Sesshin

Pari-Nirvana Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat exploring Life, Death & the Unknown

With Larry Fuho Trussell, Myoyu Haley Voekel and Ed Gensho Welsh

February 16 - 22, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online

During this sesshin we take up the Buddha’s Parinirvana–the Buddha’s death--as the essential inquiry into our own relationship with death, dying and the uncertainties of this life. How often in your daily life do you allow yourself to reflect on your own mortality, your own death? This sesshin provides the structure and support needed to […]

March Sesshin - Deep Listening

With Jogen Salzberg, Sensei, Hogen Bays, Roshi and Anusha Enryu Fernando

March 14 - 22, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online
Awareness meeting sound has been a gate into the depths of the heart-mind for as long as human beings hve longed to open. During this sesshin we come together in joyous recognition of the power of deep listening, and sink into the rhythms of our wild, wonderful and mysterious life.

April Sesshin

With Larry Fuho Trussell and Laura Jomon Martin

April 13 - 19, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery

Our meditation practice can be one of relaxed openness and vivid presence, with wisdom into our nature naturally revealing. This is the practice of serene-illumination, a form of meditation where calm-abiding (shamatha) and insight (vipassana) are practiced as one.   Sesshin is a rigorous and, at times, challenging silent meditation retreat that is not recommended […]

May Sesshin - The Light of our Ancestors

With Amy Kisei, Sensei, Patrick Bansho Green and Darah Shonin Ashton

May 11 - 17, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online

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 […]

July Sesshin

With Jogen Salzberg, Sensei, Patrick Bansho Green and Myoyu Haley Voekel

July 20 - 26, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery
Summer is bright and alive. The sun hangs high in the sky, illuminating the earth with unflinching clarity. What wisdom does a warm summer day offer? Everything is laid bare before the luminous rays of the sun. In this meditation immersion, we will endeavor to study the self, forget the self and glimpse Buddha Nature, opening in silent communion with this community of human and non- human beings. This is our collective awakening.

Grasses, Trees, and the Great Earth Sesshin

With Amy Kisei, Sensei and Myoyu Haley Voekel

August 10 - 16, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery

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 […]

Jizo Sesshin

With Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi and Laura Jomon Martin

September 8 - 13, 2026
Great Vow Zen Monastery - In Person Only

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 […]