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May 2024 OSesshin

The May 2024 OSesshin with Harada Roshi at Tahoma Zen Monastery begins with kokuho on the evening of Wednesday, May 15th and concludes the evening of Wednesday, May 22nd. 

OSesshin: Wednesday, May 15th – Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024

  • Kokuho is Wednesday evening, May 15th.
  • Full-time participation is required. OSesshin concludes the evening of Wednesday, May 22nd.
  • The link to the OSesshin application is near the bottom of this email. 
  • The fee is $480. $450 is for the OSesshin, and $30 is for covid testing supplies and masks. Information about our covid protocol is below.
  • Donations to support financial aid are welcomed. Information about financial aid is provided on the application.

The application deadline for OSesshin is Sunday, April 14th. You will receive an email regarding your acceptance or wait list status soon after the deadline date of April 14th. Please send your sesshin fee once you have been notified of your acceptance. Payment information will be included in the acceptance email.


IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THIS OSESSHIN  

  • After a covid outbreak during our February Osesshin, we updated our safety protocol, which will include vaccination with the latest booster, a self-testing protocol, and masking. Please note that your application for Osesshin will be considered only if you have gotten or commit to getting the most recent booster (released in the Fall 2023) and provide documentation. In addition, you must self-test before leaving for sesshin and mask consistently during public transportation.

Please note that if you require a Covid-19 booster you must get it two or more weeks prior to traveling for sesshin.

  • 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 hope that we will be able to conduct our May 2024 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: OSesshin Application
 

Thank you,
Rozan Lenny Gerson
Osesshin registrar
Tahoma Zen Monastery
tahomaapplication@gmail.com

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April 27th Zazen Intensive

Please join us for a full day of Zazen. The day will run from 9:30am to 8:45pm in three blocks. One can come for as much or as little as one wishes. The schedule is such that people can easily travel here for the event and thus there is no residency option. There will not be meals served, but one is of course free to bring food or have meals off campus.

All periods are open for drop in attendance. Each hour will include zazen followed by kinhin, with the zazen periods following the schedule below. One can stay for as many periods as one is able. Please arrive/depart during the kinhin (walking meditation) periods which begin 10 minutes prior to the next period.

We will continue to broadcast the sitting periods via Zoom for those unable to attend in person. The Zoom link will be posted in the days before the event. For those attending online please read this posts:  Guidelines for Virtual Events .

Zoom Link: forthcoming

Zazen Intensive Schedule

9:50amSeated in Zendo; Gosei
10:00amZazen; Zazen; Kinhin
11:00amZazen; Zazen
12pmMidday Break
1:50pmSeated in Zendo; Gosei
2:00pmZazen; Zazen; Kinhin
3:00pmZazen; Zazen; Kinhin
4:00pmZazen
4:30pmEvening Break
5:50pmSeated in Zendo; Gosei
6pmUninterrupted Zazen
7pmZazen; Zazen; Kinhin
8pmZazen; Zazen
All times Pacific Time. Please arrive/tune in ten minutes before scheduled events.
Events in Bold will be streamed

To receive events notifications and the zoom links for Virtual Events by email: Tahoma Events mailing list.

Please email us with any questions: Contact Information


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March 2024 Day of Practice

March 16th, 2024, 4:50am to ~8:45pm (PST)

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.

Essential Information for those joining online
• Please tune in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time so you can be settled.
• The sutra book we will be using can be downloaded here: 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.

Broadcast Schedule

Saturday, March 16th
5am to 7am: Choka; Zazen
2pm to 4pm: Zazen
6pm to 8:45pm: Zazen 

Zoom Link: [Event has passed]

Continue reading “March 2024 Day of Practice”
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Community Samu February 17th

February 17th Community Samu Day
We encourage everyone in the general vicinity of the monastery to come join us in samu (work practice) toward the maintenance and upkeep of our monastery. Samu is a an opportunity to take part in practice in the midst of regular activities, engaging the One Mind in the actions we are engaged with. There are indoor tasks and outside tasks that need doing as we ready the monastery for the February OSesshin.

