Ango Art Practice: Intimate Expression (online)
September 1 - November 10, 2023

When you know yourself, you know intimate action. Thus, Buddha ancestors can thoroughly actualize this intimate heart and intimate language. “Intimate” means close and inseparable. There is no gap. Intimacy embraces Buddha ancestors. It embraces you. It embraces the self. It embraces action. It embraces generations. It embraces merit. It embraces intimacy. —Dogen Zenji,  Mitsugo, “Intimate Language” (trans. Kaz Tanahashi)  What is intimacy? Where is it? When do we encounter it? What is it to be intimate with the 10,000 things? When there is no gap, what is it to understand intimacy? For this online art practice, we will explore how it is to be intimate—leaving nothing outside—with the 10,000 things, with what is in front of you. What is it being intimate with heartbreak, a flower, a pine tree; to be intimate with the energy of anger or rage? How is this with no gaps? It embraces you. It embraces the self. It embraces action. How can you express it? Join Hojin Sensei from your home studio for an exploration into unknown territories in this potentially enriching art practice together on ZOOM. Dharma teachings and prompts will be offered by Hojin to guide us in our practice. All are welcome (even with no previous…

Karenji Choir
September 3 - December 17, 2023

Zen Chants are constant reminders  that we practice together, we are one mind, one heart, one life. Even if we meditate alone, we are united with other awakened ones—not only with those in our immediate vicinity, but with all awakened beings from the past, present and future everywhere in the world. —Kaz Tanahashi This Fall we’re starting a choir! Yes, that is right, the Karenji Choir. We’ll be working with a musical setting of a short text from Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva as a way of joining our voices together and cultivating an attitude of goodwill for all beings. In the Zen tradition, chanting is a powerful gateway to the experience of one-body. When we merge our voices together as one sound, we have the opportunity to touch, intimately and directly, what we share as human beings—just as in zazen, through the practice of breathing, we touch the common ground of our human experience in stillness and silence. Date and Time Details for Rehearsals: Sundays, 2pm – 3:30pm: 9/3, 9/10, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 11/5, 11/19, 11/26, 12/3, 12/10 (bus trip to ZMM to offer the chant) 12/17 (chanting in front to the Temple on State Street for the neighbors…

One Continuous Thread: Home Practice Intensive—September 2023
September 25 - October 1, 2023

Welcome to One Continuous Thread, a way to bring elements of a formal zazen intensive into your daily life. You will be able to participate with ZMM’s Sesshin via live webcast. We’ve designed this retreat keeping in mind the unique circumstances that each person finds themselves in. Some people can engage fully with a sesshin schedule in their homes; others may seek the rigors and rewards of a zazen intensive while navigating their ongoing responsibilities to work, family and friends. One Continuous Thread can hold it all as we sit together, even while our needs and experiences might be quite diverse. Further guidance on how to engage with the retreat, and a full schedule of the Monastery’s zendo activities, will be sent to you no earlier than Monday afternoon. You can base your own sitting around that or set your own schedule.   There will be Opening Guidelines via Zoom on Monday night, and all participants, especially new ones, are encouraged to attend (regardless of day of arrival), and an evening Closing Reflections on Friday evening.   All participants who are interested can register for a group Zoom meeting with a teacher during the week; please let the Registrar know via email: registrar@dharma.net. …

Mountains and Rivers Sesshin
September 25 - October 1, 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. Since there are a limited number of spots, please sign up for only 1-2 sesshin per quarter. If registration is full, please put your name on the waiting list.  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 personal guidance in private interviews with the teacher, 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 (this link is updated frequently so check back). Review the current protocol requirements before registering, and if you have…

Guided by Precepts: An Introduction
October 7, 2023

The 16 Bodhisattva Precepts provide an ethical foundation for living an awakened life. The Precepts derive from guidelines for living harmoniously in community that arose during Shakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime. Today, our understanding of the Precepts is guided by the Buddhist principles of impermanence and no-self. The Precepts provide a foundation for how we relate to others and function in the world, arising out of our deepest wisdom and compassion. Join Hojin Sensei for this introduction to the Buddhist Precepts.

Harvest Zazenkai
October 21, 2023

Zazenkai presents an opportunity to return to the well of introspection and committed Zen practice. The extended schedule includes periods of zazen, liturgy, a face-to-face interview with a teacher, a formal talk and oryoki lunch (formal meal served in the zendo). Zazenkai is an important way for experienced students to further their practice and for newer students to take a preparatory step toward the practice of sesshin. *If this will be your first zazenkai or sesshin, please call the Temple office at (718) 875-8229 for a brief interview. Due to the intensive nature of this retreat, we ask that all participants complete a beginning instruction session with the MRO and establish a regular zazen practice prior to registration. Program price for this retreat is $75, please pay what you can. It’s important that the dharma is available to everyone. Thank you for your continued support.    

One Continuous Thread: Home Practice Intensive—October 2023
October 23 - 29, 2023

Welcome to One Continuous Thread, a way to bring elements of a formal zazen intensive into your daily life. You will be able to participate with ZMM’s Sesshin via live webcast. We’ve designed this retreat keeping in mind the unique circumstances that each person finds themselves in. Some people can engage fully with a sesshin schedule in their homes; others may seek the rigors and rewards of a zazen intensive while navigating their ongoing responsibilities to work, family and friends. One Continuous Thread can hold it all as we sit together, even while our needs and experiences might be quite diverse. Further guidance on how to engage with the retreat, and a full schedule of the Monastery’s zendo activities, will be sent to you no earlier than Monday afternoon. You can base your own sitting around that or set your own schedule.   There will be Opening Guidelines via Zoom on Monday night, and all participants, especially new ones, are encouraged to attend (regardless of day of arrival), and an evening Closing Reflections on Friday evening.   All participants who are interested can register for a group Zoom meeting with a teacher during the week; please let the Registrar know via email: registrar@dharma.net. …

