5-day precepts retreat -- register by June 23rd
June 30 - July 5
Public Jukai-e ceremony on Sunday, July 5, 10 am, followed by potluck lunch 

Registration is now open for our annual precepts retreat, focusing on the study of the sixteen bodhisattva precepts that we receive as guidelines for living a life of practice in the Soto Zen tradition.  The daily schedule includes zazen, presentations from the preceptor and ensuing group discussions, work periods, and silent formal meals. ​A precepts ceremony (jukai-e) is held during the last day of the retreat, during which those receiving the precepts will make their vows and receive a dharma name and a rakusu, or small robe, which they will have sewn beforehand. 

This year, Hoko's lectures and the ensuing discussions will address the nature of ethics and morality in general, of which the precepts are specific manifestations. 

Practitioners who are not taking precepts this year are also very welcome and encouraged to register to participate in-person for all or a selection of days. Virtual participation in scheduled zazen and discussion periods is also available. Learn more & register by June 23rd.

These five core precepts are aimed at helping the practitioner to develop self-control, cultivate mindfulness, and prevent wrong actions. These are the first steps in establishing a regular practice and becoming spiritually mature, with a high degree of compassion and wisdom. In the Abhisanda Sutta, the Buddha sets out these five precepts, “original, long-standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated, unadulterated from the beginning—that are not open to suspicion, will never be open to suspicion, and are unfaulted by knowledgeable contemplatives and brahmans.” He explains that by keeping these precepts, practitioners not only free limitless other beings from danger, animosity and oppression, they also free themselves. READ MORE.

• ​ finding an authentic teaching style
• providing training opportunities for monks and nuns in training (both in Japan and in Europe)
•  interreligious dialogue
•  The visibility of Sanshin Zen Community within the European Zen scene
•  financial issues and the balance between dharma and business
•  handing over responsibilities to sangha members and successors
•  how to establish and keep contact with Japanese temples
•  Is it okay to also offer non-Zen courses and practices at our centers, like guided meditation, Qigong, and so on? And if yes, how can we make sure not​ to mix these practices?
•  The importance of rituals and how we can train people even if our groups are small and it’s hard to learn rituals by simply copying
• How to prepare for one’s first ango
• How to smartly use websites and social media to gain visibility
• How to teach respect within the sangha in a way that is understandable for Western people

Fortunately, our weekend did not only consist of hard work! We enjoyed a sight-seeing trip to the old city center, a visit to a traditional coffee house (lots of cake included), a piano concert at the famous Musikverein concert hall and, last but not least, a late-night sausage snack with cold beers on a street corner. Special thanks go to Sangha member Sue for providing us with stew and even more cake during the conference, and to Ewald who continued to offer zazen practice on Zoom.

The meeting was concluded with a memorial ceremony for a recently deceased sangha member from Germany.

These meetings might be short, but they keep nourishing us for a long time. To take the time and effort to meet in person, practice zazen together, and realize that on some level, we all face the same challenges and can support one another, is well worth it.

The next meeting will take place in March 2027 in Rome (Italy), hosted by Centro Zen Anshin.

By itself, 伽 is pronounced togi and it means nursing or attending, but when it’s given its Chinese pronunciation, ga or gya, it means a large temple. It’s likely that these words were used for transliteration simply because they sound similar to the original Sanskrit, but nonetheless, it’s clear that we’re talking about a collection of people doing something together rather than individuals doing something on their own.

​In fact, the original technical meaning of sangha was a group of more than three monks, but throughout the tradition, sometimes it refers only to ordained people and sometimes it includes laypeople, particularly those who have taken the precepts. Here at Sanshin, we consider anyone practicing with us to be part of the sangha since we all come together in the common effort of practicing shikantaza and realizing awakening. Read more.

Nirvana Day 2026: The sangha held its annual observance of Shakyamuni Buddha's death and parinirvana on Sunday, February 15th. Following zazen and Hoko's dharma talk, we carried out a ceremony that included chanting the Heart Sutra and the Verse of Homage to Buddha's Relics. After the chanting, each practitioner offered incense, lit a candle with the altar-candle's flame, and blew it out in unison, symbolizing the Buddha's passing and "nirvana-without-remainder." Study resources related to Nirvana Day (Nehan-e) are being gathered here.

