Upcoming Events
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Saturday Schedule
First Saturday of the month (please call to check during holidays and bad weather)
Come and join us for our Saturday morning schedule. Registration is required. Coffee and tea are available from 9:00am onwards. We start at 10:00am with two periods of zazen (seated meditation), interspersed with kinhin (walking meditation) ending at 11:10am. A short break is followed with a dharma talk by a teacher or senior student, and then we share a delicious vegetarian lunch.
For first-timers, we run a Zen Meditation Instruction class which also starts at 9:30am. This is a great time to come along for your first time and learn the basics of zen practice and how you can do it. The class joins the regular schedule at 11:10am in time for the dharma talk, and then lunch. There is a recommended donation of $25.00 for those who wish to take the class.
We have a number of instructional videos that you may find helpful either before or after visiting Yokoji for the first time. If you would like to know more about how we do things here, please refer to our videos on meditation, or zazen, and the basic forms we use.
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July
Beginner's Mind Sesshin
Friday July 22nd, 3:30pm - Sunday July 24th, 12:30pm
REGISTRATION CLOSED - THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED
Sesshin can be translated as “to touch the heart-mind.” Sesshin is at the heart of Zen Practice - a chance to give full attention to one’s life without distraction.
This sesshin is designed for those who are new to Zen practice. There will be orientation given regarding the basic formal procedures that will be used over the weekend, so no prior experience is required. The schedule will be lighter than the regular sesshin that we run at Yokoji. We all have the ‘beginner’s mind’, that which sees the world afresh in each moment. Sesshin is the perfect vehicle to realize this. This sesshin is also open to experienced practitioners. Please look over the schedule for sesshin before signing up.
Members: $150
Non-members: $250Registration required. Part-time rates are listed on the sesshin page.
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September
Fall Training Period
Sunday September 4th - Sunday November 13th
The Fall Training Period at Yokoji is a time of intensified practice for the whole community—where we have the wonderful opportunity to recommit ourselves to practice, embodying and strengthening the qualities that we most appreciate and value. It is a perfect time to spend a few days, weeks or months in residence at the Center to deepen your appreciation of life through zazen, service and communal living. Non-residents can participate both at home and at the Center. For those practicing at Yokoji, the schedule is more demanding, with an abundance of zazen and a greater number of sesshins. Whether you are spending the whole period at Yokoji, just one or two weekends, or are committing to a stronger home practice, we invite you to participate with us in any way that you can during this Training Period.
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Sesshin
Sunday September 4th, 3:30pm - Sunday September 11th, 12:30pm
Sesshin is at the heart of Zen Practice—a chance to give full attention to one’s life without distraction. Participants live at the Center for the duration, following a simple yet challenging schedule of zazen, chanting services, formal meals, work practice and rest periods. Dharma talks are given daily and Tenshin Roshi, if present, offers face-to face interview (dokusan) to all students. There are sometimes visiting teachers who will also give dharma talks and interviews. Please visit the sesshin page for more information about sesshin.
If you would like to participate in a 7-day sesshin for the first time, we recommend that you attend a Day of Zen Practice class or a weekend sesshin first. If you cannot attend either of these first, you must at least be present for the first evening of sesshin to receive instruction.
For those with prior sesshin experience, part-time participation is acceptable if you cannot make the whole event.
Members: $400.00
Non-members: $550.00Registration required. Part-time rates are listed on the sesshin page. Please look over the schedule for sesshin before signing up.
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October
Beginner's Mind Sesshin
Friday October 28th, 3:30pm - Sunday October 30th, 12:30pm
Sesshin can be translated as “to touch the heart-mind.” Sesshin is at the heart of Zen Practice - a chance to give full attention to one’s life without distraction.
This sesshin is designed for those who are new to Zen practice. There will be orientation given regarding the basic formal procedures that will be used over the weekend, so no prior experience is required. The schedule will be lighter than the regular sesshin that we run at Yokoji. We all have the ‘beginner’s mind’, that which sees the world afresh in each moment. Sesshin is the perfect vehicle to realize this. This sesshin is also open to experienced practitioners. Please look over the schedule for sesshin before signing up.
Members: $150
Non-members: $250Registration required. Part-time rates are listed on the sesshin page.
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November
Sesshin (Rohatsu)
Sunday November 6th, 3:30pm - Sunday November 13th, 12:30pm
The final sesshin of the Fall Training Period. Rohatsu means ‘December 8th’ in Japanese, the date of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, but we bring the sesshin forward to tie it in to the end of training period. If Shakyamuni did it, you can too.
Sesshin can be translated as “to unify the mind.” Sesshin is at the heart of Zen Practice—a chance to give full attention to one’s life without distraction. Participants live at the Center for the duration, following a simple yet challenging schedule of zazen, chanting services, formal meals, work practice and rest periods. Dharma talks are given daily and Tenshin Roshi, if present, offers face-to face interview (dokusan) to all students. There are sometimes visiting teachers who will also give dharma talks and interviews. Please visit the sesshin page for more information about sesshin.
If you would like to participate in a 7-day sesshin for the first time, we recommend that you attend a Day of Zen Practice class or a weekend sesshin first. If you cannot attend either of these first, you must at least be present for the first evening of sesshin to receive instruction.
For those with prior sesshin experience, part-time participation is acceptable if you cannot make the whole event.
Members: $400.00
Non-members: $550.00Registration required. Part-time rates are listed on the sesshin page. Please look over the schedule for sesshin before signing up.