Temple Calendar

If this will be your first zazenkai or sesshin, please call the Temple Office at (718)875-8229 for a brief interview. Due to the intensive nature of this retreat, we ask that all participants complete a beginning instruction session with the MRO and establish a regular zazen practice prior to registration. 

Zazenkai presents an opportunity to return to the well of introspection and committed Zen practice. The extended schedule includes periods of zazen, liturgy, a face-to-face meeting with a teacher, a formal talk and oryoki lunch (formal meal served in the zendo). Zazenkai is an important way for experienced students to further their practice and for newer students to take a preparatory step toward the practice of sesshin.

More info/registration

A three-hour practice of connecting with the still point, making space in which to find the heart-mind and body, and taking refuge. Let us sit deep into our well of sanity and show up from a place of love and courage—the two things that throughout history have been necessary to help humanity not only survive but thrive.

These short zazen intensives are popular with those new to Zen practice or meditation as well as more experienced students. The morning offers a time of silence and stillness and provides an excellent way to explore and deepen one’s zazen.

Your registration confirmation will include a link to the Zoom session.

More info/registration

If you have not previously attended a half-day sit, zazenkai, or sesshin in the Mountains and Rivers Order, please contact the Temple Office at 718-875-8229 or zcnyc@dharma.net prior to registration. 

A three-hour practice of connecting with the still point, making space in which to find the heart-mind and body, and taking refuge. Let us sit deep into our well of sanity and show up from a place of love and courage—the two things that throughout history have been necessary to help humanity not only survive but thrive.

These short zazen intensives are popular with those new to Zen practice or meditation as well as more experienced students. The morning offers a time of silence and stillness and provides an excellent way to explore and deepen one’s zazen.

More info

Whether we are engaged in a full life in the world or live at the monastery, all aspects of our
being are vital.
— John Daido Loori Roshi

Offering a comprehensive, radical path of liberation, The Eight Gates of Zen, developed by John Daido Loori Roshi, form the foundation of training in the Mountains and Rivers Order. They guide us in a practice that embraces the whole ocean of our lives—not only our time on the cushion, but our relationships, work, creativity, study, and engagement with the world.
The Eight Gates are: Zazen, Study with a Teacher, Buddhist Study, Liturgy, Right Action and the Precepts, Art Practice, Body Practice, and Work Practice.
During this morning retreat, Hojin and Daiō will open several of these gates through teaching, reflection, and direct experience. Together we will explore zazen, the heart of Zen practice; the student–teacher relationship; art and body practice as expressions of awakening; and the Precepts, the ethical teachings that guide us in living with wisdom, compassion, and a commitment to causing the least harm.
Each gate offers a unique doorway into practice, yet all point toward the same realization: that every aspect of our lives can become a field of awakening, each wave is the vast ocean. Join us as we explore these living gates together.

More info/Registration