Practicing as a temporary resident at Sanshin is an alternative to full residential practice for those who want to be here for only a few weeks to a month. Most opportunities will be for camping on the grounds with your own gear or sleeping in the zendo; there may occasionally be a room available in the residential facility.
Residential practice at Sanshin is designed to offer an intensive investigation of interconnectedness as it manifests in community. One of the most important elements of that investigation is a deep understanding of non-reliance. What are we relying on to drive our practice, and what are we relying on our practice for? The intensity of the practice coupled with the emphasis on non-reliance means this it requires a degree of personal and practice maturity.
Residents follow a full daily schedule of zazen, work, and study and fully participate in all sesshin or other practice events. Full residents are expected to be able to take on a certain amount of leadership in the community and to embody a commitment to the Sanshin style of practice as an example to others. Temporary residents will fully participate in the daily and weekly schedule but will not be expected to take on leadership; instead they will work on establishing their own practice and coming to understand the Sanshin approach. The nature of temporary residency is otherwise similar to that of full residency.
Residential practice at Sanshin is designed to offer an intensive investigation of interconnectedness as it manifests in community. One of the most important elements of that investigation is a deep understanding of non-reliance. What are we relying on to drive our practice, and what are we relying on our practice for? The intensity of the practice coupled with the emphasis on non-reliance means this it requires a degree of personal and practice maturity.
Residents follow a full daily schedule of zazen, work, and study and fully participate in all sesshin or other practice events. Full residents are expected to be able to take on a certain amount of leadership in the community and to embody a commitment to the Sanshin style of practice as an example to others. Temporary residents will fully participate in the daily and weekly schedule but will not be expected to take on leadership; instead they will work on establishing their own practice and coming to understand the Sanshin approach. The nature of temporary residency is otherwise similar to that of full residency.
Some things to know before making any final decisions about whether or not to apply for temporary residency
If you choose to live in the zendo, know that it comes with challenges.
- You will need to bring all of your own bedding as well as whatever clothing and personal items you need, and you will be sleeping on the floor.
- There is limited space for storing belongings, and everything you put out for the night will have to be picked up and put away before the jikido arrives in the morning to set up for zazen. Practice begins at 5 a.m., and you will thus need to be up beforehand. For the rest of the day, the zendo is public space.
- You will have no private space during the day, since people may be cleaning, holding meetings, doing maintenance, rehearsing or whatever in the zendo. You may be able to find somewhere quiet to hang out during personal time, but it can't become your permanent personal space.
Physical and mental health are critical.
- Residents and temporary residents are expected to fully participate in the practice schedule (5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays plus half a day on Sundays). The only exceptions are sickness or injury. Otherwise, the default is that everyone shows up for everything. The schedule is not a menu of activities from which we pick and choose.
- The daily work period involves a couple of hours of physical labor, usually related to groundskeeping. No one is asked to go beyond what their bodies can do, but practitioners need to be able to contribute meaningfully to these efforts.
- This practice can be intensive. While practice leaders are certainly here to help and answer practice questions, we are not therapists or counselors. Your mental and emotional health must be stable before you arrive; we are not trained to help in a crisis.
- Our practitioners are lovely people and we're all grownups here, but in a human community there is no escaping the occasional disagreement or difference of opinion. Practitioners need to have the maturity to manage conflict gracefully and not be knocked over.
There are costs to being here.
- The daily fee for camping on the grounds or living in the zendo is $10. You have the use of the showers down the hall from the zendo whether you're camping or sleeping in the zendo.
- The monthly fee for staying in a room in the residential facility is $475.
- Laundry facilities are available at Sanshin on a dana basis.
- You will need to pay event fees for any sesshin, retreats, workshops, etc. that happen during your temporary residency.
- Meals are taken with the full residents, and everyone contributes to the grocery bill and takes a turn with the cooking.
- Personal expenses are your own responsibility.
- This being said, the Sanshin Zen Community aspires to accommodate all sincere practitioners at retreats and events, regardless of their ability to pay. If you are unable to pay the full cost of a practice event, contact us to discuss fee reductions or waivers. Unfortunately this does not extend to personal expenses or meal costs.
Other things to know:
- The point of communal practice is to give up one's preferences and go along with what's being done. That means eating what's served, doing the tasks assigned, behaving appropriately and folding in seamlessly. Attachment to our ideas about what practice "should" be or what experience we "should" be having get in the way of investigating what community is.
- Temporary residency is for up to a 30-day term only. Those wanting to stay longer should apply for full residency if they meet the qualifications.
- Your arrival date can be somewhat flexible such that the 30-day period could start anywhere within the calendar month.
- We might not accept temporary residents during the ango (practice period), which is held from April through June. The second quarter of the year is our busiest time and we may not be in a position to take you in and get you established during that time. It's not impossible, but be prepared to come at some other time of year as a backup plan.
- If you have a car, you can park it at Sanshin.
- Laypeople typically don't wear practice robes here, but if you have them and want to wear them, you may. Rakusu (if you have one) and modest street clothes are fine. For more information, please see our FAQ: What should I wear at Sanshin?
- Saturdays are days off, and you are free to come and go and to use the day in any way you see fit unless we're in sesshin/retreat or there is a special event or ceremony that day. If we're busy on Saturday, we designate some other day as the day off for that week.
