Training
Training at Yokoji is year-round and follows the traditional pattern of quarterly intensive and interim periods. During the intensive, or training period, each individual focuses on collecting together their energy, to practice with vigor and determination. The schedule includes more periods of zazen (seated meditation), with an earlier wake up and a later finish to the day. We have a 7-day sesshin every month during the training period which allows for more focused meditation. During the interim period, the schedule is a little more relaxed, with zazen morning and night 4 days a week and then the usual Sunday schedule. We sit sesshin once a month during the interim, too, but only for 2 or 3 days at a time. The year round training is for everyone, residents and non-residents alike.
Download the sample schedule PDF to see the training period and interim schedules.
For information on local meditation groups and affiliated international sitting groups and Zen Centers, click here.
Residential Training
Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center is the perfect place for residential training, both long and short term. The immediateness of the surrounding wilderness and the peacefulness of the valley in which we are located create a space which fosters sincere practice. Taking a period of time in your life, be it one week or one year, to live and train here at Yokoji, could be one of the most rewarding experiences you will have. This Zen Center operates in order to help people realize their true nature, and as a visiting Zen dignitary once remarked, "if you can't do it here (Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center), then you can't do it anywhere!"
One of the most important elements of Zen training is working closely with a teacher who has already gone through years of training of their own. The model of teacher and apprentice is apt to Zen training, as only through constant interaction with the teacher can the dharma be transmitted down through the generations. Zen training is more than gaining insight and realization, it is how to live one's life in accord with it, to develop a sense of compassion and wisdom that is in tune with the world at large. The role of the teacher is essential in showing the student where they are stuck and the work that they still need to do. Residential training, where the student has frequent contact with the teacher, is essential for those who want to really examine their lives and realize the Buddha Way.
If you are interested in applying for residential training, download the application form, follow the instructions and return it to the YZMC office. You can apply for any length of time, including open-ended stays. The cost is $700.00 per month, all inclusive. After the first 2 months of residency, you can apply for a scholarship. Scholarships are awarded to those who are diligent in their practice and show commitment and enthusiasm. Scholarships are more likely to be awarded to people who have already visibly developed, over time, an attitude of service toward the temple and the sangha. A scholarship can either reduce or eliminate the monthly residency fee. In order to apply for a scholarship, a commitment of 8 months stay at Yokoji must be made. Please download the code of conduct, which contains regulations and best practices for living in our community. The code of conduct must be read and signed before commencing residency at the Center.
Work scholarships are also available for workshops and sesshins. If you would like to attend a sesshin or workshop, or stay at the Center overnight but cannot afford the cost, you can work at the Center for a set number of hours to offset the usual fees. Contact the YZMC office for details.
Many people can not take time in their busy lives to live at the Center. YZMC is open to all modes of practice, both monastic and lay. The Sunday schedule, sesshins and workshops can be attended by all. Our daily zazen (seated meditation) schedule is also open to everyone. Living at the Center is not necessary to be part of the sangha, or community. People who live near by and come once or twice a week, or those who live elsewhere in the world and can only make it once or twice a year - all are welcome to come and train and to be a part of the sangha. Please don't feel that because you have family and work commitments you cannot train in Zen Buddhism here or anywhere else. Zen is nothing more than your life, and this is something universal that we all share. With the right effort, determination and faith we can all practice together, regardless of time and place.
Zazen
At the heart of Zen training is zazen, or seated meditation. Tenshin Roshi and David Shoji Scott co-wrote a book called the "Way of Zen" (which is available in the YZMC book store) which says this about zazen:
"In our daily lives, zazen provides us with a situation in which we can remove ourselves from external acivities, turn our activity inward, and face ourselves. Zazen is not about achieving some particular state of consciousness. Rather, it is about discovering who you are and what your life is."
Through the practice of sitting quietly, the mind becomes reflective of one's environment and the self that is usually based on thought is lost. The direct, intimate experience of reality becomes paramount. Through this forgetting of one's self, life can be lived from a broader perspective.
Here at Yokoji we sit zazen on a daily basis all year round - morning, evening and during training periods, afternoons as well. Check the schedule and join us when you can.
Work Practice (Samu)
Work practice is where meditation comes off the mat and enters the world. Traditionally, work practice would involve cleaning, sweeping, cooking and administration. To this day, the fundamentals have not changed - we still clean, cook and keep this Zen Center running. On a basic level, the reasons for this are obvious. To maintain something of value, the work needs to be done. One of the main points that Tenshin Roshi focuses on in Zen training is how the practice manifests in every day life. How each one of us goes forward in to the world and leads our life, in terms of relations with others and the environment, is paramount.
How do we maintain an awareness that is respectful of the people and objects we interact with during our working day? Can we learn from the lessons that reveal themselves to us, regardless of what form they come in and where they come from? Work practice enables us to test these questions, to see the mechanics of the way we hold ourselves in relation to the world around us. We are working for the community, for ourselves and each other. It is a shift from seeing work as a means to and end. Work is the end in itself and the challenges, both physical and psychological can teach us a great deal about ourselves if we are willing to learn.
Living in the mountains, off-grid, at a high altitude that is visited by hot summers and cold, snowy winters, there is a lot of work that is dictated by the seasons. Chopping fire wood and stacking it for the cold months, plowing the roads and clearing paths during the snow storms, treating wood to protect it from the heat of the summer sun, cutting down brush to prevent the risk of forest fire. The work we do is thoroughly in tune with the valley in which we live. Harmonious existence is not optional but mandatory. For those who crave a return to a simple life, one which responds to the seasons rather than ignoring them, life and work at Yokoji Zen Center will be an enriching experience for you.