Intensive training sessions known as sesshin continue for periods of eighty, ninety, and one hundred twenty days. Since the goal of all those who take part is to clarify the great matter, while the sesshin is in progress no one leaves the temple gates, and no one speaks unnecessarily. Practice is carried on with a spirit of dauntless, indomitable courage.
-Hakuin Zenji
Autum Kessei 2019
The autumnal equinox opens the Autumn Kessei, a three month training period that runs through Rohatsu sesshin. While we don’t do sesshin every month here and Roshi is only here to lead us at the beginning of the autumn kessei, intensity is much more a decision we make, an orientation toward practice, than anything else. In this spirit those of us at Tahoma will rededicate ourselves to the practice and offer a greater opportunity for practice during this period. We will switch to the Autumn/Winter schedule for our Practice Day’s in October, November and December which offers more zazen as well as officially beginning earlier on the previous Friday to encourage and deepen a three day weekend retreat. Periodically will offer other days more devoted to zazen, keep an eye on this site for details as they are announced. We will again observe Rohatsu Sesshin (dates and details forthcoming) and will conclude the year with our annual New Years potluck and all evening zazen concluding with a midnight bell ringing. Details for all of these events will be post here as we work out the details as well as in forthcoming issues of our newsletter. But let me reiterate that intensity is a state of mind and all of us can begin right now. Dedicate yourself to deeply investigating your true nature this autumn and do so with great sincerity and determination.
