The Four Great Elements are called Mahābhūta. The traditional four-element framework; Earth, Water, Fire, Air, is sometimes expanded to include Space and Consciousness. This creates a map of human experience. Dōgen reminds us that we awaken through this very body, this very earth, these changing conditions. In the Buddha Dharma, the elements are dynamic expressions of reality—of Buddha nature expressing itself. To study the elements is to study impermanence, interdependence, and the absence of a fixed, separate self. No element exists independently. Our focus will be to allow the elemental nature—the energetic power of the element—lead the way, determining your…

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.  Please join us for the 1st BIAPOC Zazenkai at Fire Lotus Temple. This retreat is open if you identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Persons of Color. The day includes, zazen, walking meditation, oryoki (simple meal received in meditation), liturgy, Seniors talk and face to face teaching with Hojin Sensei.…

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. If you have questions about this process, please call or email the Training Office at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net. Sign up for a pre-sesshin interview here. If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool.  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,…

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.…

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.    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 meeting with a teacher, a formal talk and oryoki lunch (formal meal served in the zendo). Zazenkai is an important way for experienced students…

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. If you have questions about this process, please call or email the Training Office at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net. Sign up for a pre-sesshin interview here. If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool.  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,…

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.…

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. We’ll begin with a light informal pot-luck sangha supper at 6:00pm. At 8:00pm the Vigil begins in the zendo with chanting the three refuges and Hojin Sensei offering opening remarks.. Following this, all is silent and…

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…

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.…

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. If you have questions about this process, please call or email the Training Office at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net. Sign up for a pre-sesshin interview here. If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool.  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,…

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.…

**There are no formal talks and only limited face-to-face teaching offered during Bodhidharma sesshin** 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. If you have questions about this process, please call or email the Training Office at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net. (Please note: Zen Training Weekends and other non-sesshin retreats at ZMM do not qualify as sesshin. Please call the Training Office if you need clarification) Sign up for a pre-sesshin interview here. If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool. …

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.…

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 or 2 sesshin per quarter.  If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool.  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…

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.…

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. This session must be joined no later than Thursday. If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool.  Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training. We wake up each…

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.…

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. If you have questions about this process, please call or email the Training Office at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net. Sign up for a pre-sesshin interview here. Since there are a limited number of spots, please sign up for only 1 or 2 sesshin per quarter.  If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool.  Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training.…

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.…

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. If you have questions about this process, please call or email the Training Office at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net. Sign up for a pre-sesshin interview here. Since there are a limited number of spots, please sign up for only 1 or 2 sesshin per quarter.  If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool.  Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training.…

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. If you have questions about this process, please call or email the Training Office at (845) 688-2228, or registrar@dharma.net. Sign up for a pre-sesshin interview here. Since there are a limited number of spots, please sign up for only 1 or 2 sesshin per quarter.  If registration is full, please Join the Registration Pool.  Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training.…