Sanshin Zen Community
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​sunday morning (May 25): oryoki breakfast Sign-up (by Thurs, May 22)
On the last Sunday of each month, we begin practice at 7 am, with zazen and a formal breakfast which includes chanting and the use of oryoki. No previous experience is necessary, but please sign up at right by Thursday, May 22, so that the cook has a head count.

You are welcome to participate in all or part of the schedule as your life permits. No sign-up is required for the activities outside of breakfast.
7:00 am        Zazen
7:30              Oryoki breakfast
8:30             
Break
9:05 am        Zazen
10:10 am      Dharma talk by Hoko
~11:15 am​    Informal tea & snacks

    Sunday oryoki breakfast sign-up

Submit
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our spring fund Appeal is underway. Thank you for your participation, generosity, and practice.

​Our Goal: $10,000    ------    Received so far: $2199.18
Your practice and contributions have made it possible to create and maintain a nurturing environment together, where the dharma continues to flourish.

Today, we humbly ask for your financial support in maintaining our facilities and upholding the dharma work and practice of Okumura Roshi, Hoko, and our broad sangha of sincere practitioners -- including you.
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A gift of any size is welcome and appreciated -- as is your moment-by-moment practice. Thank you!
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Join us for Soto Zen Buddhist practice in Bloomington, Indiana.

We practice Buddhism within the Soto Zen tradition that comes to us from Japan, following the particular style of our immediate three ancestors: Kodo Sawaki, Kosho Uchiyama and Shohaku Okumura.  

Some of us are lay practitioners and some are ordained clergy, but we all engage in the same practices and walk the Buddha Way together.  Everyone, whether beginner or experienced practitioner, is welcome.
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New to Sanshin?
Schedules & Calendars

Several of the links on this page and throughout this website will connect you to our continually evolving companion-site, Sanshin Source: an online multimedia library of resources, context, and in-depth information organized around our practice vision.
Explore
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​Sanshin source
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This week ​at Sanshin (May 18 - 25)

Click on the boxes below for information and timing related to a given practice activity. All times listed are Eastern Time.
​sunday morning (May 25): zazen, oryoki breakfast (click to sign up by Thurs, May 22) & dharma talk
On the last Sunday of each month, we begin practice at 7 am, with zazen and a formal breakfast which includes chanting and the use of oryoki. No previous experience is necessary, but please sign up at right by Thursday, May 22, so that the cook has a head count.

You are welcome to participate in all or part of the schedule as your life permits. No sign-up is required for the activities outside of breakfast.
7:00 am        Zazen
7:30              Oryoki breakfast
8:30             
Break
9:05 am        Zazen
10:10 am      Dharma talk by Hoko:
​The Practice of Cooking

~11:15 am​    Informal tea & snacks

    Sunday oryoki breakfast sign-up

Submit
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Weekday morning practice (MOn - Fri)
Please be in your seat ready to go before 6:05 am, in time for the doshi's bows and incense offerings.

6:00 am  Participants in seats
6:05        Doshi enters
6:10        Zazen
7:00        Kinhin
7:10        Zazen
8:00        Robe chant
8:05        Chanting service (Heart Sutra & Dai Hi Shin Dharani​)

​~8:20      Shobogenzo Zuimonki reading & announcements
~8:25      Soji (temple cleanup)
~8:40      Bow out
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You can review our practice forms for weekday mornings HERE, noting that we're following a simplified schedule in February.
​​Practitioners are welcome to participate in all or part(s) of morning practice activities as schedules allow, virtually or in-person.
​monday evening (May 19): ryaku fusatsu ceremony
7 - 8 pm     Ryaku fusatsu ceremony

Our monthly ceremony of renewing our aspiration to follow the sixteen bodhisattva precepts. Virtual or in-person participation is welcome, whether or not you've formally taken precepts.