Please join us Saturday, February 17th for a morning of work practice. We meet at the kitchen deck (coffee and tea provided) at a bit before 8:30am. We will work until noon and then share in a simple meal at 12:30pm.

Community Samu, February 17th, 2024
8:15-8:30am – Meet on the Kitchen deck
8:30am – Inside and outside cleaning
12 noon – Cleanup
12:30pm – Vegetarian lunch

Directions to the monastery: Getting to Tahoma

Please contact us if you have any questions. As always we are deeply appreciative for the support of the sangha; we couldn’t exist without your continuing support.

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February 2024 OSesshin

Dear One Drop Sangha and Friends,

The February 2024 OSesshin with Harada Roshi at Tahoma Zen Monastery begins with kokuho on the evening of February 19th and concludes the evening of February 26th. 

OSesshin: Monday, February 19th – Monday, February 26th, 2024

  • Kokuho is Monday evening, February 19th.
  • Full-time participation is required. OSesshin concludes the evening of Monday, February 26th.
  • The link to the OSesshin application is near the bottom of this email. 
  • The fee is $450. 
  • Donations to support financial aid are welcomed. If you are requesting financial aid, please contact the registrar.

The application deadline for OSesshin is Monday, January 15th. You will receive an email regarding your acceptance or wait list status soon after the deadline date of January 15th. Please send your sesshin fee once you have been notified of your acceptance. Payment information will be included in the acceptance 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 hope that we will be able to conduct our February 2024 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:  [application period has ended]
 

Thank you,
ZenE Tami Settergren
Osesshin registrar
Tahoma Zen Monastery
tahomaapplication@gmail.com

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Bodhi Day Ceremony

Bodhi Day Ceremony (zazenkai)
December 10th, 2023

Bodhi Day celebrates the awakening of the Buddha. It culminate the week long end of year Rohatsu retreat. The Bodhi Day ceremony this year is open to all, whether you took part in any of the rest of the retreat or not, and at the very reasonable hour of 8am. I would like to encourage all in the community, especially those who haven’t come to Zazenkai in while, to consider coming for this ceremony and connecting (or reconnecting) with the local sangha.
We will follow the usual Zazenkai schedule and hold the ceremony in the second half of the program.   The whole morning will be broadcast via Zoom (details below

Celebration
 We will follow the Bodhi Day ceremony with a casual celebratory gathering in the Tahoma Dining Hall. This is open to everyone, no participation in any of the week, or even days events required. We would like to celebrate with all in our community. We will provide hot and cold drinks and sweet and savory snacks. If you want to bring something to share, by all means please do. But just bringing yourself will suffice. We ill be in the Dining Hall around 9:35am.

Sunday, December 10th Schedule

Day 8: Morning Schedule
5am; Zazen; Kinhin; Kaimei Han
5:45am: Closing Sutras (p. 3, 7); Sampai; Closing Remarks
6:25am Breakfast

Zazenkai and Bodhi Day Ceremony Schedule
8am: Chanting (p. 3, 11)
8:15: Zazen;
8:35: Break
8:45: Bodhi Day Ceremony
Han;
Chanting (p. 24, 25, 3, 7, 10, 14)
Sampai, Incense Offering, Reading, Closing Remarks

Essential Information for those joining online
• Please tune in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time so you can be settled.
• The sutra book we will be using can be downloaded here: 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. Thanks to all who took part!]

Please email us with any questions: Contact Information

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Tahoma Autumn/Winter 2023 Schedule

November 23rd
5am: Regular morning service.
No evening meditation.

November 24th
No morning service.
6:30pm: Regular evening meditation.

December 3rd
Zazenkai 8am. In person and online. Start of Rohatsu Sesshin.
Details: Rohatsu Retreat.

December 4th-7th
5am: Regular morning service.
6pm-8:45pm : Extended evening meditation in observance of Rohatsu.
All events offered in person and online.
Details: Rohatsu Retreat.

