Sesshin

With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,

We begin our Hannamatsuri Sesshin this evening at the Refuge in the mountains. We gather ourselves to sit in meditation in order to both relieve suffering and prepare ourselves to relieve suffering. In this period we recall the birth of the Buddha, honoring this man with sweet tea and flowers. We will sit for the next few days, eat in mindful silence, work in mindful silence, and practice deeply together the six paramitas of generosity, morality, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.

Our Zen Center practices extended periods of Zazen monthly as a day of mindfullness (Zazenkai) and quarterly as weekend Sesshin. During these periods we practice as monastics with a long sitting schedule, periods of samu (work meditation) and study periods. The time is spent in mindful silence with a minimum of verbal interaction. The purpose is to deliberately slow down both mind and body, cast our senses inward, and develop and deepen our personal awareness to the extent that, paradoxically, this "self" drops away.

As this happens, our true, compassionate nature is given an opportunity to bloom. During this time, my hope is that each of you will practice in some way with us, that you may each be part of the eternal garden of life.

I will, of course, be offline during this time.

Be well.