Harvest Sesshin
October 23 - 29, 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. Since there are a limited number of spots, please sign up for only 1-2 sesshin per quarter. This session must be joined no later than Thursday. If registration is full, please put your name on the waiting list.  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 personal guidance in private interviews with the teacher, 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 (this link is updated frequently so check back). Review the…

Giving Heart Zazenkai
November 11, 2023

Zazenkai presents an opportunity to return to the well of introspection and committed Zen practice. The extended schedule includes periods of zazen, liturgy, a face-to-face interview with a teacher, a formal talk and oryoki lunch (formal meal served in the zendo). Zazenkai is an important way for experienced students to further their practice and for newer students to take a preparatory step toward the practice of sesshin. *If this will be your first zazenkai or sesshin, please call the Temple office at (718) 875-8229 for a brief interview. Due to the intensive nature of this retreat, we ask that all participants complete a beginning instruction session with the MRO and establish a regular zazen practice prior to registration. Program price for this retreat is $75, please pay what you can. It’s important that the dharma is available to everyone. Thank you for your continued support.    

One Continuous Thread: Home Practice Intensive—November 2023
November 13 - 19, 2023

Welcome to One Continuous Thread, a way to bring elements of a formal zazen intensive into your daily life. You will be able to participate with ZMM’s Sesshin via live webcast. We’ve designed this retreat keeping in mind the unique circumstances that each person finds themselves in. Some people can engage fully with a sesshin schedule in their homes; others may seek the rigors and rewards of a zazen intensive while navigating their ongoing responsibilities to work, family and friends. One Continuous Thread can hold it all as we sit together, even while our needs and experiences might be quite diverse. Further guidance on how to engage with the retreat, and a full schedule of the Monastery’s zendo activities, will be sent to you no earlier than Monday afternoon. You can base your own sitting around that or set your own schedule.   There will be Opening Guidelines via Zoom on Monday night, and all participants, especially new ones, are encouraged to attend (regardless of day of arrival), and an evening Closing Reflections on Friday evening.   All participants who are interested can register for a group Zoom meeting with a teacher during the week; please let the Registrar know via email: registrar@dharma.net. …

Shuso Hossen Sesshin
November 13 - 19, 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 before you register, so please call or email the Training Office to schedule at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net. Since there are a limited number of spots, please sign up for only 1-2 sesshin per quarter. If registration is full, and you do not need an interview (as a first-time participant) please put your name on the waiting list.  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 personal guidance in private interviews with the teacher, 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 (this link is updated frequently…

Buddha's Enlightenment Vigil (ZCNYC)
December 8 - 9, 2023

Shakyamuni Buddha was enlightened when he saw the morning star rising in the east. At Fire Lotus Temple, we mark that moment of awakening each year with a Morning Star Vigil. This silent, all-night period of deep sitting is a wonderful way to celebrate both the Buddha’s enlightenment and our present good fortune at having encountered the dharma and sangha in our own lives. Over the years, it has become a very powerful and important event for many at Fire Lotus. At ZCNYC, we celebrate the Buddha’s enlightenment with a vigil dedicated to the simple yet profound practice of zazen, which Dogen Zenji called the “dharma gate of ease and joy.” We’ll begin the evening at 6:30pm with a light, informal pot-luck sangha supper. At 8:30, the Vigil begins with Hojin Sensei offering a teaching in the zendo. Following this, all is silent and still as each participant turns inward to give themselves completely to their meditation practice. There is no structure or marking of time throughout the night, though there will be at least one person inn the zendo throughout the night. Participants can sit as long as they like, changing postures when needed, and taking breaks at their own…

Buddha's Enlightenment Vigil (ZCNYC)
December 8 - 9, 2023

Shakyamuni Buddha was enlightened when he saw the morning star rising in the east. At Fire Lotus Temple, we mark that moment of awakening each year with a Morning Star Vigil. This silent, all-night period of deep sitting is a wonderful way to celebrate both the Buddha’s enlightenment and our present good fortune at having encountered the dharma and sangha in our own lives. Over the years, it has become a very powerful and important event for many at Fire Lotus. At ZCNYC, we celebrate the Buddha’s enlightenment with a vigil dedicated to the simple yet profound practice of zazen, which Dogen Zenji called the “dharma gate of ease and joy.” We’ll begin the evening at 6:30pm with a light, informal pot-luck sangha supper. At 8:30pm, the Vigil begins with Hojin Sensei offering a teaching in the zendo. Following this, all is silent and still as each participant turns inward to give themselves completely to their meditation practice. There is no structure or marking of time throughout the night, though there will be at least one person inn the zendo throughout the night. Participants can sit as long as they like, changing postures when needed, and taking breaks at their…

Rohatsu Sesshin
December 26, 2023 - January 1, 2024

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 zazen (the time for sitting meditation increases each day), chanting services, formal silent meals in the zendo (oryoki), silent work practice and talks by teachers and senior students. Sesshin is also an opportunity to receive personal guidance in private interviews with the teacher, and to draw from the tremendous strength of people practicing together as we experience the deep stillness that lies within each one of us. Because Rohatsu sesshin is a very intensive retreat, you are required to have attended at least one full sesshin at Zen Mountain Monastery previously. If you have not attended Rohatsu before, do not register until you have a pre-sesshin interview; please call the Training Office at (845) 688-2228 to schedule one. Participants must join by Thursday, December 28 As with all in-person retreats at the Monastery, participants are required to follow the current protocol for keeping everyone safe…