Kessei
Kessei, a traditional three-month monastic training period offered twice each year, provides an unparalleled opportunity to deepen your Zen practice. The rigorous schedule of daily meditation, chanting, and work practice, combined with the beautiful setting deep in the Catskill Mountains, invites you to immerse yourself completely in the present moment. This is a rare experience in our typically hectic, plugged-in, multitasking lives. Participants are encouraged to attend the full three-month training period, but shorter stays are possible.
Guided by Abbot Chigan Roshi and senior residents, kessei participants learn traditional Rinzai Zen forms and engage in daily zazen, sutra chanting, and study. Sesshin, a silent week of intensive practice, is held once a month, offering opportunities for deep introspection and daily individual study. Students will be assigned samu (work practice) tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for the buildings and grounds. The daily schedule can also includes yoga or other somatic practices, as well as personal and group study periods. Please see the Kessei page for information on the current kessei period.
Longer Residencies
After completing kessei, students whose aspiration, sincerity, and dedication are strong are encouraged to remain at Dai Bosatsu Zendo as long as their life circumstances permit. Those with a deep vow may apply for ordination, which requires further unwavering immersion in the traditional intensive 1,000-day training of Rinzai Zen.
The DBZ community upholds high standards of personal and group conduct, rooted in the six paramitas (virtues of perfection) of the Buddhist teachings. The six paramitas are: dana (generosity), sila (living by the ten precepts), kshanti (patience and endurance), virya (assiduous, energetic practice), dhyana (zazen), and prajna (wisdom). Residents work together to provide a place where all who come can experience the Buddha-Dharma in an authentic and life-changing way.
This is the time to deepen your practice and enter into a direct experience of essential freedom. We welcome applications from those with strong aspiration, sincerity, and dedication.
To apply for residency or for more information, email the DBZ office at office@daibosatsu.org.
While we have reopened our temples for in-person practice, we continue our online teachings, meetings, and sittings. We rely on you to help keep everyone safe. Please read the full ZSS Health Protocols.
Learn more about the kessei experience as described by Abbess Emerita Shinge Roshi in the video below:
