Schedules and calendars

Breathing in and breathing out

While practicing at Sanshin, whether during sesshin or any day to day practice activity, it can be helpful to know something about the arc of our yearly practice calendar as a whole. Most of us who come to practice here, regularly or not, are not resident practitioners, and so do not directly participate in the entire range of practice activities throughout the year. Thus, our practice of wholeheartedly folding into a given activity at Sanshin is supported by maintaining some awareness of the particular point in the overall rhythm of the year at which we are stepping into the life of the community.

We can come to know and experience the practice calendar in terms of alternating phases of increasing and decreasing intensity over various periods of time. “Breathing in and breathing out” can be a useful metaphor.

In the broadest sense, it’s no coincidence that our 3-month ango (practice period) during the spring quarter offers opportunities for extended, concentrated participation in all three forms of our practice life: zazen (5-day sesshin), work (precepts retreat), and study (dharma study intensive). The fall quarter, culminating in Rohatsu sesshin and our simple celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha's awakening, is similarly comprehensive, though less highly scheduled. On the opposite end of the spectrum, during February and August, in the heart of winter and summer, we carry out a simplified practice schedule (see further context on these two months below). Breathing in in the spring and fall, breathing out in the winter and summer.

Knowing zazen itself as our most concentrated form of practice, we also find this alternating rhythm in the year’s overall schedule of sesshin, our most intensive zazen practice container. Currently, Sanshin offers the opportunity to practice “sesshin-without-toys” on a quarterly basis: March, June, September, and December. For a few days four times a year, throughout the seasons, we have a chance to breathe in deeply; at all other times we are, in a sense, breathing out, relaxing the intensity of our daily practice. The longer sesshin (5 days in June and 8 days in December) are carried out in the busier spring and fall quarters.

While sesshin intensifies our regular sitting practice, there are also opportunities to focus in on our regular work practice. Near the beginning of summer, Sanshin holds a 5-day precepts retreat, during which practitioners dive into the precepts through daily discussions and work periods, as touchpoints for working and relating in harmony with others in the various communities of which we are a part. We hold this retreat against the background of our monthly Sunday work days, which can be understood themselves as an intensification of our brief weekday morning soji (temple cleaning) practice. In the spring and fall quarters this year, we are also offering two weekend Sangha Stewardship workshops on carrying out the work of the tenzo (head cook), ino (practice leader), and director within a practice community. Thus, in terms of our work practice, we breathe in during the warmer seasons, carrying out grounds keeping projects in the midst of workshop and retreat opportunities; we breathe out in the winter quarter, generally just taking care of day to day maintenance and projects inside the temple.

The calendar also holds space for concentrating our regular dharma study. Twice a year, in May and November, we can participate (virtually only, for now) in a 10-day dharma study intensive with Sanshin’s founding teacher, Okumura Roshi. These periods of in-depth study in the heart of spring and fall (breathing in) are carried out against a more spacious background of weekly study offerings throughout the year (breathing out), such as Sunday dharma talks and the Wednesday evening dharma book discussion group.

There are many ways in which we can understand and experience periods of greater intensity or of greater spaciousness in our ongoing practice activities. Of course, whether we are breathing out or breathing in, we can always be practicing; no one season is superior to another, and the counterbalancing relations between them are important to the overall functioning of our practice year. Whether we show up to Sanshin for a Wednesday evening book discussion, a Sunday work day, or the Uchiyama Roshi memorial sesshin, we support our own practice in knowing that our participation arises from within a larger arc -- both in the life of Sanshin’s practice calendar and in the changing rhythms of our bodhisattva lives in the world.

Upcoming extended practice activities

Most (but not all) of these practice activities require prior registration to participate. Most also allow for both in-person and virtual participation (see below), and a few are only available virtually. Click on linked practice activities below for more information and to register:

Virtual dharma study intensive with Okumura Roshi on Ejo's Komyozo-zanmai (The Samadhi of the Radiant Light Treasury) (May 1 - 10, 2025) -- registration open
5-day sesshin (June 3 - 8, 2025) -- registration open
Precepts retreat and jukai-e ceremony for receiving lay precepts (July 1 - 6, 2025)
3-day sesshin (Sep 4 - 7, 2025)
Rohatsu sesshin (Nov 30 - Dec 8, 2025)

Our practice theme for 2025: Tangible Thusness

Throughout this year, 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 January through April, we're focusing primarily on nyoho teachings related to clothing, from traditional Buddhist robes to what we wear to work: how it's made and cared for, what it communicates, and what it can teach us about attachment, impermanence, and interconnectedness. LEARN MORE

Virtual practice

Many of the practice activities offered here at Sanshin are also streamed online via Zoom. For a full schedule of our virtual practice offerings and the link to participate from home as able, please visit our virtual practice page.

And, if circumstances allow, please continue to support and participate with your local or regional dharma center. While you're welcome to participate in our virtual practice no matter where you live, it's no substitute for in-person practice with a sangha. Not only does practicing with others benefit you, your presence supports that local group and makes it possible for others to practice. Please stay connected with your local or regional practice community and practice there to the degree possible.

Mud and Lotus Collective recovery dharma group
Thursdays, 6:30 - 8 pm
Unitarian Universalist Church,
2120 N Fee Lane in Bloomington; enter at the north portico entrance

This in-person group, facilitated by Sanshin practice leader Hosshin Shoaf and others, explores the intersection between Buddhist teachings and practice and addiction recovery. Following 20 to 30 minutes of guided meditation, participants read and discuss books or other materials related to recovery and the dharma. At the moment, the group is reading The Zen of Recovery; bring your own copy or just listen and follow along. No registration is necessary; simply attend as your life permits. No fee, but donations are welcome.

Regular practice

All times listed are Eastern time.

Weekday mornings
Please be in your seat and ready to go before 6:05 if joining us for the first zazen period, in time for the doshi's bows.

6:05 am Doshi enters
6:10 am Zazen
7:00 am Kinhin
7:10 am Zazen
8:00 am Robe chant
8:05 am Service
8:30 am Reading from Shobogenzo Zuimonki, announcements, soji (cleanup)
8:45 am Bow out

Weekday evening zazen
Wednesdays: 6:30 - 7:00 pm

Wednesday evening dharma book discussion (7 - 8 pm): On The Structure of the Self by Shohaku Okumura. You're welcome to drop in as your schedule allows, even if you're not familiar with the text.

Saturday is our day off; there's no public practice.

Sunday morning zazen (9:10 am) and dharma talk (10:10 am):

First Sunday: Talk by Okumura Roshi following sesshin or retreat
Second Sunday: Hosshin leads a sangha work day or Hoko gives a talk
Third Sunday: Talk by a novice teacher followed by World Peace ceremony
Fourth Sunday: Talk by Hoko on Tangible Thusness (nyoho)
Fifth Sunday: Talk by Hoko or a senior practitioner

Missed a Sunday dharma talk? Many recordings are available on our YouTube channel.

Getting Started in Zen Practice, second & fourth Tuesdays (Apr 22 online via Zoom & May 13 in-person), 7:00 - 8:30 pm -- sign-up and more information is here.

Ryaku fusatsu: Monday evening closest to the 15th day of the month (Apr 14th), 7 pm
Our ceremony of renewing our aspiration to follow the precepts. Everyone is welcome, regardless of whether or not you've formally taken precepts.

Sesshin: 3, 5, or 7 days, typically covering the first weekend of the month (Mar, June, Sep, Dec)
A retreat consisting only of 14 50-minute periods of zazen, 3 meal periods, and sleep each day.