Tag: Retreat

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October 2021 Weekend Retreat

October 22nd-24th, 2021

Keeping ones practice solid, energetic and ever deepening is why we push hard during the training period. Keeping up the momentum in October we offer a long weekend retreat. Two full days followed by a half day on Sunday to deepen or renew your commitment.  We will continue our investigation of the Letters of Dahui and his teachings for lay practitioners without ready access to a teacher. Truly valuable teachings for these times and for lay practice in general.  This retreat is offered virtually with limited in-person attendance, restricted to those in the local area, contact us if interested.  

Essential Information
• Download the full schedule: October Weekend Retreat Schedule
• The sutra book we will be using can be downloaded here: Virtual Sutra book
• Read these posts:  Guidelines for Virtual Events and Orientation to Virtual Sesshin.
• To receive the links for Virtual Events by email: Tahoma Virtual Events mailing list.

Zoom Link for Online Retreat:  [Event has passed]

Continue reading “October 2021 Weekend Retreat”
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2021 Autumnal Equinox Retreat

September 20th-26th, 2021

The Autumn Training period begins with our Autumnal Equinox Retreat starting Monday September 20th. This will kick off a 90 day period of intense practice where ones primary focus is training. This is a time to give oneself over completely to ones method. This retreat is offered virtually with limited in-person attendance, restricted to those in the local area, contact us if interested.  

The online retreat will have four major broadcast blocks throughout the day:
5am to 7am: Choka and Zazen
10:30am to Noon: Zazen
2pm to 4pm: Dharma Talk and Zazen
6pm to 9pm: Zazen

Continue reading “2021 Autumnal Equinox Retreat”
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Autumnal Equinox 2021 Sesshin


September 20th-26th, 2021
Tahoma Zen Monastery Online

 
The changing of the seasons into Autumn heralds the start of the most intense period of practice in the training year. Please join us online from September 20th though 26th, for a weeklong retreat. This retreat is offered virtually with limited in-person attendance, restricted to those in the local area, contact us if interested.  With a virtual retreat one can take part as ones schedule, energy and interest allows. But, as always, we recommend committing to what you are able to attend and then holding fast to the sesshin spirit for that period.  Sesshin is always and only as deep and powerful as you make it.

I encourage those who are able to give themselves completely to this week as they would to any sesshin. While of course everyone is welcome to attend events as circumstances allow, if you are able do engage in the full days schedule and maintain sesshin spirit throughout the self-directed portions.  While there are many periods where one has to be the master of their own practice, set a routine for meals and engage in work around your place that coincides with the practice schedule. Undertake your own physical practice or follow the outdoor practice during periods when that is offered.  Some suggestions and procedure for getting the most out of a virtual sesshin can be found in our Guidelines for Virtual Events and Orientation to Virtual Sesshin.

The retreat begins Monday September 20th at 5am and concludes Sunday morning after Zazenkai. All days apart from the final day with follow this basic schedule:

General Broadcast schedule (all times PDT)
5am to 6:55am: Choka and zazen
10:30am to noon: Zazen
2pm to 4pm: Dharma Talk and Zazen
6pm to 8:45pm: Zazen

The full, final schedule for the retreat with all the activities we will engage in at the monastery will be posted in the days before the retreat as well as mailed out in a stand alone email. This post will also include all of the essential information, Zoom Link and etc.  Please email us with any questions: tahoma@tahomazenmonastery.com

As we wish to share the dharma with everyone we are not setting a fixed cost for the retreat. However there are costs to us for food, utilities and operations. So please do consider making a donation online or in person with this in mind.

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September 2021 Training Month

Application deadline is August 6th.

Apply now: [registration is closed]

The September 2021 training period at Tahoma Zen Monastery begins on Saturday the 4th, and concludes Wednesday the 22nd.  Please Note: Applications are available to those who are fully vaccinated.  The online application provides a field to upload an image of your vaccination document.

