Monastery
Dissolving the Barriers: a Thousand Year Old Remedy for Modern Suffering
With Lama Lekshe
May Sesshin - The Light of our Ancestors
With Amy Kisei, Sensei and Patrick Bansho Green
Zen is a direct Mind to Mind transmission--a transmission of light. We study with teachers who help us recognize and embody our awakened wisdom and compassion. During this sesshin, we will connect with our roots and draw strength from the stories of those who have come before us. Our ancestors are real people, walking the […]
Love & Spaciousness: A Loving Kindness Weekend Retreat
With Amy Kisei, Sensei and Myoyu Haley Voekel
With wonderment on our side, and in relationship with all that is, we recognize the inherent compassion that naturally arises from deep and sustained presence. Held in a container of zen forms and the vibrant dance of a monastery waking up to spring, we will explore the nature of being anything at all! During this silent retreat our day will […]
Chan Practice of Silent Illumination with Rebecca Li
With Rebecca Li
“Silently and serenely, one forgets all words. Clearly and vividly, it appears before you.” These are the opening lines of the poem Silent Illumination composed by Chan master Hongzhi in the twelfth century China, a poem often used by the late Chan master Sheng Yen in his silent illumination retreats. Silent illumination is a practice […]
Summer Residency Program 2024
Beginner's Mind Weekend Meditation Retreat
With Kodo Conover and Myoyu Haley Voekel
The teachings and practices of Zen Buddhism empower us to live our lives wholeheartedly with openness, insight and compassion. During this weekend retreat we follow a silent retreat schedule, which allows us to temporarily put aside outside concerns and go deeply into inner work. The silent retreat schedule includes about seven hours of sitting meditation […]
July Sesshin - Cultivating the Empty Field
With Jogen Salzberg, Sensei and Myoyu Haley Voekel
Grasses, Trees, and the Great Earth Sesshin
With Amy Kisei, Sensei and Kodo Conover
Earth body, sky heart. Rooted and flowing. Luminous and open. We are made of earth and sky, of wind breath and rain song, our lives woven from the teachings of the natural world. This retreat is an opportunity to re-connect and relax into the wild, ancient, wisdom of the Grasses, Trees and Great Earth. We […]
The Work: a weekend Inquiry Retreat
With Eduardo Zambrano
During this retreat, we will use Byron Katie’s method of inquiry called The Work to investigate our core beliefs and fixed ideas which cause suffering in our world. What ideas to you have about your life and the world that actually are not in service to the development of compassion? We hold many views simply from habit. […]
Jizo Sesshin
With Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi and Laura Jomon Martin
This retreat begins on Tuesday! This retreat will focus on the qualities of Jizo Bodhisattva, guardian of all that comes from the earth, and Jizo’s qualities – benevolence, optimism, fearlessness, determination, and vow. A unique element of this retreat is the inclusion of time devoted to art projects, creative time, and a slide show […]
October Sesshin - The Ancient Way
With Hogen Bays, Roshi, Patrick Bansho Green and Darah Shonin Ashton
There is something very special about the magic of autumn and the kicking off of the fall ango practice period that makes this sesshin so powerful. What a great gift it is to be able to sit together in silence. This is our longest sesshin of the year. The extra days enable us drop down […]
November Sesshin - Gratitude
With Patrick Bansho Green and Sara Shinei Monial
With gratitude for our beloved sangha near and far, the Monastery joyfully offers another sesshin. This sesshin has no set price. All are welcome to attend, and donations from the heart are welcome. During this week of practice, we will eat only the offerings brought to us specifically for this retreat. So food donations, […]
December Sesshin - Rohatsu
With Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi, Hogen Bays, Roshi and Larry Fuho Trussell
The light of the Buddha's awakening has not dimmed. This very moment, alive, awake and luminous. Each year people from all over the world gather to celebrate, to sit in stillness and to be nourished by this truth. All over the world people join in the ritual of Rohatsu sesshin. This sesshin is the […]