August/September Sesshin at Tahoma

Dear One Drop Sangha and Friends,

The September 2023 OSesshin with Harada Roshi at Tahoma Zen Monastery begins with kokuho on the evening of September 5th and concludes the evening of September 12th. 

There will also be two retreats in August that will be lead by Tahoma monks: 

August 25th – 27th: a weekend samu (work) retreat. 

August 28th – September 1st: a samu KoSesshin.


OSesshin: Tuesday, September 5th – Tuesday, September 12th, 2023

Signups for the OSesshin are closed.

  • Kokuho is Tuesday evening, September 5th.
  • Full time participation is required. OSesshin, led by Harada Roshi, concludes the evening of Tuesday, September 12th.
  • The application for OSesshin will be available July 14th. The link to the application is near the bottom of this email. 
  • The cost of OSesshin is $450. 

The application deadline for OSesshin is Tuesday, August 8th. You will receive an email regarding your acceptance or wait list status soon after the deadline date of August 8th. Please send your sesshin fee once you have been notified of your acceptance. Payment information will be included in the acceptance email. 
 

Samu Weekend Retreat, August 25th – 27th

Stay the full weekend or come when you can. No registration is required, but please give one day’s notice before you come so we can prepare enough food for everyone.

We’ll start with zazen in the Zendo on Friday evening, August 25th, and continue through Sunday afternoon. Saturday will be the main samu day with work periods and a casual lunch. Sunday will start with Zazenkai followed by a short work period and then lunch. A detailed schedule will be posted on the website and in the July newsletter.
 

5-day KoSesshin, August 28th – September 1st 

If you’d like to sign up for the KoSesshin please contact the registrar.

We’ll hold a KoSesshin starting the evening of August 28th through to the evening of September 2nd. Registration is required. Register for as many days as you wish.

If you’re coming to OSesshin, consider coming early and participating in this KoSesshin. The KoSesshin will have a longer samu period in the morning, and a teisho (lecture) or question and answer session for part of the afternoon, along with an opportunity for self-practice. Breakfast and lunch will be formal with a free-style supper. 

The samu weekend retreat and the KoSesshin are offered for a suggested donation of $20/day. 

For both events we’ll be working on repairing the yurt, which will include installing a new outer wall, new insulation, and improved flooring so that it is once again usable as sleeping quarters during sesshin. The work to replace the walls will require a few people working together to maneuver the heavy fabric so your help will be appreciated.

We’ll also be working in the garden and in the kitchen to harvest and store produce for sesshin and into the fall. 

Full schedules for these events will be published on the website. 

When you register for the KoSesshin, please select the dates you will attend. The application for the KoSesshin will be available available July 14th, along with the application for the OSesshin. The link to the application is near the bottom of this email.


IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THIS OSESSHIN  

  • Any help with set up before or clean up following OSesshin would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to arrive a day or two before sesshin and/or stay a day or two after sesshin please contact the monastery to make arrangements. The monastery email address is tahoma@tahomazenmonastery.com
  • We are hopeful that we will be able to conduct our September 2023 OSesshin but recognize that our plans, as well as the dates, may need to change suddenly and without notice. If you are purchasing airline tickets please be prepared to cancel your reservations.
  • There may be a wait list for this OSesshin. Those on the wait list will be contacted immediately as spaces become available.

Apply here: Signups are closed for the OSesshin.
Contact the registrar to attend the KoSesshin

May Samu KoSesshin 2022

May 9th-12th, 2022
-In-person with online options-

Please Note that the monastery will be closed to the public during sesshin.
We will resume public events May 24th.

The Spring Training period culminates with our May intensive retreats. Before the rigors of the weeklong OSesshin we will engage in a four day Samu KoSesshin. This retreat will be an opportunity to deepen your practice and give back to the monastery in this time when the grounds are so demanding. Whether you take part in this retreat as a focused period of integrated meditative and work practice or as the beginning an extended period of training this is an opportunity to set aside mundane affairs and deeply investigate this great matter.

This is a Samu KoSesshin which means that work practice is a major component of the retreat. This means that this is essentially an in-person retreat. However the in-zendo portions of the retreat will be broadcast over zoom. Those who are unable to join us in person are encouraged to take part in the online retreat. The emphasis will be on the in-person retreat and during the long samu period those taking part online should engage in self-directed work practice.

Sesshin Information

Dharma Talks
Over the Spring Kessei we have been examining the Three Essentials of Zen Practice: Great Confidence, the Fury of Great Determination and Great Uncertainty.  We began with Torei Enji’s Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen school in our exploration of Great Confidence. We followed this with a deep dive into the Chan Whip Anthology by Jeffery Broughton with its emphasis on Great Determination. Now we turn to Great Uncertainty. We will continue to work with The Chan Whip supplemented with Dahui’s Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching translated by Thomas Cleary as we begin to explore this most vital of the Three Essentials.

Essential Information
• Download the full schedule: Samu KoSesshin Retreat Schedule
• Download updated text for Outside Practices: Outside Practices
• Instructional Talks covering aspects of retreat practice: Instructional Talks.

Online Retreat

Online participants are encouraged to commit for as much of the retreat as they are able to do. Once you’ve committed to a schedule stick to it.  The schedule that will be followed at the monastery can be found here which you can use to coordinate self-directed work practice, physical practice, meals and breaks.  Observe noble silence throughout, for sesshin is a retreat from words and language as much as anything else. In all activities take the single minded approach of practice.

Broadcast Schedule
5am to 7am: Choka; Zazen
2pm to 4:00pm: Dharma Talk; Zazen
6:00pm to 8:45pm: Zazen 

Essential Information
• Download the sutra book: 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}

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