in the face of the rapid spread of the coronavirus Omicron variant, the unknown severity of illness it causes, or how well available vaccines and medications work against it.

All in-house group meditation sessions and small group gatherings will now be livestreamed with Zoom, including the upcoming New Year’s Retreat and Sunday practices.

We will continue to closely monitor the evolving circumstances around the coronavirus and will immediately inform the community when KCC can resume its regular schedule and operations at the Urban Center. (Please check our website frequently for updates.) KCC is committed to continually revisiting this decision and to be a source of support for our community.


Message from Lama Eric:
“Any tradition that purports to express the truth should be applicable in all circumstances be they times of prosperity and joy or times of turmoil and uncertainty. All the buddhadharma can be encapsulated in this famous quote: 

Do not commit any misdeed.
Engage in all that’s virtuous.
And thoroughly train your mind.
This is the teaching of Buddha.

This verse expresses the path to awakening as well as how to approach the current coronavirus situation. First, generating mindfulness and being motivated by loving kindness and compassion, we should refrain from behavior that could endanger ourselves and —just as, if not more importantly—others who may be more susceptible to severe complications from contracting the virus. Second, others will be affected by this, and some of us will be in positions to responsibly assist them by providing means, physical help, or just the comfort of listening. And third, by remaining centered, clear-headed, and rational in the midst of the tumult, our actions of body, speech, and mind will promote clarity and a sense of calm in our smaller and greater communities.”

— Lama Eric Triebelhorn

For the benefit of all beings,
Lama Eric Triebelhorn, on behalf of the Program Council
John Jennings, KCC President, on behalf of the Board
Linda Grove, Executive Director