The Sangha House
Envisioned by Daido Roshi as early as 1985 and finally completed in 2012, the Sangha House comprises the Monastery’s administrative offices, a stately performance hall for events and retreats, a multipurpose room for programs, the Monastery Store, the library, an art studio, a body practice space, a reading room, and shower and laundry facilities for residents.
Tremper Mountain
Seen here overlooking the garden, meadow, and some of our solar panel arrays, Mt. Tremper is very much our inspiration and a fully participating (and productive) member of our community.
The Jizo House
In July 2021 we completed the construction of an additional guest house that replaces the white cottage across from the Monastery garden. The new facility comfortably accommodates more retreat participants, especially those with mobility issues. The Jizo House also features an infirmary and end-of-life quarters for our monastics and staff. You can find many more photos in a blog post tracking the building phase here on the Mountain record website. And you can also visit the Jizo Project webpage to learn more about how this ties in with other plans to make Zen Mountain Monastery more accommodating and welcoming for everyone. Special thanks to everyone who helped make this dream come true and to the wonderful contractor crew who worked steadily through the pandemic, maintaining safe precautions throughout the process.
Administrative Offices
Designed by architect and then resident Michelle Yoshin Lacaditto (1964 – 2020), our administrative offices were built in 2000 on the north side of the Monastery’s footprint. Essentially, anything we do with a phone and computer happens here: retreat planning, National Buddhist Prison Sangha, Monastery Store operations, graphic design and web implementation—we’re all under one roof.
Tea House
Near the North Gate is a traditional-style Japanese teahouse. Several monastics and long time students practice tea ceremony here and love sharing the experience in special workshops and, really, whenever the opportunity allows.
Cemetery
Located in a pine grove on a hillside above the main building, the cemetery houses the stupa of the first and second Abbots of the Monastery–Taizan Maezumi, Roshi, and John Daido Loori, Roshi, respectively. It is also the burial site for monastics and lay students who wish to have their ashes interred there. Memorial services and the annual Hungry Ghost ceremony are conducted in the cemetery.
Hermitages
At the Monastery, hermitages are available for residents and MRO students by permission of the abbot. The Mountain Hermitage is located a quarter mile uphill of the cabins. The Dogen Hermitage sits beyond Basho Pond. The Tea House Hermitage is near the Tea House, close to the Monastery driveway.
Vegetable Garden
From spring through early winter, the garden provides a plethora of fresh greens, plus garlic, carrots, cherry tomatoes, summer and winter squash, flowers for the Monastery’s altars, and much more.
Zen Gardens
The Monastery’s Zen Gardens are inspired by the classical Japanese style and use large rocks, stones, moss, ferns and other elements to create spaces that harmonize with the natural landscape. There are small Zen gardens located in the cemetery, the tea house, the north and the south sides of the main building, and at each main entrance to the Monastery grounds.
Basho Pond
The perfect spot for reflection and contemplation.
A-Frames on Hanshan Meadow and Cabin Circle
Located in the hills above the main building, these residences are for long-term practitioners living at the Monastery.
Zen Environmental Studies Institute – Catskills Site
The Catskill ZESI site provides the workshop for retreats in birding, wilderness skills, tracking, monitoring of water quality, and for arts such as photography, painting and writing.
