Sesshin
Sesshin are intensive, full-time retreats that last from three to eight days. Sesshin means to touch, receive, and convey the mind. Participants dedicate themselves to their zazen practice during sesshin and organize their lives so that all other cares can be left aside for the entire practice period. During sesshin, participants do zazen, eat, perform jobs to sustain the group, and rest.
“To touch the mind is to touch that which is not born and does does not die; it does not come or go, and is always at rest. It is infinite emptiness – empty infinity – the vast and fathomless Dharma which you have vowed to understand.”
– Robert Aitken, Encouraging Words
Go to the Applications/Documents Page and click on the application form for the particular sesshin you wish to attend. This will take you to an on-line application. If this is your first sesshin with the Honolulu Diamond Sangha you also need to submit the First Sesshin Applicant Information Sheet. Sesshin dates and sign-up deadlines are on the calendar page. Be sure to look at and read carefully the Sesshin Information document.
Sesshin Acceptance Priorities
Before the Sesshin Deadline: Those who sign up to participate full time prior to the deadline will receive priority in the following order:
- HDS members
- HDS friends
- Other applicants.
- The date of receipt of the applications will be used to prioritize within each category.
If the sesshin fills, a waiting list will be developed, prioritized as above.
After the Sesshin Deadline: Full-time applicants who apply after the deadline will be prioritized by the date their application was received. HDS members and friends only get priority before the deadline.
Part-time Applicants: Part-time applicants will be considered after all full-time applicants, prioritized by the date of receipt of the application. To maximize the safety of all participants, part-time participants must attend at least two contiguous days starting on the first day of sesshin. This includes the first evening orientation which is required for all participants. These procedures are to avoid people entering the sesshin after it has begun. Full-time applicants will have priority until two weeks prior to sesshin. This means that part-time applicants may not know if their application is accepted until two weeks prior to the sesshin.
None of this supersedes the teacher’s approval of all students attending, especially new students.
Sesshin Daily Schedule
4:00 am Wake Up
4:15 am Exercise
4:30 am Zazen and Dokusan
6:30 am Breakfast
7:00 am Work Period/Rest
8:30 am Sutra Service
9:00 am Zazen
11:30 am Lunch
12:00 pm Rest/Work
1:30 pm Zazen
2:00 pm Dharma Assembly
3:00 pm Zazen and Dokusan
5:00 pm Supper
5:30 pm Rest/Work
6:30 pm Zazen and Dokusan
9:00 pm Evening Ceremony and Bedtime