Morning Practice with Watermoon Dojo Please note that this is an online only event. There is no public in person practice at Tahoma Zen Monastery during this event.
Tuesday December 9th, 2025, 6:30am to 8:30am Pacific Time Join us for a morning of practice with Seattle’s One Drop Water Moon sitting group. The morning events will consist of Choka (chant service), zazen and dharma talk with a casual “tea” to follow. For the Dharma Talk we will be reading from Torei Enji’s Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School. Download a PDF of it here (note: links to a 43MB pdf). You can find notes and recordings of the previous discussions here: Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp.
Bodhi Day Ceremony / Zazenkai Sunday, December 7th, 2025
Bodhi Day celebrates the awakening of the Buddha. It culminates the our end of the autumn training period Rohatsu retreat. The Bodhi Day ceremony is open to all, whether you took part in any of the rest of the retreat or not, and at the very reasonable hour of 8am. I would like to encourage all in the community, especially those who haven’t come to Zazenkai in while, to consider coming for this ceremony and connecting (or reconnecting) with the local sangha.
We will follow the usual Zazenkai schedule and hold the ceremony in the second half of the program. The whole morning will be broadcast via Zoom (details below).
Celebration We will follow the Bodhi Day ceremony with a casual celebratory gathering in the Tahoma Dining Hall. This is open to everyone, no participation in any of the week, or even days events required. We would like to celebrate with all in our community. We will provide hot and cold drinks and sweet and savory snacks. If you want to bring something to share, by all means please do, but just bringing yourself will suffice. We’ll be in the Dining Hall by 9:45am.
Rohatsu Retreat and Bodhi Day Ceremony November 30th-December 7th, 2025
Update 12.05.25 We have added to the schedule an Instructional Talk on the investigative method of Interrogation (huatou, koan). This will be 10am on Saturday, Dec. 6th. These techniques, of working skillfully with words, are so often approached in an ineffective manner. We will try to clearly present the technique with this talk.
Update 12.01.25 The opening talk from this retreat, given on Sunday Nov. 30th, is now available for download. This talk discussed how we approach retreat and the necessity and level of commitment we should bring to intensive practice. It concludes with the first entry from Haukin Zenji’s Rohatsu Exhortations. Download here: Approaching Retreat–Rohatsu 2025
The autumn training period culminates with the Rohatsu sesshin commemorating the Buddha’s awakening. This is always the most intense training period of the year in which one brings a years worth of training to bear. This year Rohatsu at Tahoma will run from November 30th-December 7th with extended practice during our regular schedule leading up to a stretch of full-time, practice and culminating with the Bodhi Day Ceremony during regular Sunday Zazenkai.
The Bodhi Day ceremony is open to all and at the very reasonable time of 8am. I would like to encourage all in the community, especially those who haven’t come to zazenkai in while, to consider coming for this ceremony and connecting with the local sangha. We will follow the Bodhi Day ceremony with a casual holiday gathering in the Tahoma kitchen.
The retreat will follow the pattern we have utilized in the past for Rohatsu at Tahoma where our days get longer and more intense as we go through the week as well as acknowledging the realities of practice here at this time. Likewise as is our tradition each evening of the retreat in the first period after golden hour we will read from Hakuin Zenji’s Rohatsu Exhortations (available here).
All of the practice periods during this week are open to drop-in attendance and during the full-time intensive period, residential practice. Additionally the entire retreat will be broadcast via zoom. The Zoom link will be posted on the website in the days prior and sent out in the Tahoma Events weekly mailing.
Residential Retreat Options The full time intensive training will take place December 4th-7th, with residency available. Please note that one can stay overnight any of these days, so you could, for instance, be resident from Saturday through the Bodhi Day Ceremony on Sunday for more of a weekend retreat. We need to know at least a few days in advance if you wish to stay here overnight. Please contact us if you would like to register for residential practice or if you have any additional questions.
Drop in and part time options are available as usual, please contact uswith any questions. We need to be notified in advance if you wish to stay through any meals to aid in our food preparation.
Rohatsu Daily Schedule
Day 1: Sunday, November 30th 8am – 9:30am: Zazenkai and Rohatsu opening with reading from Rohatsu Exhortations.
Day 2: Monday, December 1st 6pm: Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin 7pm: Rohatsu Exhortationsreading; Zazen; Kinhin 8pm: Zazen
Days 3 & 4: Tuesday December 2nd and Wednesday December 3rd 5am: Choka; Zazen; Kinhin 6am: Zazen 6pm: Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin 7pm: Rohatsu Exhortationsreading; Zazen; Kinhin 8pm: Zazen
Days 5-7 Thursday, December 4th – Saturday, December 6th 5am: Choka; Zazen; Kinhin 6am: Zazen 10am: Instructional Talk [Day 7] / Zazen [Day 5, 6 11am: Zazen 2pm: Dharma Talk; Kinhin; 3pm: Zazen 6pm: Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin 7pm: Rohatsu Exhortationsreading; Zazen; Kinhin 8pm: Zazen; kinhin 9pm: Zazen [Each day runs longer; please download the Schedule for complete details.]
