Tanjo-e Sesshin: 7-Days of Zen and Meditation
Monday, April 3 - Sunday, April 9
“Sitting meditation is the gateway to total liberation.”
Sesshin is translated to mean “Touching the Heart/Mind”. For seven days you’re invited to dive deeply into silence, meditation, and mindfulness. This is an opportunity for the novice and veteran meditator to practice side-by-side. For people new to Zen this is the chance to engage with an experienced teacher and establish a practice that has the power to transform your life.
During a period of seven days you will learn and practice through the timeless traditions of sitting meditation (zazen), walking meditation (kinhin), mindful eating (oryoki), and mindful work (samu). All of these are designed to extend the practice of zazen beyond the meditation cushion and into our everyday embodied experience.
Daily tea and dharma talks will be led by guest teacher Ian Hakuryu Forsberg. Ian is a long-time student of Kobun Chino Roshi. He is the resident teacher of Hokoji temple near Taos, New Mexico. In addition to interacting with Ian during dharma talks you’ll also have the opportunity for a private one-on-one meeting (dokusan).
This particular sesshin falls during the time of year when the birth of Buddhism’s founder, Gautama Siddhartha, is celebrated. The retreat will end on Sunday at the beginning of the Buddha’s Birth Celebration. A ceremony will be performed and lunch will be served. All sesshin guests are invited to stay and attend.
Meals
All food is vegetarian and prepared by the head of kitchen known as the Tenzo. Meals during sesshin will be served oryoki-style in the dining hall of the Jikoji Community Building. Oryoki, is an integral part of the sesshin experience and you’ll find it one of the most enjoyable forms of meditation. If you need to learn oryoki instructions please indicate so on the registration form. TInstructions will be provided after registration. You can also learn the basics by watching a video and reading instructions supplied here: http://www.jikoji.org/oryoki/ For a complete list of meal times please see the schedule.
Accommodations
Jikoji offers separate female and male dormitory style beds with shared bathrooms. If you have any special needs please let us know through the registration form. Bedding and linens are provided.
What to bring
- Comfortable loose-fitting clothes good for sitting for long hours (ideally without logos and slogans)
- A warm sweater and other warm layers (mornings and evenings can be chilly)
- A warm rain resistant coat
- Shoes that you can work in
- Shoes that are easily to remove after walking between buildings (ideally that you can slip into)
- A change of clothes to work outside (weather permitting)
- Umbrella
- Flashlight
- Toiletries
- Towel
- An open mind
Cost
Total 7-day stay is $360 (Includes meals and accommodations)
For people staying only a portion the rates are $60/per overnight, and $25/per day for day visits.
Register for Tanjo-e Sesshin here.
Schedule
The schedule is very full and while we recommend you to join every session of practice as you are able. After the last hour in the zendo it is recommended to get to bed as promptly as possible to be awake and alert for early morning practice.
Monday
4 - 6:00pm Registration
6:00pm Dinner
6:45pm Cleanup
7:45pm Zazen
8:25pm Opening Remarks
9:00pm Three refuges, Bows
Tuesday-Saturday
5:30am Wake-up bell
6:00am Zazen
6:40am Robe chant, Kinhin
6:50am zazen
7:20am Service
7:35am Breakfast
8:15am Soji (work period)
8:25am End Soji and Break begins
9:20am Zazen
9:50am Kinhin
10:00am Zazen
10:30am Kinhin
10:40am Zazen or Outdoor Walking Meditation
11:10am Kinhin
11:20am Zazen
12:00pm Lunch
12:40pm Kitchen cleanup and Break
1:45pm Work
2:50pm Clean up
3:10pm Tea-discussion
4:20pm Zazen
4:50pm Kinhin
5:00pm Zazen
5:30pm Dinner
6:10pm Kitchen cleanup and Break
7:20pm Zazen
7:50pm Kinhin
8:00pm Zazen
8:30pm Bows
Sunday
5:30am Wake-up Bell
6:00am Zazen
6:40am Robe chant, Kinhin
6:50am Zazen
7:20am Service
7:35am Breakfast
8:10am Closing circle
8:50am Room cleaning and Break
10:00am Zazen
10:40am Kinhin
10:50am Zazen
11:30am Sunday service
11:40am Talk
Buddha’s Birth Ceremony and Lunch (Optional)
12:30pm Social lunch
1:10pm Kitchen & community cleanup
2:00pm Buddha's Birthday Ceremony
About Ian Hakuryu Forsberg
Ian Hakuryu Forsberg was fortunate to meet Kobun Chino Otogawa during his late teens. He began zazen practice and was ordained by Kobun at Haiku Zendo in 1977. Ian practiced with Kobun and the Sangha in California at Haiku Zendo, Hidden Villa Ranch and later at Jikoji. In the early eighties, after Kobun moved to Taos, New Mexico, Ian visited Taos a few times at Kobun’s request for sesshins and the formal Hokoji opening ceremony. In 1987 he went to Taos to spend three months working on Kobun’s house and never left. During the years at Hokoji, he has helped with the practice at Hokoji; was Shuso in 1990, received Dharma Transmission from Vanja Palmers in 2005 and is resident teacher at Hokoji. Along with many of Kobun’s students, he has embraced the commitment of ordinations, family, and zazen as an open and natural practice.
Register for Tanjo-e Sesshin here.
About Jikoji
Jikoji is a rustic mountain retreat established in 1983 by Kobun Chino Roshi and a group of students. A Soto Zen Buddhist temple associated with Hokoji in Taos, NM and Jokoji in Japan, Jikoji exists as a unique opportunity to practice in a rural setting. At 2350 ft. elevation in the Santa Cruz mountains, the grounds comprise 13.26 acres. The property has many unique features, such as a large pond (or small lake), places to pitch a tent (in addition to hostel type accommodations), and miles of hiking trails in the surrounding 1800 acres of Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
Location and Contact Information
Jikoji is located approximately one hour south of San Francisco, California, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Our address is 12100 Skyline Blvd, Los Gatos CA 95033. You can reach us by phone at (408) 741-9562 during our regular business hours, 9 AM to 2 PM, M-F. You can also contact us at our email address: info@jikoji.org.