Tag: Tahoma

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Community Samu Weekend August 26th and 27th

As we roll into the Autumn Training period and the sesshin being held here at the end of summer we will hold a weekend of work practice to prepare the monastery and work on various projects. We will gather together at the monastery Saturday and Sunday mornings to engage in myriad tasks: preparing our buildings for retreat, working on the grounds, prep work for several construction projects, kitchen and sewing projects. There is a diverse array of tasks for all abilities, time commitments, physical condition and energy. The monastery is much more than the grounds and buildings, it is the community, the sangha, and we would dearly love to have your support over this weekend.

We will be following the regular monastery schedule on this weekend and if you’d like take take part in morning or evening zazen you are more than welcome to join in. Each morning will have a period of several hours for working in which you are welcome to come when you can and stay as long as you are able. We will conclude each day with an informal lunch at the dining hall and deck. The schedule for the work practice will be as follows

Saturday August 26th 8:30am, to 1:00pm (PDT)
8:15-8:30am: Meet at the kitchen deck (coffee and tea provided)
8:30am: Work Practice (samu)
12:30pm: Cleanup
1:00pm: Informal Lunch

Please Note:
For those who are so inclind, or are staying at the monastery for the subsequent KoSesshin, there will be an afternoon work period. Inquiry about this during the lunch if interested.

Sunday August 27th 8:00am, to 1:00pm (PDT)
8:00am: Zazenkai in the Zendo (optional)
9:30am: Coffee/Tea at the kitchen deck
10:00am: Work Practice (samu)
12:30pm: Cleanup
1:00pm: Informal Lunch

Please Note:
On Sunday we will hold our regular community practice (Zazenkai) which I encourage everyone to attend, but there is no requirement to do so if you’d like to just come for the samu.

Directions to Tahoma Zen Monastery: Getting Here.
Please contact us if you have any questions: contact information.

We hope to see you this weekend as we all pull together in support of our monastery!

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Happy New Year!

We wish you all the best in the Year of the Rabbit and that your practice remains strong. We hope to see you here at Tahoma Zen Monastery in 2023!

Please enjoy this gallery of photos from the recent snowstorm at Tahoma:

Tahoma Winter 2022
December 2022 at Tahoma
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New Years Celebration 2023

Please come and join us at Tahoma Zen Monastery for our annual New Years Celebration. We will sit zazen from 8:30pm until approximately 11:15pm followed by a chant ceremony and the traditional 108 strikes on the temple Kansho Bell at midnight..

Feel free to join the zazen at any point, coming in during kinhin (walking meditation) or a stretch break. During the evening one can always “sit out” a period of zazen, leaving during a stretch break or kinhin and taking a break, having a snack, or what-have-you, returning during another kinhin or stretch break.

Please note that full vaccination including with the latest boosters continues to be required for all in-person events. Newcomers to our events should email us with a photo of their vaccination card.

Directions to the Monastery can be found here: Directions to Tahoma.
If you have any questions do contact us: Contact Information.

December 31st New Years Eve Celebration Schedule
8:30pm-11pm: Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin
11:00pm: break/setup;
11:30pm: New Years Chanting
12:00am: Bell Ringing

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Snow Day

The Day after our Winter Retreat came to a close we woke up to an active snowfall. It has been fairly mild since the very cold week at the end of December and signs of spring were everywhere: daffodils and tulips popping up everywhere, buds and new growth on all the trees, little flowers on the umi and cherry trees, leaves bursting out on a few shrubs and trees and so on.

“Tending Clouds’

The snow this morning was very wet with slush everywhere. This late in the winter (a month to spring!) dry powder is a real rarity. But as the sky lightened it cooled down a little further and light dryer snow continued to fall.

Into the woods
Continue reading “Snow Day”
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April 17th Samu Day

April Samu Days at Tahoma

Spring with all it’s fecundity means that the flora in the garden, columbarium and grounds have entered a phase of riotous growth. Without our May samu sesshin to bring many hands to the epic amount of work required your help is needed more than ever.  Over the next few months we will periodically be open on Saturdays for safe Physically Distanced samu.  We can have people wildly separated in the multiple regions that need work and we can all safely work out of doors.  We will provide refreshments to fuel our labor and strive to keep everyone safe and happy. We hope to see you here!

April 17th 9:00am, to 12:30 (PDT).
Please do not arrive overly early. Meet at the Kitchen deck and please wear your mask.
Directions to Tahoma Zen Monastery: Getting Here.

Please contact us if you have any questions: contact information.

