Weekend Sesshin
with Mn. Shoan Ankele and Mn. Gokan Bonebakker
December 15 - 17, 2023
Because sesshin is a very intensive retreat, if you have not attended sesshin at Zen Mountain Monastery you must have a pre-sesshin interview, so please call or email the Training Office to schedule at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net.
A weekend sesshin is a great way to experience sesshin for the first time, and also a wonderful opportunity for more experienced practitioners.
Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training. We wake up each day before dawn to begin a schedule that includes 7 to 10 hours of zazen, chanting services, formal silent meals in the zendo (oryoki), silent work practice and talks by the teacher and senior students. Sesshin is an opportunity to receive support from the teachers, draw from the tremendous strength of people practicing together and experience the deep stillness that lies within each one of us.
As with all in-person retreats at the Monastery, participants are required to follow the current protocol for keeping everyone safe. Please review the current protocol requirements before registering, and if you have further questions, please contact the registrar.
Financial concerns should not prevent you from attending a program at the Monastery. If you can’t afford the program fee, you can see these options.
Teachers
Danica Shoan Ankele is a Dharma Holder and Senior Monastic in the Mountains and Rivers Order. A native of New York City, she first came to the Monastery as a sophomore in college and has been in full time residential training since 2007. She became a senior student in 2009 and took full monastic ordination with Shugen Roshi in 2015. Shoan is the Monastery’s Creative Director and Training Coordinator. She also oversees our Tenkozan line of statues and naturally dyed fabrics, designed and produced on the Monastery grounds.
Learn more about Mn. Shoan Ankele
Bear Gokan Bonebakker is a senior monastic and a Dharma Holder. He first came to the Monastery in 1994, and has been in residence since 2007. Gokan is the Operations Director, helps coordinate the National Buddhist Prison Sangha, and works in the orchard.
Learn more about Mn. Gokan Bonebakker