If participating in-person, please arrive by 6:50 pm, to allow enough time for offering incense and purifying your rakusu or okesa if you have one.
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​Wednesday evening (May 21): zazen & dharma book discussion
Practitioners are welcome to participate in both zazen and discussion, or just one or the other, as schedules allow. During discussion, we take turns reading aloud from the text at hand and discuss our practice lives and understanding -- all are welcome to drop in, regardless of whether or not you are "caught up" on the text.
6:30 pm      Zazen
7 - 8 pm      Dharma book discussion:
 The Structure of the Self in Mahayana Buddhism by Shohaku Okumura
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Throughout 2025, we're undertaking an exploration we've named Tangible Thusness​, a deep investigation of the teachings of nyoho: things done or made according to the dharma.

From May through August, we're focusing primarily on nyoho teachings related to food, from formal oryoki meals in a temple to what and how we eat at home, work, or school. What can we learn about attachment and interconnectedness through offering our attention to sourcing, cooking, eating, and cleaning up our everyday meals? LEARN MORE
Sanshin skywatch
No imminent severe weather risks.

Friday 23

Foggy and cool during morning practice.

Saturday 24: Day off

Sunday 25
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May be raining during zazen, oryoki breakfast  and dharma talk, with an indoor teatime.

Looking ahead:

June 3 - 8: Five-day sesshin (register by Tuesday, May 27th)
Sesshin at Sanshin is an opportunity to practice zazen without distraction.  It's one of the core activities for us in this dharma family, and we pay a lot of attention to it.  We set aside the usual activities -- or entertainments -- of temple life, like work periods, meetings with teachers and dharma talks, and focus completely on zazen. LEARN MORE & REGISTER by Tues, May 27th
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​For a complete listing of our regular practice schedule and upcoming extended practice opportunities, see our Schedules and Calendars page. 
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Our practice

Our main activities are zazen, sitting quietly and letting go of thinking; working together on food, clothing and shelter according to Buddha's teachings, and on developing wise and compassionate leadership; studying the teachings of the Buddha and the ancestors of our lineage; and engaging in ritual that brings our community together across space and time. We do all this in the context of our six practice guidelines (see below) and support each other in carrying forward this concentrated experience of interconnectedness throughout our everyday activities and communities.
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Our mission

Sanshin Zen Community enables the investigation of interconnectedness as it manifests in community, by engaging in six guidelines for practice within the Soto Zen tradition:
• Zazen in a Buddhist context
• Keeping forms simple
• Balancing peace and progress
• Dharma study as a support for zazen
• Work practice as an investigation of community
• Deeply inquiring into the teaching of ehou ichinyo
: kesa and dharma are one
LEARN MORE about our six practice guidelines as direct legacies of our twentieth century dharma ancestors, alongside Uchiyama Roshi's seven points of practice.
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We're grateful for the financial support of our many friends and community members worldwide.  Coming together as a sangha to take care of our temple and practice in this way is simply an instance of the universe carrying out its functioning. Thank you!
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Got a question?

Start with our FAQ, and if you still need help, contact us.

Sanshin's foreign language sanghas

Hispanohablante     *     Francophone     *     ​Deutschprachige

Can't find it? 
​Check the site map.

site map
Virtual practice
New to Sanshin?
  • Especially for students
Schedules and calendars
  • Sesshin
  • Precepts​
​About Sanshin Zen Community
  • Lineage and legacy
  • Ethics policy
  • Zendo guidelines
  • Sesshin guidelines
  • Registration and cancellation policies
  • Zendo stay and camping guidelines
  • Public health protocols
FAQ
​Resources for practice
  • Sanshin solo
  • Resources for small groups
  • Hand positions and bowing
  • Practice forms for Sundays
  • Practice forms for weekday mornings
  • Practice forms for sesshin
Sangha News
Giving to Sanshin
Sanshin Network
Hispanohablante
Francophone
Deutschsprachige
Contact
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  • Home
  • Giving to Sanshin
  • New to Sanshin?
  • Schedules and calendars
  • About Sanshin Zen Community
  • FAQ
  • Resources for practice
  • Resources for small groups
  • Sangha News
  • Sanshin network
  • Contact