Tag: Rohatsu Sesshin

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Bodhi Day Ceremony

Bodhi Day Ceremony / Zazenkai
Sunday, December 8th, 2024

Bodhi Day celebrates the awakening of the Buddha. It culminate the week long end of year Rohatsu retreat. The Bodhi Day ceremony this year 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.

Sunday, December 8th Schedule

Day 8: Morning Schedule
5am; Zazen; Kinhin; Kaimei Han
5:45am: Closing Sutras (p. 3,4,7); Sampai; Closing Remarks
6:25am Breakfast

Zazenkai and Bodhi Day Ceremony Schedule
8am: Chanting (p. 1)
8:10am: Zazen
8:30: Short Break
8:35: Bodhi Day Ceremony
Han;
Chanting (p. 24, 25, 3, 7, 10, 14)
Sampai, Incense Offering, Reading, Closing Remarks

Essential Information for those joining online
• Please tune in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time so you can be settled.
• 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 Events mailing list.

Zoom Link: [event has passed]

Please email us with any questions: Contact Information

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Rohatsu Retreat and Bodhi Day Ceremony

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.

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Bodhi Day Ceremony

Bodhi Day Ceremony (zazenkai)
December 10th, 2023

Bodhi Day celebrates the awakening of the Buddha. It culminate the week long end of year Rohatsu retreat. The Bodhi Day ceremony this year 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 ill be in the Dining Hall around 9:35am.

Sunday, December 10th Schedule

Day 8: Morning Schedule
5am; Zazen; Kinhin; Kaimei Han
5:45am: Closing Sutras (p. 3, 7); Sampai; Closing Remarks
6:25am Breakfast

Zazenkai and Bodhi Day Ceremony Schedule
8am: Chanting (p. 3, 11)
8:15: Zazen;
8:35: Break
8:45: Bodhi Day Ceremony
Han;
Chanting (p. 24, 25, 3, 7, 10, 14)
Sampai, Incense Offering, Reading, Closing Remarks

Essential Information for those joining online
• Please tune in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time so you can be settled.
• 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 Events mailing list.

Zoom Link: [ Event has passed. Thanks to all who took part!]

Please email us with any questions: Contact Information

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Tahoma Autumn/Winter 2023 Schedule

November 23rd
5am: Regular morning service.
No evening meditation.

November 24th
No morning service.
6:30pm: Regular evening meditation.

December 3rd
Zazenkai 8am. In person and online. Start of Rohatsu Sesshin.
Details: Rohatsu Retreat.

December 4th-7th
5am: Regular morning service.
6pm-8:45pm : Extended evening meditation in observance of Rohatsu.
All events offered in person and online.
Details: Rohatsu Retreat.

December 8th and 9th
Rohatsu Weekend Retreat. In person and online.
Details: Rohatsu Retreat.

December 10th, Bodhi Day Ceremony and Holiday Gathering
8am: Bodhi Day ceremony during our regular Zazenkai. Open to all.
9:30am: Followed by an informal holiday gathering.
Details: Rohatsu Retreat And Bodhi Day Ceremony.

December 23rd, 2023 – January 5th, 2024
Winter closure: no online or in-person events

January 6th, 2024
Regular daily schedule resumes.

All days not specifically listed will be on our regular schedule. Please see our Calendar for the events offered for each day. This is kept up to date with any changes to the daily schedule.

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Rohatsu Retreat and Bodhi Day Ceremony

Rohatsu Retreat and Bodhi Day Ceremony
December 3rd-10th, 2023

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 3rd through the 10th with extended practice during our regular schedule leading up to a weekend retreat and culminating in the Bodhi Day Ceremony during regular Sunday Zazenkai. The Bodhi Day ceremony this year 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 with 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 time are open to drop-in attendance and during the weekend retreat, 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.  Please contact us if you would like to take part in residential practice or if you have any additional questions.

Schedule Overview

Day 1: Sunday, December 3rd
8am – 9:30am: Zazenkai and Rohatsu opening with reading from Rohatsu Exhortations.

Day 2: Monday, December 4th 
6pm – 8:45pm: Zazen with reading from the Rohatsu Exhortations around 7pm.