Day 8: Sunday, December 7th 5am: Zazen; Kinhin 5:45am: Closing Sutras; Closing Remarks 8am: Zazenkai and Bodhi Day Ceremony 9:45am: Bodhi Day Celebration (in-person only)
This retreat is offered without charge, however there are costs to putting it on, so please consider making a donation online or in person with this in mind.
As it turns cold, rainy and dark this is the best time to renew our dedication to practice. Practice is a muscle that must be exercised to maintain its conditioning and to increase its strength and endurance These daylong retreats are an opportunity for sustained practice, to delve into this great matter in a more concentrated way. In order to facilitate sustained practice for the myriad situations that we moderns find ourselves in we offer several options to facilitate taking advantage of this daylong retreat.
Option 1 – Drop in Attendance You are welcome to come for any of the four blocks of practice offered throughout the day. You should arrive ten minutes early and be seated in the zendo before the outside bell is rung (gosei). Alternatively you can arrive during the midpoint of the period during kinhin (walking meditation). and join the line. If you arrive while a period is still in progress please wait in the entrance (the gaitan) until kinhin. After the block concludes, you should depart in a timely manner.
Option 2 – Part Time attendance You can join in for part of the day across multiple periods, or arrive at a point during the day and stay until the next day, or whatever works with your schedule. Arrivals and departures should take place in-between the practice blocks so as seamlessly integrate into the sesshin. To arrange for part time attendance it is essential to contact us with your plans some days in advance.
Option 3 – Full Time attendance To take part in the entire retreat you need to contact us at least several days in advance to register. For full time attendance you can arrange to stay at the monastery Friday and/or Saturday night as needed.
Please Note We offer these events without a set cost, but please be aware that there are costs associated with putting them on and donations are very welcome.
The talks during this retreat will be from the recently released second edition of Tendo’s practice book Dewdrops on Stinging Nettles. This completely revised and expanded edition of the book is available everywhere including as an eBook on all major platforms, for last minute acquisition. Additional information can be found here: Dewdrops on Stinging Nettles.
The Dharma talk will continue with the Introduction to the Dream Mountain Way began at the Summer retreats. The earlier parts are all archived and can be dowloaded from the Teachings page on the Dream Mountain site.. This fourth and final part will be on Right Orientation for Practice. There will also be an instructional talk mid-morning considering Investigating Thoughts. All of the previous instructional and dharma talks are archived on this page: Dream Mountain Teachings.
Join us Online
We will continue to broadcast these retreats via Zoom for those unable to join us in person. We will begin the online broadcast during regular Friday evening zazen and conclude after Sunday’s Zazenkai allowing for one to be able to extend ones practice beyond the full day.
For those who have been following the talks on the Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School, that Tendo gives during his monthly Water Moon meetings, all of the talks from 2023 have now been posted.
Please join us for a full day of practice as we move deeper into the Autumn intensive period. The weather is turning cooler, signs of change into winter are everywhere–signs that we should turn inward and even more rigorously probe into this matter. These daylong retreats are an opportunity for sustained practice, to delve into this great matter in a more concentrated way.
This event is open for residential and drop-in attendance. If you would like to stay on campus and take part in the regular monastery schedule surrounding the retreat please contact us to make arrangements. Please be aware that there is a minimum number of attendees required for us to support residential practice. We request that everyone who intends to join us beyond dropping in for a single period contact us with your plans, sooner rather than later.
The talks during this retreat will be from the recently released second edition of Tendo’s practice book Dewdrops on Stinging Nettles as we continue with the launch for the book. This completely revised and expanded edition of the book is available everywhere including as an eBook on all major platforms, for last minute acquisition. Additional information can be found here: Dewdrops on Stinging Nettles.
The Dharma talk will continue with the Introduction to the Dream Mountain Way began at the Summer talks. The first part can be listened to here and the second part here) The third part will be on Good Friends and how we practice with others. There will also be an instructional talk mid-morning on Focus. All of the previous instructional and dharma talks are archived in this page: Dream Mountain Teachings.
Every day during the OSesshin there will be Teisho (dharma talk) from Shodo Harada Roshi. Talks are in Japanese with translations by Daichi Zenni. The talks begin at 1pm and it is requested that attendees arrive 10-15 minutes early to allow time to walk to the zendo and get settled. There will be staff to assist with parking and making your way to zendo. There will be chairs and cushions available for seating and staff on hand to facilitate finding your seat.
Roshi will be speaking on public cases (koans) from the Blue Cliff Record. Please do come for this unique opportunity to hear a living Zen Master speak on the words of our Zen ancestors.
PLEASE NOTE The monastery will otherwise be closed to the public during the sesshin. Please see our calendar for the resumption of our regular schedule.
Harada Roshi in Dialog with Micheal Learner September 5th, 2025, 1pm
[Event has Passed]
The Way of the Buddha is more a philosophy than a religion. It is a path, not a faith. Its core precepts describe a practice that leads to an experience. Arnold Toynbee once said that the coming of the dharma to the West might prove the greatest event of the 20th century. Shodo Harada Roshi has been described as a teacher’s teacher of Zen Buddhism. He is a longtime friend of Commonweal. Join us for a unique and precious experience of the Buddhist truth, the Buddhist way, and the Buddhist community.
Streaming online or can be attended In person at The New School at Commonweal in Bolinas, CA