OSESSHIN: Saturday, September 4th – Saturday, September 11th, 2021
Kokuho is Saturday evening, September 4th.  Osesshin, led by Harada Roshi, concludes the evening of Saturday, September 11th.  Full time participation is required.

KOSESSHIN: Sunday, September 12th – Wednesday, September 15th, 2021
Kokuho is Sunday evening, September 12th.  Three full days of sitting led by Harada Roshi concludes the evening of Wednesday, September 15th.  

KOSESSHIN: Friday, September 17th – Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021
Kokuho is Friday evening, September 17th.  Five full days of sitting led by Daichi Zenni concludes the evening of Wednesday, September 15th.  

The application deadline is Friday, August 6th .  Acceptance emails will be sent soon after the deadline date. Please send your sesshin fee once you have been notified of your acceptance.  The cost of Osesshin is $400. The cost of kosesshin is $60/day.  Dates may be subject to change.

Payment information will be included in the acceptance email.

Schedules, guidelines for conduct, and directions to the monastery can be found here: Sesshin Guidelines.

Please note: Attending Osesshin is a commitment to full time participation.  Kosesshin allows for less than full time participation.  In order for kosesshin to run smoothly, we request that you provide your arrival and departure dates and approximate times, and keep us updated of changes. Temple housing is limited and we appreciate your flexibility.  Any help with set up before or clean up following sesshin will be greatly appreciated.  There may be a wait-list for any segment of this month of practice. People on the wait-list will be contacted immediately as spaces become available.  

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2021 Summer Solstice Retreat

June 20th-27th, 2021

Our weeklong retreat commemorating the Summer Solstice begins on June 20th. There are plenty of options for people to take part. People can sign up for full time attendance until June 20th, or for part-time attendance up to the day before you intend to attend. Please contact us if you’d like to take part in person (full vaccination required):
tahoma@tahomazenmonastery.com

Drop-In Attendance
All of the events are open to drop-in attendance for the fully vaccinated. Simply arrive ten minutes before the scheduled event, find an unoccupied place in the Zendo and take part. Drop-in attendees are expected to not attend meals. If you’d like to include a meal in your list simply contact us in advance and you can do a day, or half a day of part time practice.

Online Retreat
We are also offering this retreat online for those unable to come to the monastery. Online retreats can be as rigorous as an in-person retreat if you approach the self-directed activities with as much commitment as those broadcast.  Suggestions and procedure for getting the most out of a virtual sesshin can be found in our Guidelines for Virtual Events and Orientation to Virtual Sesshin.

The online retreat will have four major broadcast blocks throughout the day:
5am to 7am: Choka and Zazen
10:30am to Noon: Zazen
2pm to 4pm: Dharma Talk and Zazen
6pm to 9pm: Zazen

Zoom Link for Online Retreat: [event has passed]

To receive the links for the Virtual Events by email: Tahoma Virtual Events mailing list.

For this retreat we will be working on practices and approaches to training for retreat, daily practice and amidst the furor of daily life. Rooted in traditional practice, the approach we will be studying extends into the natural world with simple practices we can engage in beyond the zendo. The primary text for this retreat will be Dewdrops on Stinging Nettles a practice guide we have put together. This will be supplemented with classic texts throughout the tradition. Copies of the text can be acquired here: Dewdrops on Stinging Nettles.

Essential Files
• Download the full schedule: Summer Solstice Retreat Schedule
• The sutra book we will be using can be downloaded here:: Virtual Sutra book
• An excerpt of our text covering the outside practices can be downloaded here: Dewdrops on Stinging Nettles – Outside Practices

Retreat Schedule

Sunday, June 20th

5:00pmInformal Dinner; Cleanup
6:00pmOrientation [in dining hall]
7:30pmZazen
8:00pmOpening Sutra (sutras p.16);
Introductory Talk
8:45pmKaichin [in kitchen]
All times Pacific Time. Please arrive/tune in ten minutes before scheduled events.
Events in Bold will be streamed.

