Programs Index Test – Zen Mountain Monastery

Opening the Hearth of Art Practice

with Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei

December 3, 2021 - February 18, 2022

ONLINE

If you’re new-welcome to this online art practice collaboration, you can start where you are! We’ll be working on Zoom, each of us from within our home studio, in whatever medium(s) you would like to explore. Hojin Sensei will guide us in zazen and with prompts to spark the creative impulse. Participate in the series […]

Introduction to Zen Training Weekend

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei, Mn. Shoan Ankele and Mn. Gokan Bonebakker

December 3 - 5, 2021

Zen Mountain Monastery

Are you new to meditation or Zen Buddhist practice? Have you read books about Zen, or been doing meditation on your own? Do you think you’d like to study with a teacher? Designed for those new to Zen or formal Zen training, this introductory retreat allows you to immerse yourself in Zen practice and experience […]

Knowing How To Be Satisfied

with Mn. Gokan Bonebakker

December 9, 2021

ONLINE

The Buddha said, "If you want to be free from suffering, you should contemplate knowing how much is enough. The dharma of knowing how to be satisfied is the realm of riches, comfort, peace and tranquility." Living in the realm of desire, a world of like and dislike, what is it to be satisfied? How […]

Buddha’s Enlightenment Vigil

with MRO Teachers and Senior Staff

December 10 - 12, 2021

Zen Mountain Monastery

After he left his family's home to seek liberation from suffering, Shakyamuni Buddha spent some years studying with spiritual teachers and engaging in extreme ascetic practices. Through it all, he remained unsatisfied that he had resolved his search. Inspired by a memory of an experience of deep, easeful meditation he'd experienced in his youth, he […]

ONLINE: Buddha’s Enlightenment Vigil

with MRO Teachers and Senior Staff

December 10 - 12, 2021

ONLINE

After he left his family's home to seek liberation from suffering, Shakyamuni Buddha spent some years studying with spiritual teachers and engaging in extreme ascetic practices. Through it all, he remained unsatisfied that he had resolved his search. Inspired by a memory of an experience of deep, easeful meditation he'd experienced in his youth, he […]

Beginning Instruction

with MRO Teachers and Senior Staff

December 19, 2021

ONLINE

A chance to receive beginning instruction in Zen meditation and an orientation to the Sunday program, which you will join following this brief class. You will have a chance to try out different meditation postures and set-ups, so plan to wear loose, comfortable clothing. Please plan to sign on promptly at 9:45, and in order to experience the full service…

One Continuous Thread: Home Practice Intensive—December 2021

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei and Ron Hogen Green, Sensei

December 26 - 31, 2021

ONLINE

Welcome to One Continuous Thread, a way to bring elements of a formal zazen intensive into your daily life. You will be able to view and participate in parallel with ZMM's Sesshin via live webcast. We've designed this retreat keeping in mind the unique circumstances that each person finds themselves in...

Rohatsu Sesshin

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi and Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei

December 26 - 31, 2021

Zen Mountain Monastery

In the Zen tradition, Rohatsu sesshin celebrates the Buddha's enlightenment and is traditionally the most intensive and challenging sesshin of the year. Each day begins well before dawn (3:45 am) and is a continuous practice of meditation throughout the day while sitting, walking, standing and lying down. There are from nine to eleven hours of […]

Introduction to Zen Training Weekend

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei, Mn. Shoan Ankele and Mn. Gokan Bonebakker

January 7 - 9, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

Are you new to meditation or Zen Buddhist practice? Have you read books about Zen, or been doing meditation on your own? Do you think you’d like to study with a teacher? Designed for those new to Zen or formal Zen training, this introductory retreat allows you to immerse yourself in Zen practice and experience […]

Beginning Instruction

with MRO Teachers and Senior Staff

January 9, 2022

ONLINE

A chance to receive beginning instruction in Zen meditation and an orientation to the Sunday program, which you will join following this brief class. You will have a chance to try out different meditation postures and set-ups, so plan to wear loose, comfortable clothing. Please plan to sign on promptly at 9:45, and in order to experience the full service…

