For those wishing to devote an extended period of time to their spiritual practice, the Year-Long Intensive is a demanding but life-transforming experience. Committing to a year allows you to benefit from the seasonal rhythms of the schedule, build a deeper connection to the sangha, develop a relationship to the teachers and seniors, and feel how your practice matures over time.
The daily schedule for year-long residents is the same as for the month-long residents, but extended residency requires that you approach your practice and your work with a longer view, harmonizing with the seasonal shifts and giving yourself completely to the unfolding experience. Each season emphasizes different aspects of training. The spring and fall quarters are called ango, 90-day intensive periods of more concentrated practice. During the summer, training emphasizes the arts and body practice, while in the winter the focus is on healthy solitude and the development of self-reliance.
Look through our Residency Photo Album to get a sense of life at the Monastery.
Every year-long residency begins with a month-long residency. See below, or click here.
Year-long residents participate in two angos and twelve sesshin (silent week-long intensive retreats), as well as shorter intensives and retreats on different themes.
You’ll participate in art practice, body practice, liturgy, and work practice. You’ll study the Precepts (the moral and ethical teachings), the sutras and some Buddhist history. With the constant mirror of the resident sangha, the result is a unique and powerful opportunity to get to know yourself, develop your Zen practice and transform your life.
The Monastery relies on year-long residents to staff some work positions, so you will be asked to take on some very real responsibilities essential to the running of the Monastery and its programs. You will work independently and also supervise others. Because of this, year-long residents are asked to enter with a strong, clear sense of commitment. This also means appreciating the ways in which the Monastery sangha is committing to you, too. As a year-long resident, you’ll have a singular opportunity to practice meeting your limits and seeing how they shift and transform into opportunities for growth. You can see where genuine peace of mind arises from, and how life can become be more meaningful than how you feel at any particular moment.
How to Apply
Click the link below or contact the Monastery at (845) 688-2228 or registrar@dharma.net to request a residency brochure and application. Each year-long period of residency must begin with a One-Month Residency. Please indicate your interest in a potential year-long residency on the application. You’ll be asked to examine your motivation for engaging spiritual practice and to express that motivation in writing and in a phone interview.
The cost is $850 per month, which includes all meals, lodging, training and most retreat fees. A $100 deposit is required upon acceptance. Year-long residents usually apply for some form of work scholarship, in which training fees are significantly reduced or even eliminated according to need, skills and motivation.
Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have.
Cancellation Policy
$50 transferable to a future program if you cancel at least one week before your scheduled arrival; $50 non-refundable.
