Zen Meditation Retreat
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Sesshin Talks
A sesshin (接心, or also 摂心/攝心 literally "touching the heart-mind") is a period of intensive meditation (zazen) retreat in a Japanese Zen monastery, or in a Zen monastery or Zen center that belongs to one of the Japanese Zen traditions outside of Japan.
While the daily routine in the monastery requires the monks to meditate several hours a day, during a sesshin they devote themselves almost exclusively to zazen practice. The numerous 30- to 50-minute-long meditation periods are interleaved with short rest breaks, meals, and sometimes short periods of work (Japanese: 作務 samu) all performed with the same mindfulness; nightly sleep is kept to a minimum, at six hours or fewer. During the sesshin period, the meditation practice is occasionally interrupted by the master giving public talks (teisho) and individual direction in private meetings (which may be called dokusan, daisan, or sanzen) with a Zen Master.
In modern Buddhist practice in Japan and the West, sesshins are often attended by lay students and are typically one, three, five, or seven days in length. Seven-day sesshins are held several times a year at many Zen centers, especially in commemoration of the Buddha's awakening to full enlightenment (anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi). At this Rohatsu sesshin, practitioners seek to relax and quiet the mind to the point of cessation of mental chatter and emotional impulse, samadhi, kensho, or satori.
Title | Speaker | |
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Zen's Path: Personal Practice UnboundedSerial: RB-02274 Sesshin Practice, Sandokai, Sesshin |
Oct 2012 Johanneshof |
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Unveiling Zen's Hidden TreasuresSerial: RB-02271 Sesshin Time, Sesshin, Bodhisattva |
Oct 2012 Johanneshof |
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Silent Harmony in Zen PracticeSerial: RB-01650A Sesshin Breath, Time, Sesshin |
May 2006 Johanneshof |
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Embracing Moments in Zen Practice Posture, Time, Sesshin |
Apr 01 1978 |
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Embracing Emptiness Through Mindful Zen Tozan, First Principle, Sesshin |
Aug 11 1974 |
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Zen and Environmental Balance Time, Sesshin, Buddhism |
Feb 06 1972 |