Monday June 20th – Saturday June 26th

5:00amChoka  (sutras p.3-14); Sampai; Han
5:40amZazen (short period); Kinhin
6:00amZazen; Zazen
7:00amBreakfast; Cleanup; Break
8:15amSamu [meet on kitchen deck]
10:30amOutside Zazen; Kinhin
11:30amZazen;
11:55amLunch; Cleanup; Break
2:00pmDharma Talk; Kinhin
3:00pmZazen; Zazen
4:00pmOutside practice [meet at zendo]
5:00pmDinner (informal, optional); Cleanup; Break
6:00pmUninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin;
7:00pmZazen; Zazen; Kinhin
8:00pmZazen; Zazen
8:45pmSarei (tea); 
Han; Closing Sutra (sutras p.17); Sampai
9:00pmKaichin
All times Pacific Time. Please arrive/tune in ten minutes before scheduled events.
Events in Bold will be streamed.

Sunday, June 27th

5:00amAbbreviated Choka (sutras p.3, 4, 10, 12, 13); Han;
5:20amZazen (short period); Kinhin
5:45amZazen
6:15amClosing Sutra (sutras p. 6,7); Closing Talk
6:30amBreakfast; Cleanup; Break
8:00amZazenkai  (sutras p.3, 10, 14)
9:30amInformal Tea [on kitchen deck]
All times Pacific Time. Please arrive/tune in ten minutes before scheduled events.
Events in Bold will be streamed.

 Please email us with any questions, or for registration information: tahoma@tahomazenmonastery.com

This retreat is offered without charge, however there are costs to us for food, utilities, printing and operations. So please do consider making a donation online or in person with this in mind.

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Summer Solstice 2021 Weeklong Retreat

June 20th – 27th

Registration is open, please email us at:  tahoma@tahomazenmonastery.com

As we transition into summer we conclude the Spring Training period with a weeklong retreat.  This will mark the fifth retreat that has been held at Tahoma since the pandemic began. These retreats have all been put on by the monastery staff and have all been available online.  This retreat will be available in person for those fully vaccinated and will bring to a culmination the practice that has been presented over the last year.

This retreat will feature expanded activities taking place outside and will emphasize practice that integrates into our daily lives and lay practice. All of the indoor activities will be presented online via Zoom for those who are unable to be fully vaccinated by the retreat. But this will be a very valuable experience for everyone as we resume full time in person practice and we encourage everyone who is able to to come in person. The text that we will be using for the retreat will be presented to all attendees. For those practicing at home you can acquire your own copy, or download an excerpt with just the outdoor practices here: Dewdrops on Stringing Nettles.

There will be options for full time or part time residential participation,  drop-in attendance and online participation.  We ask that everyone who attends email us stating their desire to attend and in what capacity. We will allow drop-in attendance without prior notification either in person or via Zoom if one is unable to commit beforehand or discovers some free time. We absolutely encourage participation in whatever way that works for you. For those attending full time registration will be required as we need to have attendance information for meals, allergies, emergency contact and so on.  

We are still being cautious and of course have to follow WA State guidelines. This limits us to twenty (20) people in the Zendo as of this mailing, so this is our limit for in-person attendance. So please register soon and if we exceed that number there will be a waitlist. We will expand the limits if the State changes the guidelines which are dependent on vaccination rates. We also are asking that people staying in residence arrive the afternoon of the 20th, and depart by the afternoon on the 27th. On the final day we will conclude with choka and a closing ceremony followed by Zazenkai for those who wish to sit with the local sangha.  Below is the schedule of the weeks events (subject to change).

June 20th, 2021
1pm: Campus opens for residents.
5pm: Informal Dinner
6pm: Orientation
7:30pm: Opening Ceremony/Zazen 

June 21st-26th, 2021
4:50am –  9:00pm: Retreat Daily Schedule

June 27th, 2021
4:50am: Zazen/Closing Ceremony
8am: Zazenkai
10am: Cleanup
Noon: Departure

As we wish to share the dharma with everyone we are not setting a fixed cost for the retreat. However there are costs to us for food, utilities and operations. So please do consider making a donation online or in person with this in mind.