December 8th and 9th
Rohatsu Weekend Retreat. In person and online.
Details: Rohatsu Retreat.

December 10th, Bodhi Day Ceremony and Holiday Gathering
8am: Bodhi Day ceremony during our regular Zazenkai. Open to all.
9:30am: Followed by an informal holiday gathering.
Details: Rohatsu Retreat And Bodhi Day Ceremony.

December 23rd, 2023 – January 5th, 2024
Winter closure: no online or in-person events

January 6th, 2024
Regular daily schedule resumes.

All days not specifically listed will be on our regular schedule. Please see our Calendar for the events offered for each day. This is kept up to date with any changes to the daily schedule.

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Rohatsu Retreat and Bodhi Day Ceremony

Rohatsu Retreat and Bodhi Day Ceremony
December 3rd-10th, 2023

The autumn training period culminates with the Rohtasu sesshin commemorating the Buddha’s awakening.  This is always the most intense training period of the year in which one brings a years worth of training to bear.  This year Rohatsu at Tahoma will run from December 3rd through the 10th with extended practice during our regular schedule leading up to a weekend retreat and culminating in the Bodhi Day Ceremony during regular Sunday Zazenkai. The Bodhi Day ceremony this year is open to all and at the very reasonable time of 8am. I would like to encourage all in the community, especially those who haven’t come to zazenkai in while, to consider coming for this ceremony and connecting with the local sangha.  We will follow the Bodhi Day ceremony with a casual holiday gathering in the Tahoma kitchen.

This follows the pattern we have utilized with Rohatsu at Tahoma where our days get longer and more intense as we go through the week as well as acknowledging the realities of practice here at this time. Likewise as is our tradition each evening of the retreat in the first period after golden hour we will read from Hakuin Zenji’s Rohatsu Exhortations (available here). 

All of the practice periods during this time are open to drop-in attendance and during the weekend retreat, residential practice. Additionally the entire retreat will be broadcast via zoom. The Zoom link will be posted on the website in the days prior and sent out in the Tahoma Events weekly mailing.  Please contact us if you would like to take part in residential practice or if you have any additional questions.

Schedule Overview

Day 1: Sunday, December 3rd
8am – 9:30am: Zazenkai and Rohatsu opening with reading from Rohatsu Exhortations.

Day 2: Monday, December 4th 
6pm – 8:45pm: Zazen with reading from the Rohatsu Exhortations around 7pm.

Days 3-5: Tuesday – Thursday December 7th
5am: Choka; Zazen (short period); Kinhin
6am: Zazen; Zazen
6pm: Uninterrupted Zazen; Kinhin
7pm: Rohatsu Exhortations reading and Zazen; Zazen; Kinhin
8pm: Zazen; Zazen

Days 6:  Friday, December 8th
5am-7am: Choka and Zazen
11-noon: Zazen
2pm – 4pm: Dharma Talk and zazen
6pm – 9:25pm: Zazen with reading from the Rohatsu Exhortations around 7pm.
Please see the Rohatsu Sesshin Schedule for these days.

Day 7:  Saturday, December 9th
5am-7am: Choka and Zazen
10am-noon: Zazen
2pm – 4pm: Dharma Talk and zazen
6pm – 10pm: Zazen with reading from the Rohatsu Exhortations around 7pm.
Please see the Rohatsu Sesshin Schedule for these days.

Day 8: Sunday, December 10th
5am; Zazen; Kinhin
5:45am: Closing Sutras; Closing Remarks
8am – 9:30am: Zazenkai and Bodhi Day Ceremony

Essential Information for those joining online
• Please tune in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time so you can be settled.
• Download the monastery schedule: Rohatsu Sesshin Schedule (Updated 12.07.23)
• The sutra book we will be using can be downloaded here: 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. Thanks to all who took part!]

Please email us with any questions: Contact Information

This retreat is offered without charge, however there are costs to putting it on, so please consider making a donation online or in person with this in mind.