Practice forms for sesshin

This page tells you about the forms we follow here during sesshin. The forms themselves are not as important as the opportunity they give us to put aside self-involvement and pay attention to our actions in and around the zendo. Please ask questions about things you don’t understand so that you feel comfortable practicing here. Do your best to follow along with what’s happening, but don’t worry about making a mistake. All practitioners were once beginners too. Read more about sesshin: context and approach are here and FAQ is here.

Zazen

Kinhin

If the zendo door is closed, zazen has begun. Please wait to enter the zendo until the next kinhin period.

Enter the zendo by stepping in with your left foot. Bow from the waist with hands in gassho.
In shashu, walk along the row of cushions or chairs until you reach an open place. Face your seat and bow in gassho as a greeting to the people on either side of you (whether anyone is there or not). They will also gassho and bow.
Turn to the right to face the room, and gassho and bow. If someone is standing across from you, he or she will bow in response.
If you will be using a cross-legged position (full lotus, half lotus or Burmese), sit down on your cushion, then turn around clockwise to face the wall.
If you will be using a kneeling position (seiza), turn clockwise to face your seat, pick up your zafu or bench, kneel down on your zabuton and arrange your zafu or bench under you.
If you will be sitting on a chair, move around the left side of the chair and sit down.
Try not to move around or make noise while you are sitting zazen. If you must change your position, make a small bow in gassho to thank your neighbors for their understanding, and then move quietly. There is no need to bow after you’ve finished your adjustment.
Three bells will mark the beginning of the zazen period; one will mark the end. After the ending bell, bow in gassho and prepare to get up.
Turn to the right until you face the room, and stand up slowly, taking care if legs or feet have gone to sleep. Turn clockwise again and kneel down to quietly plump up your zafu and brush off your zabuton. If you’ve used a chair, place it close to the wall. Bow in gassho to your cushion or chair, then turn to the right in gassho. Wait in gassho until the leader initiates a bow with everyone.
If two bells have ended zazen, turn to the left and begin kinhin. If one bell has ended zazen and everyone has done the robe chant, move to the side altar in the alcove and prepare for service.

Having turned to the left in front of your sitting place, with hands in isshu begin to walk slowly around the perimeter of the zendo, following the person in front of you.
From the waist up, your posture is the same as that of zazen. While keeping your eyes down at a 45-degree angle, make sure your back is straight and your head is up.
Take half a step with your right foot as you inhale and exhale, then half a step with your left foot with your next breath and so on.
Walking slowly and smoothly, as though you were standing in one place, without dragging your feet or making noise.
Do not walk between an altar and a bowing mat. Walk around the tatami in front of the main altar and straight across the alcove in front of the bowing mat for the side altar.
One ring of the handbell is your signal to stop, make as standing bow in shashu, and walk at a normal pace back to your seat.
Gassho and bow to your seat, turn to the right and wait in gassho until the leader initiates a bow with everyone. Take your seat and return to zazen.
If you need to leave the zendo during kinhin, wait until everyone has bowed together after zazen and turned to the left before doing so. Bow discreetly
in shashu and leave carefully and quietly. There is no bow when stepping out of the zendo.
You may return to the zendo while kinhin is in progress. Enter the zendo as usual and return to your place in line or take another open space if more convenient. Bow discreetly in shashu and start kinhin.
If you prefer, you may enter the zendo at the conclusion of kinhin. Wait outside the zendo door until you hear the handbell, open the door and carefully enter the zendo once practitioners have finished filiing past. Walk to your sitting place in shashu, bow to it in gassho, turn to the right and bow with everyone. Sit down and return to zazen.

Morning bows and greeting

Be in your seat at least five minutes before the day’s first period of zazen is to begin. Wear your rakusu or okesa (if you have one), as there is no robe chant during sesshin.
Five minutes before zazen is to begin, the sesshin leader will enter the zendo. S/he will make an incense offering and bows at the main altar before walking the perimeter of the zendo behind each of the practitioners. As s/he passes behind you, put your hands in gassho. Do not bow. After s/he has passed by, return to your zazen mudra. Three bells will signal the start of zazen.

Preparing for meals

When the bell rings to end zazen, stand up and take care of your place as usual. Bow in gassho to your cushion, turn to the right, and wait in gassho until everyone is up and the doshi initiates a group standing bow.
If you’re assigned to set up folding tables, move quickly to begin that process. If not, take your bowls and cushion and move to an open place at the table as soon as you can. Place your bowls on the table in front of you and stand and wait in shashu.
When everyone is at the table and the food has been brought from the kitchen, the doshi will pick up her/his bowls and bow with everyone. Sit down and wait in zazen mudra.

Eating meals

On arrival next door, put your shoes in the shelves, and bow in gassho to the worker standing in the kitchen.
Gassho and bow before picking up a plate or bowl and helping yourself to food.
Proceed to the first open seat at the table, without leaving empty chairs between you and others. Put down your food, gassho and bow. Those on either side of you and across from you will also gassho and bow—the same pattern as arriving at your seat in the zendo. It’s not necessary to bow to anyone else arriving or leaving the table (except the abbot).
Sit down, gassho and bow, and eat your meal. If you’d like seconds, you may go and return at any time without any bows or forms.
When you’ve finished eating, gassho and bow, get up, push in your chair, gassho and bow to the people across from and on either side of you, and take your dishes to the kitchen to wash them.
Leave your clean dishes in the drainboard for kitchen workers to dry and put away.

More things to know

We do only four things in zazen: keep the posture, breathe deeply through the nose, keep the eyes open and let go of thought. We do nothing else. This is shikantaza, or just sitting.
Try not to move around and make noise during zazen. If you must change your position during zazen, make a small bow in gassho to thank your neighbors for their understanding, and then move quietly. There is no need to bow after you’ve finished your adjustment.
Kinhin is not break time. It’s just another zazen period. If you really need to leave the zendo to attend to something in particular, it’s fine to do so. If you realize that you’re leaving in search of something more interesting, it’s better to stay.
Reading and writing during personal time are discouraged. Although study is an important practice, we put it aside during sesshin. As Okumura Roshi says, “In our zazen we have to let go of any kind of thinking, even thinking about dharma.” It goes without saying that engaging with devices during sesshin is also not optimal.
Everyone will have a work assignment on one or more days of the sesshin. You may be asked to help prepare meals in the kitchen, set up tables, wash dishes, ring bells in the zendo, or other things. Work assignments will be posted on the board in the entryway; please be sure you know what you’re assigned to do and show up to do it. Work is itself practice and not an interruption of your sesshin.

Here's a printable version of this information as a trifold brochure.

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