Guidelines for camping and zendo stays

Welcome to Sanshinji! During your stay, please observe the following guidelines as part of your practice of harmoniously folding into our practice community. 

At all times

• Those camping on Sanshin grounds or sleeping in the zendo are expected to engage in practice while staying here. Accommodations are made available in order to facilitate practice rather than as general housing resources in the Bloomington community. ​
• Camping is permitted using your own equipment on Sanshin grounds.  Do not camp in the moss garden or anywhere that poses a safety threat to yourself or others or an inconvenience to the rest of the sangha.
• Campers are encouraged to do what they can to ensure the security of their tents and belongings.  General opportunistic theft is not common, but you may wish to consider some means of locking your tent.
• If sleeping in the zendo, be sure that your bedding and belongings are out of the zendo when practitioners begin to arrive for morning and evening zazen or practice activities. We don't lie down on the zabutons, as this contributes to their wearing out over time. We sleep with our heads toward the altar, as a traditional gesture of respect. 
• You may store toiletries in the baskets over the toilet in the shower room near the zendo.  Bedding and personal items can be stored under the coat rack or in the cubbies at the foot of the stairs.
• The shower room, rest room and kitchen along the zendo hallway are available for your use.  Please do not use the facilities in the building next door (1708) unless you are there for communal meals or other sangha activities.
• Label food stored in the zendo kitchen with your name and pack out leftovers when you leave.  Do not leave food behind as a “donation” unless you tell the tenzo or vice abbot that you are doing so and get an OK.  Unopened packages of food or ingredients are much more likely to be accepted than leftovers.
• If you are camping and must move indoors for reasons of health or weather, you will be staying in the zendo, not in 1708, the common room or elsewhere in Sanshin’s facility.
• Keep common areas clear.  After cooking and eating your meal, wash, dry and put away your dishes immediately rather than leaving them overnight.  Refrain from leaving belongings in the common room or the entryway.
• Before leaving Sanshin, make sure you have all of your clothing and other belongings with you.  Abandoned items will be given away after 30 days.
• It is not possible to store your belongings at Sanshin for the long term, even if you visit regularly.  We simply don’t have the space.  Consider getting together with a few other practitioners and renting a storage unit in town.
• Because of liability issues, consumption of alcohol is not permitted in buildings or grounds owned or rented by Sanshin except in the private family quarters.
• No illegal drugs; no loud music, noise or parties; and no smoking in buildings or on the grounds is permitted.

During retreat and sesshin

• If sleeping in the zendo, put out bedding and get ready for sleep in a timely way so that lights can go out and everyone can get as much rest as possible. 
• Due to noise, do not shower before the first period of zazen or after lights-out.
• Clean up after yourself at the end of the retreat/sesshin: return borrowed items to their places, retrieve all toiletries from the bathroom, remove grounds from the coffee maker and wash it, collect and dispose of trash, and pack out all of your own belongings.  

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Sanshin reserves the right to ask guests to leave if they are unwilling or unable to comply with the guidelines or if a dispute arises which cannot be resolved.