If you can’t make it this weekend, our next samu day will be April 24th.

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Tahoma Memorial Altar Book

Tahoma Alter with the newly installed Memorial Book on the left

At Roshi’s request Sokei compiled a book commemorating the sangha members who have died and whose names the densu chants as part of the Zenkai Eko after Hakuin Zenji’s Song of Zazen. I was asked to scan this book by a sangha member and having done so, have uploaded it for all to share.

Download: Tahoma Memorial Altar Book (pdf, around 95MBs)

Many thanks to Sokei for compiling the book and to Myodo for supporting the creation of the digital version.

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May Practice Period Canceled

Dear One Drop Sangha and Friends, 

After further deliberation and consultation Harada Roshi has determined that it is no longer feasible to conduct our May practice period as planned.  The May 2020 practice period at Tahoma Zen Monastery is cancelled.   We look forward to training together again in September.  

Rozan Lenny Gerson
Registrar, Tahoma Zen Monastery

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Tahoma Zen Monastery Temporarily Closed

Governor Jay Inslee has official put in place a ‘Stay at Home‘ order in order to try to contain the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus. Residents of the state are now required to stay at home except for essential trips. Visits to religious institutions have not been deemed essential. While our practice is essential, it is incumbent upon us to practice on our own. To sit for our own well being and the well being of others. I trust that everyone will be mindful during this time and observe the Washington State guidelines for social distancing when one is out.

This order will last for the next month at a minimum. We will continue to update here and via the mailing list as the situation develops. But for now there are no events, no public zazen and no other activities planned here through May. We will offer various events virtually as they make sense. Again this website will contain the most updated information regarding that.

From the Washington State Governors Office

Gov. Jay Inslee spoke directly to Washingtonians to announce he will sign a statewide order that requires everyone in the state to stay home. The order will last for two weeks and could be extended.

This Stay Home, Stay Healthy order is similar to orders that other governors, in places such as California and New York, issued last week.

This proclamation will:
• Require every Washingtonian to stay home unless they need to pursue an essential activity.
• Ban all gatherings for social, spiritual and recreational purposes.
• Close all businesses except essential businesses.

“The less time we spend in public, the more lives we will save,” Inslee said. 

The proclamation states it’s still safe for people to go outside as long as they remain at least six feet from each other. Grocery stores, doctor’s offices and other essential businesses will remain open. People can still participate in activities such as bike rides, gardening, and dog walking — as long as they follow social distancing rules.

Read the rest of the story on the governor’s Medium page.

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Virtual Zazenkai Sunday March 22nd

This event has concluded. There were some technical difficulties that we should have ironed out for next week. Do check back then for the updated link and information. If you’d like to be notified by email with the link for a virtual event please send email to tahoma@tahomazenmonastery.com

Sunday March 22nd at 8am PST we will broadcast our Zazenkai from the Tahoma Monastery Zendo. Do please join us if you are able to. In this time of fear, worry and uncertainty it is important to sit deeply and to commune with our fellow sangha members. Caution precludes us from doing so in person, so we will host this sangha gathering via the internet.

This is the first time that we are hosting this so be prepared for some hiccups. Do download the Zoom Client for your computer or device. You can click on the Join Meeting Link below and it will walk you through installing the software. Do get yourself setup before the meeting. You can join the meeting early; you will simply wait until the host (Tahoma) starts the meeting.

All microphones will be muted by default, please keep them muted during the meeting. Due to the limitations of the internet, different connections, computer speed, bandwidth etc we cannot keep everyone in sync for chanting if everyone is broadcasting. So chant along with the densu (chant leader) and then follow the prompts from the jikijitsu (time keeper) for the rest of the service.

We have put together a PDF of the chants we are going to do at zazenkai if you would like to chant along. Along with the usual Heart Sutra and Song of Zazen we will also do Dai Sagaki chanting for the dead and dying. As usual we will conclude the service with the Four Great Vows. Download the pdf here: Zazenkai Chant Book.

The service will proceed as follows:
8am Offering of incense
Han
Sutra Chanting: Heart Sutra, Song of Zazen, Dai Sagaki
Zazen ~20 minutes
5 minute break for Exercise, stretching, etc.
Reading/Talk
Zazen ~15 minutes
Chanting of the Four Great Vows

We will unmute the channel at the end of the service and we can chat for a few minutes before concluding. Remember to keep the channel muted throughout the service as you can be heard by everyone.

We will not be able to provide technical support during the service. Feel free to contact us afterwards if you’d like some help for the next weeks service.

This event has now ended and the connection info has been removed.