The Operations Overview is a document that lays out the logistical needs of Yokoji as well as the spirit in which we engage as Zen practitioners in caring for our temple.

Download the Operations Overview PDF

Before meals that are served and eaten as a community, we chant the meal gatha. Traditionally, the chant begins, “Seventy-two labors brought us this food, we should know how it comes to us” in reference to the seventy-two positions of a Zen training center. While Yokoji follows the basic training patterns set forth by tradition, we have never had close to seventy-two residents to meet operational needs. The model that has served us over the years has been to rely on a small but dedicated team of residents and an engaged community of non-residential practitioners. In the words of Master Dogen, we “function cooperatively in the great assembly in order for everyone to have a happy heart.”

The intention of this operations overview is to provide an outline of how Yokoji Zen Mountain Center is run and maintained and how members and volunteers might be inspired to help. The efforts and energy of countless practitioners have allowed this training center to flourish over the years under the guidance of the abbot, Tenshin Fletcher Roshi. For all of us who consider Yokoji to be our spiritual home, we have the opportunity to help sustain the center now and into the future.

Learning to lovingly take care of what needs our attention is a path to freedom in Zen. We learn how to be “empty-handed, yet holding a hoe,” going beyond like and dislike to be fully alive and responsive. For those who choose the path of Zen, may the invitation set forth in this overview serve to deepen your practice.

Download the Operations Overview PDF