I am happy everything went pretty well and we had a nice celebration after the ceremonies. ​

Shinko's senmon sodo report: Shinko Hagn, an ordained student of Hoko and founder of Daijihi in Vienna, Austria, recently spent some time living and practicing at Kotaiji, a Soto Zen training temple in Nagasaki, as part of his clergy credentialing process. He offers some photos and reflections below:

New committee and working group: Also during the board's busy January meeting, board and sangha members were appointed to two work teams which will have an important impact on Sanshin's healthy functioning in the near and longer term. An ad hoc working group was formed to review the goals of the long-range plan in relation to Sanshin activities and priorities in 2026; members are Michael Komyo Melfi, Neil Schmitzer-Torbert, Hoko Karnegis, and Jeff Alberts. A building committee was formed to identify building needs to meet the Sanshin mission and vision; members are Doju Layton, Hosshin Shoaf, Clark, Kinney, Jeff Alberts, and Doshin Johnson.

​Sanshin Salon: Transmitting Tales

About twenty people came together in a sangha member's living room for our inaugural Sanshin Salon on Saturday, January 31st, an informal gathering of sangha fellowship, food and conversation, and dharma exploration in a broader social context. Between dinner and dessert, Hoko facilitated a panel discussion about storytelling in the Buddhist tradition and the human spiritual experience with two Bloomington community members, Ryo Uehara and Michael May, who have expertise in these areas, and Doju read aloud a few stories from Buddhism's vast vernacular storytelling tradition. See the recording below, and learn more about these Buddhist "tales-outside-the-sutras" here. We plan to hold another salon in early August, tentatively on the topic of "The Science of Zazen."

A developing Dōgen Study Library: The Dōgen Study Library is the audio-visual archive of the ongoing Lecture Series offered by the New York Zen Community for Dōgen Study under the guidance of Rev. Issan Koyama, a Dharma heir of Okumura Roshi. The Dōgen Study Library is a resource being developed for all students of Buddhism who wish to study the scriptures most treasured by our school at their own pace, with the support of guidance and commentaries.

​Serious students of Dōgen know that to understand Dōgen’s teachings, it is essential to become familiar with the vast number of Buddhist scriptures that influenced him and that he quotes extensively in his writings. Therefore, in addition to Dōgen's teachings, this library will also offer information on the fundamental teachings from Ancient Buddhism and Mahāyāna Buddhism, Kōans and other related materials. Explore the library here.

Are we reaching you?

Do we have the best and most current contact information for you?  If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record.  Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use.  We'll check it against your current record and update as needed.  Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!

​January work day: The sangha gathered for our monthly work day on a chilly Sunday, January 11th. Practitioners worked on trouble-shooting Okumura Roshi's office printer, developing a budget for Sanshin's technology needs, changing furnace filters, and re-organizing several temple storage spaces, sharing a warm meal of Indian food in the middle of the day. Thank you for your work practice!

Maintaining our place of practice: Approaching our end-of-year appeal goal!
​
Sanshin Zen Community commemorated the Buddha's awakening by holding Rohatsu sesshin earlier this month (see below), alongside Buddhist practice communities around the world.

At Sanshin, we practice a refined style of sesshin created by our dharma grandfather, Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, and originally practiced by the sangha at Antaiji in Kyoto, which included our founder, Shohaku Okumura. During these "sesshin without toys," we let go of activities like dharma talks, chanting services, work periods, and meetings with teachers to focus wholeheartedly on zazen as our truest teacher, in community.

​Rohatsu sesshin & Buddha's awakening ceremony: Seven practitioners participated in most of our recent Rohatsu sesshin, Dec 3 - 8, with drop-in zazen participation and meals contributed by several others. The sesshin ended as always with a chant of the Heart Sutra to break silence at midnight on Monday, Dec 8th. The sangha publicly marked Shakyamuni's awakening on the following Sunday, Dec 14th, with a dharma talk by Doju, a Heart Sutra service, and a warm potluck lunch on a very cold and snowy day.

Upcoming holiday closures:​ In the midst of the busy winter holidays, Sanshin will be closed on December 24 - 26 (Wednesday - Friday) and January 1 - 3 (Thursday - Saturday). We encourage you to carry on your practice in ways appropriate for you during this time.

For full information on our regular practice schedule, visit our Schedules & Calendars page.

Are we reaching you?

Do we have the best and most current contact information for you?  If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record.  Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use.  We'll check it against your current record and update as needed.  Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!

​Home Altar workshop: Five practitioners participated in the home altar-building workshop led by Sanshin work leader Hosshin Shoaf on Saturday, September 20th. Under Hosshin's direction, each participant constructed a simple altar to be mounted on a wall in their house, as a foundation for practice at home and beyond. The workshop offered an opportunity to take up the study of shelter as one of the three faces of nyoho: our focus for the last three months of our year of Tangible Thusness at Sanshin.

