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 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.
Join us for a full day of practice in the midst of the spring training period. This weekend event, centered on Saturdays full day of practice, is open for residential and drop-in attendance. If you would like to stay on campus and make the most of this weekend of practice 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.
Additionally 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.
The Dharma talk will be on Fa-Tsang’s Brief Commentary on the Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra which looks at the much beloved Heart Sutra from a Huayan perspective. Previous talks that provide a background can be found on the Drafty Mountain Hut blog: Introduction to Huayan thought Fa-Tsang’s Commentary on the Heart Sutra (forthcoming)
For those taking part in the Spring Training period and wish to catch up on the talks that provide the basis for this period’s talks, they have been posted on the Drafty Mountain Hut blog,
This third weekend of March we will dive into intensive investigation of this great matter with a period set aside for extended practice. This weekend event, centered on Saturdays full day of practice, is open for residential and drop-in attendance. If you would like to stay on campus and make the most of this weekend of practice 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.
Additionally 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.
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 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.
Updated with the January 26th talk, continuing the theme of forbearance.
Over on his Drafty Mountain Hut blog, Tendo has posted the talk from the January 19th, 2025 Zazenkai. In this talk from an essay in Mumon Yamada Roshi’s Hakuin Zenji’s Song of Zazen on the topic of forbearance, he take a circuitous route through samsara, through the teachings, to the necessity of practice in difficult times.
Rohatsu Retreat and Bodhi Day Ceremony December 1st-8th, 2024
The autumn training period culminates with the Rohtasu 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 December 1st through the 8th with extended practice during our regular schedule leading up to a stretch of full-time, practice and culminating in 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.
This follows 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).
The Rohatsu Exhortations talks will consider practice as Hakuin exhorted his monks to engage in, but will also consider practice from several angles including what we in this retreat are doing right now. Further information on this, as well as recordings of each days talks will be posted on the Drafty Mountain Hut practice blog.. I particularly encourage those taking part in the retreat to listen to the first nights talk as in it both the retreat is introduced as well as a parallel text that we will consider along with the Rohatsu Exhortations. Rohatsu Exhortations Talks: A Pluralistic Approach, Part 2, Part 3
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 5th-8th, with residency available. Please note that one can stay overnight from Saturday to the Bodhi Day Ceremony on Sunday for a full day intensive option. 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.
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 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.
Every day during the OSesshin (May 16th – 22nd), 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 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.
Update 03.15.24 • Please note that due to circumstances we are changing this retreat to a day of zazen with an extended period of samu in the morning. Please see the schedule below.
Please join us during the Spring Training period for a day of practice. This is opportunity to keep the practice fires burning between retreats, or to begin to add more intensive investigation to your current practice. This retreat offers practice throughout the day and is open for drop-in or online attendance . We will begin the online broadcast Saturday morning and run throughout the day following the below schedule. As always Sunday’s Zazenkai will be broadcast if one wishes to extend their practice.