True Refuge Week: Self-Directed Intensive Practice for MRO Students

with MRO Teachers and Senior Staff

January 11 - 16, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

All of Buddhist practice is leading us toward our true homecoming: the discovery that this very life, this very heart-mind and body, can be the source of our deepest fulfillment. Through training, and sincere, well-directed effort, as well as the support of a conducive environment, we can find that the refuge we seek is already here…

Ordinary Mind: Finding Peace in an Endlessly Spinning World

with Mark Sando Mininberg

January 20, 2022

ONLINE

It’s often said in Zen circles that "Ordinary Mind is the Way." Yet in our work and media driven world, it’s normal to find ourselves endlessly chasing stories, sounds and images, under pressure, without pause or rest. Where in that anxious chaos would we even find the ordinary mind? And if we found it, would we really experience peace[…]

Entering the Way of Compassion—The Practices of a Bodhisattva

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi

January 21 - 23, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

This second-level retreat is part of the Mountains and Rivers Order training program for receiving the Buddhist precepts, yet it is open to all who are interested in practicing the Dharma. In this retreat, we will examine and discuss bodhicitta—the great aspiration to liberate self and other—and its important role in generating compassion …

Beginning Instruction

with MRO Teachers and Senior Staff

January 23, 2022

ONLINE

A chance to receive beginning instruction in Zen meditation and an orientation to the Sunday program, which you will join following this brief class. You will have a chance to try out different meditation postures and set-ups, so plan to wear loose, comfortable clothing. Please plan to sign on promptly at 9:45, and in order to experience the full service…

New Year’s Sesshin

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi and Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei

January 24 - 30, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

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), […]

Introduction to Zen Practice Weekend

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei, Mn. Shoan Ankele and Mn. Gokan Bonebakker

February 4 - 6, 2022

ONLINE

This time calls each of us to bring forth clear understanding and genuine compassion to alleviate the suffering within us and in our world. The Buddha was enlightened to the truth—that we each yearn to be at peace and in harmony—yet we struggle to know how our lives can bring us closer to our deepest aspirations. This weekend introduction […]

Bodhidharma Sesshin

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi and Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei

February 21 - 27, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

For February sesshin, in the spirit of Bodhidharma, practitioners are invited to connect even more intimately with zazen through the offering of extended silence and self-reliance. Throughout the week, the emphasis is on zazen; no talks or face-to-face interviews will be scheduled. Instead, we will allow our practice to be led by the deep winter […]

Introduction to Zen Training Weekend

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei, Mn. Shoan Ankele and Mn. Gokan Bonebakker

March 11 - 13, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

Are you new to meditation or Zen Buddhist practice? Have you read books about Zen, or been doing meditation on your own? Do you think you’d like to study with a teacher? Designed for those new to Zen or formal Zen training, this introductory retreat allows you to immerse yourself in Zen practice and experience […]

Founding Sesshin

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi and Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei

March 28 - April 3, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

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 […]

Introduction to Zen Training Weekend

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei, Mn. Shoan Ankele and Mn. Gokan Bonebakker

April 8 - 10, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

Are you new to meditation or Zen Buddhist practice? Have you read books about Zen, or been doing meditation on your own? Do you think you’d like to study with a teacher? Designed for those new to Zen or formal Zen training, this introductory retreat allows you to immerse yourself in Zen practice and experience […]

Apple Blossom Sesshin

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi and Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei

April 25 - May 1, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

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 […]

Introduction to Zen Training Weekend

with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei, Mn. Shoan Ankele and Mn. Gokan Bonebakker

May 6 - 8, 2022

Zen Mountain Monastery

Are you new to meditation or Zen Buddhist practice? Have you read books about Zen, or been doing meditation on your own? Do you think you’d like to study with a teacher? Designed for those new to Zen or formal Zen training, this introductory retreat allows you to immerse yourself in Zen practice and experience […]