If you’d like to volunteer to help with cooking,  to prepare food beforehand, or to donate snacks or sarei treats, please email:  tahoma@tahomazenmonastery.com

There will be a post early next week with the full schedule, Zoom Information and other information for the retreat. Additionally an email will be sent to the mailing list with this information. Sign up to our mailing list here: Monastery Messages.

Registration is open, please email us at:  tahoma@tahomazenmonastery.com

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Vernal Equinox Online Retreat

Vernal Equinox Retreat
March 15th-21st, 2021 –Online Only-

March heralds the beginning of spring and with it our spring training period. Please join us online from March 15th through the 21st for a weeklong retreat. This retreat is a fully virtual sesshin meaning that anyone, anywhere can take part for as much as one is able. As always we recommend committing to what you are able to attend and then holding the sesshin spirit for that period.  Sesshin is always and only as deep and powerful as you make it.

Broadcast Periods
4:55am – 6:55am: Choka and zazen
9:55am to 11:55am: Zazen
1:55pm to 4pm: Dharma Talk and Zazen
5:55pm to 8:45pm: Zazen

As with all of our online events there will be four broadcast blocks throughout the day. Beyond that we have a detailed daily schedule that is posted below. Please note the different schedules on the first and final days. We strongly encourage you to try to adhere to as much of the schedule as you are committing to;  have your meals when we do, work around your domicile during the samu period, engage in some form of exercise during the physical practice period, keep conversations to a bare, functional minimum, eliminate media consumption and so on.  Hold the sesshin spirit!  

The Dharma Talk will be from Torei Enji’s Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School. Download a free PDF of it here (45MB pdf). An archive of previous talks can be found here: Torei zenji’s Discourse talks.

Some suggestions and procedure for getting the most out of a virtual sesshin can be found in our Guidelines for Virtual Events and Orientation to Virtual Sesshin.

Download the full schedule here: Vernal Equinox Retreat Schedule (pdf).

Join Zoom Meeting: [event has passed]

Retreat Schedule

Monday, March 15th

6:00pm*Opening Sutra (p.16); Introductory Talk
6:30pm*Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin;
7:30pm*Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin
8:45pm*Han; Closing Sutra (p.17); Sampai
9:00pmKaichin/Yaza
ll times Pacific Time. Please tune in five minutes before scheduled events.
Events in Bold will be streamed. All other events are self-directed
*These Events can be attended in-person (masks required) please contact us for details.

Tuesday, March 13th-Saturday March 21st

5:00amChoka  (Sutras p.3-14); Han; Kinhin
6:00amZazen; Zazen
7:00amBreakfast; Cleanup
8:30amSamu
10:00am*Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin
11:00am*Zazen; Zazen
11:55amLunch; Cleanup
2:00pmDharma Talk; Kinhin; Zazen; Zazen
4:00pmPhysical/Outside practice
5:00pmDinner; Cleanup
6:00pm*Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin;
7:00pm*Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin
8:00pm*Zazen; Zazen
8:45pm*Han; Closing Sutra (p.17); Sampai
9:00pmKaichin/Yaza
All times Pacific Time. Please tune in five minutes before scheduled events.
Events in Bold will be streamed. All other events are self-directed
*These Events can be attended in-person (masks required) please contact us for details.

Sunday, March 21st

5:00amChoka  (sutras p.3-7,10,12,13); Han; Kinhin
6:00amZazen
6:30amBreakfast
8:00amZazenkai  (sutras p.3,10,13)
9:30ambreak
10:00amZazen; Zazen; Closing Sutra (p.6,7)
11:00amQ&A/Book Discussion
ll times Pacific Time. Please tune in five minutes before scheduled events.
Events in Bold will be streamed. All other events are self-directed
No In-Person events on this day.

Download Sutra book: Virtual Sutra book
To receive the links for the Virtual Events by email: Tahoma Virtual Events mailing list.

