One-on-One Therapy
Flint maintains a small practice in individual, couple and group psychotherapy. Because he teaches and travels quite a bit, he is reluctant to accept new clients who need regular weekly care and immediate access to him on an ongoing basis. He is not available for emergency care. However, people who are aware of these limitation and are still interested in consulting with him, are encouraged to make an inquiry. View the Working Relationship Agreement, which includes fees and general information, here.

Inquiry Group
Inquiry is an opportunity to participate in an intimate investigation about what it means to live an awakened life in the everyday world. Here, we are offered a chance for discovery and transformation in ourselves and release from our struggles by working directly with a Zen teacher in a group setting, sharing the intimacy of practice-based inquiry with others. Devoid of ancient rituals or formalized structure, Inquiry is an opportunity to share our deepest sorrows and our greatest joys, and to face the challenges of our everyday lives, held in the warm embrace of the sangha (community of practitioners). It is also a place in which the dharma (teachings) reveal themselves out of this intimate meeting. Rather than relying on traditional sutras or Asian forms, the practice of Inquiry directly demonstrates the reality of liberation in the present moment. The truth comes forth in our own voices, supported and assisted by the teacher.

Inquiry group is not designed for psychotherapy or counseling. The process is not intended for giving advice or academic discussion. Each person is invited to offer his or her presence in the spirit of openness and curiosity. Participants may have a wide range of questions about their practice and about their lives. Although only a few people will be able to enter into the public dialogue in each session, the full participation of every person is required in order to hold the space for awakening and transformation to occur. We all share in and benefit from this transformative practice.

Inquiry is open to anyone interested in Zen practice and the teachings of the Buddha. There is no membership requirement and you do not need to consider yourself a "Buddhist." There is no charge for Inquiry although dana (donations) for the teacher is encouraged.

Each session begins with a period of about 15 minutes of silence, followed by some brief comments, a reading, or a reflection by the teacher. The remaining time is devoted to an Inquiry dialogue with participants who come forward and meet with the teacher. Participants are encouraged to establish a regular meditation practice to help support and integrate the truth that emerges in Inquiry. The group setting also holds the potential to reveal the intimate and essential work of the bodhisattva, a being dedicated to the relief of suffering for all beings.

The days and times for Inquiry can be found on the Flint Sparks calendar as well as on the Appamada calendar.

Practice Discussion
In traditional Zen temples and monasteries, teachers and students spend a great deal of time together sitting zazen, working side-by-side, studying, and caring for the community. In addition, there are both formal and informal ways in which the student and teacher meet to penetrate the essential questions of Zen practice. Dokusan is the term used for a private meeting with the teacher. This is an opportunity for the student to bring their questions to the Zen Master in an intimate setting and for the teacher to get a sense of the student's practice and understanding of the dharma (the Buddha's teachings). In less formal settings this is called practice discussion, and is also a common practice in most lay Zen centers. Another type of meeting is called shosan, which is a highly formal question and answer ceremony performed in a public setting in the zendo (meditation hall). This is an individual public encounter with the teacher that is an opportunity for students to bring themselves forward among their peers and reveal their most sincere desire for awakening. It is also an opportunity for the teacher to both challenge and support the understanding of the student. Both shosan and dokusan are formal ways of engaging in what one teacher describes as a "communicative crisis," a kind of relational tension in which everything is at risk and a space is opened out of which the mind of wisdom and the heart of compassion might more easily flow.

There is another tradition of public meeting with a teacher that has been carried forward from the Hindu tradition, specifically the Advaita Vendanta form or non-dual practice. Satsang (meeting in truth) is another example of inquiry in which the student enters into a powerful and intimate moment with the teacher (guru) for confrontation and clarification with the intention of freeing the student from their limiting and dualistic views.