The work week is for work and the weekend is personal time, at least for those of us who are fortunate to still have jobs, yet not so fortunate that it requires working on the weekends too. “Work” here is stuff that involves earning a living. What is personal, though? Most people save time to be with family, meet with friends and family not living with them. 

Where do hobbies fall? I know gyms and fitness programs that have classes scheduled only on weekdays, and maybe a small schedule on Saturday, and nothing on Sunday.   Language classes, art classes, sports classes, music classes – things that don’t need a block of many hours like a long hike – are scheduled on weekday evenings so as not to encroach on the weekend. 

Where does spirituality fit in all of this? Does it belong in personal time or in work/hobby (weekdays). It seems most religions in the US choose the weekend for communal gatherings in addition to daily private practice.  This is true for all faiths including “traditional” Buddhist parisas (assemblies).  But a number of “western” Buddhist circles have gatherings and meditation almost exclusively on the weekdays, meeting every Tuesday evening, Thursday evening, etc.  This despite the fact that the original reason for the weekend was to set it apart for spiritual practice – a tradition from the western world. 

It’s also not common to see  families attending together, which would have made the weekend a natural time for practicing together as a community.  Children at such Dharma gatherings are a rarity and a source of some attention and “awww”s.

All of this leads me to wonder what kind of place meditation and Dharma, that I would normally think of as situated in the personal and the spiritual, is assumed to hold in these communities. Is this considered a hobby?