FALL 2025 Practice Period September 24th-November 23rd
2025 Practice Period Events
Separate Registration is Required for Several Events
- Opening Ceremony - Wednesday September 24th, Sansui-ji Mountains and Waters Temple & Online. All welcome; no registration required.
- Opening Sesshin - evening of Thursday September 25th through Sunday November 23rd. Sansui-ji & Online. Separate registration required
- Ordination Ceremony for Myoki Raizelah Bayen - Sunday September 28th 10:30am - 12:30 pm. Sansui-ji and Online. All welcome. Celebrating the beginning of Raizelah's life-long journey serving the sangha and the world as a Sōtō Zen priest. Followed by a potluck reception and tea.
- Regular Zazen Meetings - Weekday Morning sit online, Wednesday evenings sit Sansui-ji & Online, Sunday mornings Zen Alive! All welcome; no registration required.
- Shuso's Class on “The Path of a Committed Buddhist Layperson”. Monday evenings in person 6:30pm - 8:00pm with one Saturday class 10AM-1PM, and one Monday evening held remotely. September 29th-November 17th. Sansui-ji & Online. Separate registration required
- Practice Period Resources - A place to collect books, talks and other resources for practice period and the shuso's class.
About Practice Period
Practice Period is a time in which Zen students practice intensively together. Historically, practice period started with the rains retreats of the early Buddhist nuns and monks when they could not travel due to heavy rains. During that time they settled down for more intensive practice.
Although we don't live in monasteries, each winter in the spirit of those in monastic practice, we settle our busy lives in order to intensify our practice. We bring our mindfulness and Dharma practice to the foreground of our lives more than usual. Annual practice periods have been an essential part of Zen practice for a thousand years and an important part of Red Cedar Zen for over 20 years.
In the center of the mandala of Practice Period is the head student, or shuso, who serves as the center of the sangha wheel giving classes, Dharma talks, and meets in small groups with practice period students over tea.
Meals:
You will need a 3-bowl Oryoki set at both Opening Sesshin and Closing Sesshin. Instruction on Oryoki eating will be provided, no problem if you've never eaten oryoki before. You can purchase a set from our friends at Still Sitting (please order the Navy Blue cloths). Red Cedar Zen is not able to provide loaner oryoki sets at this time.
Shuso: This year's Shuso is Ken Oates. Learn more about Ken at the Shuso's Class page.
Practice Period Theme: We will be guided this year by a study of "The Path of the Committed Layperson," supported by Shuso Ken Oates.
Location: Events may be in-person, on-line or a combination. Check individual events for details. Information for attending in-person or online can be found on the Our Zendo page of the website. When attending in person, please adhere to our Covid Safety Guidelines.
Practice Period Registration: two steps
Please first do an overall registration from here to state your intentions for the period, sign up for a practice partner, and let us know if you need any assistance when attending in-person.
Secondly, if you are attending either of the two retreats or the shuso's class, please continue on to those events for additional required registrations.
