In-person sittings at Arnold Park and Chapin Mill are available to all members. Formal in-person sittings at Arnold Park are also audio live-streamed. Anyone is welcome to tune in and sit along with us. You may also sit a modified schedule with us on Zoom.
Formal Morning Sittings
| Tuesday, Thursday, Friday | 6:00 – 7:15 am (zazen & chanting) |
| Wednesday | 6:00 – 7:15 am (zazen) |
| Saturday | 6:30 – 7:30 am (zazen) |
| Sunday | 8:30 – 10:30 am (zazen, chanting, teisho) |
Formal morning zazen (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) consists of an hour of zazen with a bell for change of posture at the half-way point (no kinhin), followed by a 15-minute chanting service. Saturday, which starts a half hour later (at 6:30 am), also consists of an hour of zazen with a bell at the half-way point, but there’s no chanting service afterward.
Wednesday morning has two 35-minute rounds of zazen with kinhin in between (no chanting).
Dokusan is offered on Wednesdays at Arnold Park and Thursdays at Chapin Mill.
The usual Sunday schedule is a 50-minute sitting with a bell at the half-way point for change of posture, followed by kinhin, chanting and a talk (teisho or Dharma talk). Refer to the online calendar for dates of Sunday sittings, which are always marked.
Informal Sittings
| Tuesday through Saturday | 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. |
The zendo is open for members to come and sit informally at all times outside of formal sittings. Robes are not worn for this sitting in the midst of the workday.
Formal Evening Sittings
| Monday & Thursday | 7:00 – 9:00 pm (zazen) |
| Tuesday | 7:00 – 8:45 pm (zazen & chanting) |
Formal evening zazen on Mondays and Thursdays consist of three 35-minute rounds with kinhin.
Dokusan is offered on Monday and Thursday evenings.
On Tuesdays, there are three 25-minute rounds with kinhin in between, followed by a chanting service. Usually Group Instruction, and/or Private Instruction, is offered in the second round, and everyone is invited to stay for refreshments following chanting.
On Thursdays, there is sometimes a special ceremony following one or two rounds of zazen. These are always marked on the calendar. When there is no event, there are three rounds of zazen.
There are some variations in the schedule for every upcoming in-person workshop and sesshin (4-day and 7-day). Formal sittings are offered during sesshin, but the schedule may vary slightly; check out the online calendar for details.
Daily Training Schedule
| 5:30 am | Wake-up (Saturday 6:00) |
| 6:00 – 7:00 | Zazen (Saturday 6:30) |
| 7:00 – 7:15 | Chanting (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) No chanting (Wednesday & Saturday) |
| 7:30 – 8:00 | Breakfast in the dining room (signaled by 3 strikes on the wooden block) |
| 8:00 | Work begins with brief meeting in the dining room |
| 10:00 -10:15 | Tea Break |
| 10:15 -12:00 | Work |
| 12:00 -12:30 pm | Zazen (Tuesday – Saturday) |
| 12:30 – 1:30 | Lunch and Break |
| 1:30 – 3:30 | Work |
| 3:30 – 3:45 | Chanting (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) |
Leftovers are available in the staff kitchen for residents’ evening meals.
There is no work on Sunday, though attendance at sitting and teisho is required for all trainees (as are all sittings, ceremonies and other Center activities). Brunch is served following teisho; other meals are taken in the staff kitchen.
On full workdays lunches are sometimes formal – make sure the Head of Zendo or Zendo Assistant show you what to do before you go to your first formal meal.
Monday is a day off until the evening sitting.
There is no wake-up bell on Sunday or Monday.