Days 3-5: Tuesday – Thursday December 7th
5am: Choka; Zazen (short period); Kinhin
6am: Zazen; Zazen
6pm: Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin
7pm: Rohatsu Exhortations reading and Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin
8pm: Zazen; Zazen

Days 6:  Friday, December 8th
5am-7am: Choka and Zazen
11-noon: Zazen
2pm – 4pm: Dharma Talk and zazen
6pm – 9:25pm: Zazen with reading from the Rohatsu Exhortations around 7pm.
Please see the Rohatsu Sesshin Schedule for these days.

Day 7:  Saturday, December 9th
5am-7am: Choka and Zazen
10am-noon: Zazen
2pm – 4pm: Dharma Talk and zazen
6pm – 10pm: Zazen with reading from the Rohatsu Exhortations around 7pm.
Please see the Rohatsu Sesshin Schedule for these days.

Day 8: Sunday, December 10th
5am; Zazen; Kinhin
5:45am: Closing Sutras; Closing Remarks
8am – 9:30am: Zazenkai and Bodhi Day Ceremony

Essential Information for those joining online
• Please tune in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time so you can be settled.
• Download the monastery schedule: Rohatsu Sesshin Schedule (Updated 12.07.23)
• 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 Events mailing list.

Zoom Link: [ Event has passed. Thanks to all who took part!]

Please email us with any questions: Contact Information

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.

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Rohatsu 2022

Rohatsu Sesshin 2022

December 4th-11th, 2022


The autumn training period culminates with the Rohtasu sesshin commemorating the Buddha’s awakening.  This is always the most intense retreat of the year in which one brings the years worth of training to bear.  This year Rohatsu at Tahoma will run from December 4th through the 11th.  As has been the case with all Rohatsu’s at Tahoma the days get longer and more intense as we go through the week. For this year, the first three days of this retreat will be drop in only with periods in the morning and evening. The remaining days will be our regular full time Rohatsu schedule with drop in and residency options. All in-person attendance requires you to be fully vaccinated with the booster. 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 

Each evening of the retreat in the first period after golden hour we will read from Hakuin Zenji’s Rohatsu Exhortations (available here). During the full days of retreat the dharma talks will be from Torei Zenji’s Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School continuing with the chapter on Faith and Practice. Previous talks on this text can be found here. Day 6 and 7 will feature 10am instructional talks continuing the Autumn Training period theme of Calming and Contemplation. The previous talks can be found here.

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Tahoma Autumn/Winter 2022 Schedule

December 3rd
No Events in preparation for Rohatsu

December 4th
Zazenkai – in person and online. Start of Rohatsu Sesshin.

December 4th-11th
Rohatsu Sesshin. In person and online. Details: Rohatsu 2022

December 24th
Mumon Roshi Memorial. 5am, in-person only.

December 25th-31th
Winter closure: no online or in-person events

December 31st
New Years Ceremony. See here for details.

January 1st, 2023 – New Years Day
No Events

January 2nd, 2023
Regular Schedule resumes

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Rohatsu Sesshin 2021

12.08.21 – Thanks to all who took part in our Rohatsu Sesshin, I dearly hope it was a fruitful experience. My apologize for being unable to broadcast the very final session, the Bodhi Day Ceremony. As I had feared the strong winds brought down trees all over the Island and we were without power for nearly 12 hours.

“Every sit builds toward sesshin; every sesshin builds toward Rohatsu.”

Tahoma will hold Rohatsu Sesshin on the traditional days, December 1st through 8th. This will be offered as an online retreat but there also be limited opportunities for those in the local area to attend in-person and our evening session will remain open to drop-in attendance (vaccination and masks required)  As the culmination of the Autumn Kessei as well as the training year, we can all dedicate ourselves to an extended week of zazen. OSesshin is always an opportunity to go deep and push ourselves beyond our limits, Rohatsu even more-so as we are asked to leave it all on the table. A virtual sesshin does demand more from us in order to deeply take advantage of the opportunity. The broadcast provides a structure, just as attending a sesshin in-person does, but the commitment is up to the individual.  If one is able commit to doing the entire sesshin, prepare yourself a space where you can minimize distractions. Have your meals planned out and the shopping completed. Work out a way to do kinhin and physical practice. Then just flow along with the schedule. During the Dharma talks 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.

Online Retreat Information

We will begin with a period of zazen and kokuho on November 30th. Kokuho will include any orientation information needed for online participants.  During the week of retreat Zoom broadcast throughout the day will be in four blocks with the evening broadcast becoming longer and longer as as the week goes on.  

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