- You will not be spending significant time with Okumura Roshi. He's rarely in the zendo these days and spends most of his time in his quarters or in his office working on writing and translation. It is possible to set up a meeting with him, however.
- For everyone's wellbeing, we reserve the right to ask temporary residents to leave before their term is up in the event of inappropriate behavior, irreconcilable differences, violations of the ethics policy or other issues.
- See our FAQ for other important things to know.
- You will need to bring all of your own bedding as well as whatever clothing and personal items you need, and you will be sleeping on the floor.
- There is limited space for storing belongings, and everything you put out for the night will have to be picked up and put away before the jikido arrives in the morning to set up for zazen. Practice begins at 5 a.m., and you will thus need to be up beforehand. For the rest of the day, the zendo is public space.
- You will have no private space during the day, since people may be cleaning, holding meetings, doing maintenance, rehearsing or whatever in the zendo. You may be able to find somewhere quiet to hang out during personal time, but it can't become your permanent personal space.
Physical and mental health are critical.
- Residents and temporary residents are expected to fully participate in the practice schedule (5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays plus half a day on Sundays). The only exceptions are sickness or injury. Otherwise, the default is that everyone shows up for everything. The schedule is not a menu of activities from which we pick and choose.
- The daily work period involves a couple of hours of physical labor, usually related to groundskeeping. No one is asked to go beyond what their bodies can do, but practitioners need to be able to contribute meaningfully to these efforts.
- This practice can be intensive. While practice leaders are certainly here to help and answer practice questions, we are not therapists or counselors. Your mental and emotional health must be stable before you arrive; we are not trained to help in a crisis.
- Our practitioners are lovely people and we're all grownups here, but in a human community there is no escaping the occasional disagreement or difference of opinion. Practitioners need to have the maturity to manage conflict gracefully and not be knocked over.
There are costs to being here.
- The daily fee for camping on the grounds or living in the zendo is $10. You have the use of the showers down the hall from the zendo whether you're camping or sleeping in the zendo.
- The monthly fee for staying in a room in the residential facility is $475.
- Laundry facilities are available at Sanshin on a dana basis.
- You will need to pay event fees for any sesshin, retreats, workshops, etc. that happen during your temporary residency.
- Meals are taken with the full residents, and everyone contributes to the grocery bill and takes a turn with the cooking.
- Personal expenses are your own responsibility.
- This being said, the Sanshin Zen Community aspires to accommodate all sincere practitioners at retreats and events, regardless of their ability to pay. If you are unable to pay the full cost of a practice event, contact us to discuss fee reductions or waivers. Unfortunately this does not extend to personal expenses or meal costs.
Other things to know:
- The point of communal practice is to give up one's preferences and go along with what's being done. That means eating what's served, doing the tasks assigned, behaving appropriately and folding in seamlessly. Attachment to our ideas about what practice "should" be or what experience we "should" be having get in the way of investigating what community is.
- Temporary residency is for up to a 30-day term only. Those wanting to stay longer should apply for full residency if they meet the qualifications.
- Your arrival date can be somewhat flexible such that the 30-day period could start anywhere within the calendar month.
- We might not accept temporary residents during the ango (practice period), which is held from April through June. The second quarter of the year is our busiest time and we may not be in a position to take you in and get you established during that time. It's not impossible, but be prepared to come at some other time of year as a backup plan.
- If you have a car, you can park it at Sanshin.
- Laypeople typically don't wear practice robes here, but if you have them and want to wear them, you may. Rakusu (if you have one) and modest street clothes are fine. For more information, please see our FAQ: What should I wear at Sanshin?
- Saturdays are days off, and you are free to come and go and to use the day in any way you see fit unless we're in sesshin/retreat or there is a special event or ceremony that day. If we're busy on Saturday, we designate some other day as the day off for that week.
- You will not be spending significant time with Okumura Roshi. He's rarely in the zendo these days and spends most of his time in his quarters or in his office working on writing and translation. It is possible to set up a meeting with him, however.
- For everyone's wellbeing, we reserve the right to ask temporary residents to leave before their term is up in the event of inappropriate behavior, irreconcilable differences, violations of the ethics policy or other issues.
- See our FAQ for other important things to know.
Applying for temporary residency
Please fill out and submit the online application below. Once your application materials are received and reviewed and we've determined that you're a viable candidate for residency, we'll schedule a Zoom conversation with one or more of our practice leaders to answer our questions and yours. You'll be notified of the outcome as soon after that as possible.
When applying, please plan ahead and set a reasonable timeline for yourself. We don't respond overnight and both you and we need to make a plan for your arrival and term. We need to know that you've thought this through carefully, understand the nature of residential practice at Sanshin, are fully prepared and intending to participate, and that your application is not a sudden impulse or a flight reaction to difficult conditions at home. We also need to know that you have somewhere to go after your term is up and that you will indeed be moving on from Sanshin at that time, so you must have a concrete plan beyond your stay here.
When applying, please plan ahead and set a reasonable timeline for yourself. We don't respond overnight and both you and we need to make a plan for your arrival and term. We need to know that you've thought this through carefully, understand the nature of residential practice at Sanshin, are fully prepared and intending to participate, and that your application is not a sudden impulse or a flight reaction to difficult conditions at home. We also need to know that you have somewhere to go after your term is up and that you will indeed be moving on from Sanshin at that time, so you must have a concrete plan beyond your stay here.