There is no fee for participating in this event but do be mindful that virtual events also utilize resources and the monastery does have regular expenses in order to keep open. We wish to facilitate the practice and promote the dharma as widely as possible, thus our practice of putting on these events without cost. This is especially important in these times with so many out of work and confined to home. For those who are able to offer support, we appreciate your including us in your consideration. Thank your for your continuing support and please email us with any questions: Contact Information.

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Autumn Training Period at Tahoma

While we remain unable to offer in-person retreats and our teachers remain safely ensconced at Sogen-ji we intend to have as vigorous of an Autumn Training period as possible.  In light of this we will offer Virtual Sesshin every month during the this period.  We will have a week long sesshin in September, KoSesshin in October and November and a full eight day Rohatsu in December.  The September retreat will be held to coincide with the Autumnal Equinox and details will be published here shortly.. Information regarding upcoming events will be added to the website as the schedule firms up with an announcement in each months newsletter. We will also send out a general email on this list a day or two before the sesshin to encourage people to take advantage of this opportunity.

Autumn Training Period Retreat Calendar
September 21st-27th: Autumn Equinox sesshin
October 16th-18th: October KoSesshin
November 14th: Day of Practice
December 1st-8th: Rohatsu sesshin
December 19th: Solstice Practice Day

During this training period we will also engage in study material that will be the subject of the dharma talks during retreat. For the Autumn Training period our study material will be Torei Enji’s Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School. This text is rarely engaged with in the west but presents a complete description of Rinzai Zen Training in the Hakuin tradition. In the three sesshin’s leading up to Rohatsu we will conclude the final day with an open discussion of the text. If there is interest we will continue in 2021 with a reading group around this text.  You can purchase your own copy of the text  from here (scroll down) or download a PDF of it here (note: links to a large pdf). If you are searching for your own copy be sure to get the edition translated by Yoko Okuda and published by  Tuttle Publishing.

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September 2019 Training Month at Tahoma

The September 2019 training period at Tahoma Zen Monastery begins on Thursday the 5th, and concludes Monday the 23rd. The online application can be found here: Sesshin Application

FULL TIME RESIDENTIAL TRAINING is available September  5 – 23, 2019

OSESSHIN: Thursday, September 5 – Thursday, September 12, 2019
Kokuho is Thursday evening, September 5.  Osesshin, led by Harada Roshi, concludes the evening of Thursday, September 12.  Full time participation is required.
Apply here: Sesshin Application

CALLIGRAPHY DEMONSTRATION, Friday, September 13th, 1:00 p.m.
Nalanda West
3902 Woodland Park Ave North
Seattle, Washington, 98103

KOSESSHIN: Friday, September 13 – Monday, September 16, 2019
Kokuho is Friday evening, September 13.  Three full days of sitting led by Harada Roshi.
Apply here: Sesshin Application

JUSEN GARDEN BLESSING & OPENING, September 17th, 10:00 a.m.

KOSESSHIN – Wednesday, September 18 – Monday, September 23, 2019
Kokuho is Wednesday evening, September 18. Five full days of sitting led by Daichi Zenni.
Apply here: Sesshin Application

The application deadline is Friday, August 2.  Acceptance emails will be sent soon after the deadline date. Please send your sesshin fee once you have been notified of your acceptance.  The maximum cost for the month is $600.  The cost of Osesshin is $400. The cost of kosesshin is $60/day.
Schedules, guidelines for conduct, and directions to the monastery can be found here: Sesshin Guidelines.

 

Attending Osesshin is a commitment to full time participation.  Kosesshin allows for less than full time participation.  In order for kosesshin to run smoothly we request that you provide your arrival and departure dates and approximate times, and keep us updated of changes.  Temple housing is limited so we appreciate your flexibility.  Any help with set up before or clean up following sesshin is greatly appreciated.  There may be a wait-list for any “segment” of this month of practice. People on the wait-list will be contacted immediately as spaces become available.

 

Thank you,
Rozan Lenny Gerson
lenogerson@gmail.com