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.
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.
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
Each month during the Spring Kessei we deepen our practice, ramping up toward our May Sesshin. On April 16th, we gather for a full day of practice. For this day we will follow our spring retreat schedule, which allows for more samu time as the demands of the ground in the spring are unrelenting. We will continue our examinations of the three essentials of Zen (Chan) Practice: Root of Great Confidence, Fury of Great Determination and Great Apprehension and Uncertainty. We will use Torei Enji’s Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School and theChan Whip Anthology by Jeffery Broughton as our primary texts.
All of the events of this retreat are open for in-person and drop-in attendance if you are fully vaccinated. While one can drop into any of the periods without prior notice, if you wish to attend the whole day, or through any of the meals you must contact us in advance. This will also be the first event since the summer for which we will be open for residential stays for those fully vaccinated. If you’d like to make it a weekend event from Friday through Sunday or an overnight please contact us to make arrangements.
We will continue to broadcast these retreats via Zoom for those unable to join us. 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.
Join us online for a day of practice as we celebrate the start of Spring. Pushing on into the Spring Training period after our kickoff with our Winter Retreat we strive to keep up the pressure. We will continue to ramp up our practice as we head into the May Training month. For this day we will follow our spring retreat schedule, which allows for a bit more samu time as the demands of the grounds in the spring are unrelenting. We will continue our examinations of the three essentials of Zen (Chan) Practice: Root of Great Confidence, Fury of Great Determination and Great Apprehension and Uncertainty. We will use Torei Enji’s Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School and theChan Whip Anthology by Jeffery Broughton as our primary texts.
We begin the Spring Training period with a virtual weeklong winter retreat recommitting ourselves to our great vow. For this retreat we will focus on the foundations of our practice. There will be a morning instructional talk that will emphasize right view, the condition of our minds that facilitate practice, right effort, the way that we direct our attention and energy to fruitful practice and the cultivation of being in alignment with what is. There will be opportunities throughout the week for feedback, questions and dialog during this period. The afternoon dharma talks will build on the morning instruction with discourse on the essentials of practice: great trust, the fury of great determination and great uncertainty. We will use numerous sources for these topics, but the Chan Whip Anthology by Jeffery Broughton will be the primary text.
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. We can get as much out of a virtual retreat as any period of sustained practice, but it is up to us. 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 9:30am to Noon: Instructional Talk; Zazen 2pm to 4:00pm: Dharma Talk; Zazen 5:30pm to 8:30pm: Zazen
Join us online this April for a weekend retreat as we continue with the Spring Training Period. We will begin with evening Zazen on Friday, have a full day of practice on Saturday and conclude with Zazenkai on Sunday. Take this opportunity to maintain and deepen your practice. We encourage you to try to adhere to as much of the schedule as you are committing to. Online retreats require some extra commitment as we must self-direct much of our practice. But the rewards are just as great.
We begin Friday April 9th with an evening block of zazen: 5:55pm to 8:45pm: Zazen
On Saturday April 10th will be four broadcast blocks throughout the day: 4:55am – 6:55am: Choka and zazen 10:25am to 11:55am: Zazen 1:55pm to 4pm: Dharma Talk and Zazen 5:55pm to 8:45pm: Zazen
On Sunday April 11th there will be two broadcast blocks to conclude our weekend: 4:55am – 6:30am: Choka and zazen 7:55am to 10:00am: Zazenkai: chanting, zazen, short talk, q&a
Drop-in attendance is allowed at all events on Friday and Saturday with masks required. There are no public events on Sunday. At this time we still are not able to allow for residency or shared meals. We encourage people to come for the samu period from 8:15am-10am. Please see the website for details or contact us with any questions.
Dharma Talks 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.
ll times Pacific Time. Please tune in five minutes before scheduled events. Events in Bold will be streamed. All other events are self-directed AllBolded events can be attended in-person (masks required). Please contact us for details.
Saturday April 10th
5:00am
Choka (Sutras p.3-14); Han;Kinhin
6:00am
Zazen; Zazen
7:00am
Breakfast Break
8:15am
Samu*
10:30am
Zazen Zazen; Kinhin
11:00am
Zazen;
11:55am
Lunch Break
2:00pm
Dharma Talk; Kinhin; Zazen; Zazen
4:00pm
Physical/Outside practice
5:00pm
Dinner Break
6:00pm
Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin;
7:00pm
Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin
8:00pm
Zazen; Zazen
8:45pm
Kaichin
All times Pacific Time. Please tune in five minutes before scheduled events. Events in Boldwill be streamed. All other events are self-directed Samu and all Bolded events can be attended in-person (masks required). Please contact us for details.
Sunday, April 11th
5:00am
Choka(sutras p.3-7,10,12,13); Han;Kinhin
6:00am
Zazen
6:30am
Breakfast break
8:00am
Zazenkai(sutras p.3,10,14)
9:30am
“Tea” – Conversation and questions
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.
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.
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
5:00am
Choka (Sutras p.3-14); Han;Kinhin
6:00am
Zazen; Zazen
7:00am
Breakfast; Cleanup
8:30am
Samu
10:00am*
Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin
11:00am*
Zazen; Zazen
11:55am
Lunch; Cleanup
2:00pm
Dharma Talk; Kinhin; Zazen; Zazen
4:00pm
Physical/Outside practice
5:00pm
Dinner; Cleanup
6:00pm*
Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin;
7:00pm*
Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin
8:00pm*
Zazen; Zazen
8:45pm*
Han; Closing Sutra(p.17); Sampai
9:00pm
Kaichin/Yaza
All times Pacific Time. Please tune in five minutes before scheduled events. Events in Boldwill 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
5:00am
Choka(sutras p.3-7,10,12,13); Han;Kinhin
6:00am
Zazen
6:30am
Breakfast
8:00am
Zazenkai(sutras p.3,10,13)
9:30am
break
10:00am
Zazen; Zazen; Closing Sutra (p.6,7)
11:00am
Q&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.
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.