Rohatsu sesshin (Nov 30 - Dec 8): Rohatsu sesshin offers a particularly intensive opportunity each year to come together to embody the Buddha's practice, recognizing his awakening under the bodhi tree. This year, our intention and plan remains to carry out the full Nov. 30 - Dec. 8 Rohatsu sesshin. However, depending on registrations, there is some potential for the number of days to be reduced.​ Regardless, we'll finish on Dec. 8th, the traditional date of Buddha's awakening. We will make a final decision about start date and inform everyone by Nov. 11th at latest. 

Thus, if you aspire to participate in Rohatsu at Sanshin this year, being proactive in coming to a decision and registering early will be helpful for everyone's planning. Registration for all or a selection of full days is welcome. LEARN MORE & REGISTER

​September sesshin: Emerging from our simplified Quiet August practice schedule, four practitioners participated in a steady and settled 3-day sesshin at Sanshin from September 4 - 7. Several others dropped in for some portions, virtually and in-person. Local practitioners Doju and Eunyoung each contributed a meal.

Are we reaching you?

Do we have the best and most current contact information for you?  If you've changed your e-mail address or moved to a new place of residence, or if we've never had complete information about how to reach you, it's time to update your record.  Please take a moment to go here to send us the contact information you'd like us to use.  We'll check it against your current record and update as needed.  Don't miss any of the upcoming communications from Sanshin -- update your info today!

On Ethics at Sanshin
Gene Elias, EAR Committee Liaison

When we feel harmed
What is the process for us?
Ethics Policy

As a sangha, we are bound together by our practice and for some of us, our vow to keep the precepts.  However, a community is a group of humans – each of us is unique. We have natural likes and dislikes and to a certain extent, implicit bias. I like jazz and blues music. Others like classical music or maybe show tunes and opera. Still others enjoy more modern forms. We are all unique. Hypothetically, one afternoon as I sit enjoying a little Buddy Guy (blues) and another sound drifts into my enjoyment. Maybe it's rap or some other sound that is discordant to what I was enjoying. So what do I do? How do I restore harmony with whomever is playing the music that disrupts my afternoon musical enjoyment? And what has this to do with ethics?

In Buddhism, ethics and harmony are deeply intertwined concepts. Harmony is a dynamic state of balance and equilibrium, both with others and the natural world. Achieving this state often requires adherence to ethical principles and virtues. Hence, the Sanshin Ethics Policy, which provides a more concrete set of standards that sits alongside the precepts, and also provides a framework for
resolution processes and procedures via our Ethics and Restorative Justice Committee (EAR) when conflicts go beyond the trivial issue mentioned above.

The committee consists of three esteemed individuals, all outside of our immediate sangha: Sonia (Sunny) Leerkamp, a former prosecutor for Hamilton County and a former Special Counsel and a leading advocate for Restorative Justice; Shoryu Bradley, founder and teacher at Gyobutsuji in Arkansas, who received dharma transmission from Okumura Roshi; and Richard Nance a specialist in Tibetan Buddhist traditions and director of graduate religious studies at Indiana University. When an issue is brought to the committee, its role is to clearly understand the situation in question, establish facts and context and recommend a model of
Restorative Justice to help reestablish harmony within the sangha.

I encourage you to read our Ethics Policy, which is posted on this web site. It is the basis of our belief in what ethics means and indicates our intention to maintain and, if need be, restore harmony within our sangha.

Intro to Zen with Hoko winds up:  Eight local folks have been participating in Hoko's 6-week introduction to Soto Zen, offered in our zendo through Ivy Tech Community College's Center for Lifelong Learning.  Attendees received zazen instruction and now sit together for half an hour each week before engaging in an hour of presentation and discussion of Buddhist basics.  The series, which Hoko first offered nine years ago, wraps up next week.  

Hoko steps up for Soto Zen NA:  Hoko has been appointed president of the board of directors of Soto Zen North America, a fairly new organization that aims to partner with Sotoshu, the existing denomination, in serving temples, clergy and sanghas.  She had been serving as vice president and communications officer until the previous president stepped aside to take on other Soto Zen NA responsibilities.  Her main focus now is working with the board and the denominational council to finalize a mission statement and strategic plan as well as to prepare for the annual Sotoshu conference in October in Los Angeles.

Practice opportunities in Atlanta:  Three Mountains Zen, a lay Zen Buddhist community founded just last year, has established its practice schedule of in-person zazen periods and virtual practice with Sanshin, and held a one-day retreat this month.  The sangha is discussing Hoko's 108 Gates essays at its weekly gatherings as well as reviewing Buddhist Essentials.  Its next retreat is set for October 11.