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Introduction to Big Mind Zen with Genpo Roshi
4-Class Series
Four Consecutive Saturdays
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Hawaii Time (HST)
11:00 AM - 12:00 AM Pacific Time (PST)
Embark on a Transformative Journey into Zen and the
Big Mind!
Are you yearning for clarity, inner peace, and a deeper connection with yourself? Join us for an enlightening workshop led by Zen Master Genpo Roshi, the visionary founder of the Big Mind Process, where you’ll delve into the profound teachings of Zen.
In this immersive experience, you’ll uncover the core principles of Zen and Big Mind that can seamlessly integrate attentiveness, mindfulness and tranquility into your everyday life.
What to Expect
Discover the Big Mind Process: This unique approach will help you easily tap into different facets of your consciousness, allowing you to unlock your true potential.
Engage in Guided Meditations: Participate in meditative practices that deepen your awareness and foster a stronger connection to yourself and those around you.
Participate in Meaningful Discussion: Learn to practice the Big Mind Process as a way to be in touch with various aspects within you and have insights and reflections that enrich your understanding of Zen and your personal journey.
Who Should Attend?
This workshop is ideal for beginners, the curious, and the very serious dedicated to exploring Zen and Big Mind principles. Whether you’re just starting your journey or looking to elevate your personal growth, this experience is for you.
Don’t miss this great opportunity to transform your mind and heart. Reserve your spot today and take bold steps toward a more mindful, fulfilling life—free from the constraints of fear and anxiety. Join us in this journey to a deeper understanding of yourself!
Sunday Public Talk with
Genpo Roshi
Sunday, January 18, 2026
9:00 AM Hawaii Time (HST)
11:00 AM Pacific Time (PST)
Living Zen with Genpo Roshi's Successor Teachers
Living Zen are special Zoom classes with Genpo Roshi's Successor Teachers, Mark Kanchi Esterman Roshi, Mary Ellen Jisho Sloan Roshi, and Alexandra Mushin Gericke Sensei, Charlotte Jigen Juul Sensei and Kamie Keiyaku Buddemeier Sensei in rotation.
It's a time to ask your Zen practice questions and share your experiences with everyone in the group. Each of Genpo Roshi's Successor Teachers has a wealth of experience and will offer their unique perspectives to help guide you on your Zen path.
Open to the Public for a $25.00 suggested donation.
These classes are included in all Student Path subscriptions. Students will receive notifications and Zoom links automatically via email and do not have to register.
Sangha Monks Meeting
A Monthly Space for Practice, Connection, and Mutual Support
4th Monday of the Month
We welcome anyone who has received Shukke Tokudo or Bodhisattva Vows to join this monthly group of ‘Sangha Monks’. This meeting series is an opportunity to connect with fellow monks to share with each other about what it means to be a monk in a non-monastic setting, and to explore the challenges and opportunities involved with maintaining practice in our daily lives. The intention of the group is to create a regular meeting space to support one another, to support Genpo Roshi and other teachers, and to support the sangha.
Four Consecutive Tuesdays in February
Loss and Grief — and Zenwith Mark Kanchi Esterman Roshi
This is an opportunity to share and explore our experiences of loss and grief and their relation to our Zen practice. The losses we experience come in many forms, not only persons and relationships but pets, health, jobs, possessions. Rather than a course about an abstract or impersonal subject, these classes address our personal experiences and the questions that arise from them — questions which many if not all of us Zen practitioners have faced or are facing in our own lives.
"I feel you’re bringing the heart of Zen and you’re manifesting it in the Loss and Grief class…. I feel it’s something really important you’ve added to the Sangha. It goes beyond ego, beyond personal, pride and jealousy and all that stuff, it goes beyond. It's just human to human. It's just real. It's authentic, genuine.” — Genpo Roshi
Registration Opening Soon
Zazenkai
A Day of Sitting Meditation
Sunday, February 22
Salt Lake City, UT
In-person & Online
More information available soon
5-Day Big Heart Online Virtual Retreat with Genpo Roshi
Turning Drama to Dharma in Your Life
More information coming soon!
Big Mind:
Deepening the Voices
For those who wish to go deeper
Guided by the founder of Big Mind®️, Genpo Roshi
Follow Up Series to Introduction to Big Mind Zen
Four Tuesdays
March 3, 10, 17 & 31
This four-week series is open only to those who have completed the Big Mind Beginner Introduction.
Meeting once a week for one hour, this series focuses on deepening, stabilizing, and integrating access to the Big Mind voices. The emphasis is on embodiment and maturity — allowing the insights of Big Mind to become lived experience rather than temporary states.
This work is guided directly by Genpo Roshi and reflects five decades of lived practice, inquiry, and teaching.
What you’ll receive:
This is not training to become a facilitator. It is not therapy. It is a guided deepening of awakening and integration.
Format
5-Day Big Heart Retreat
Big Island of Hawaii
March 23 - 27 (Retreat Dates)
Opening Dinner, March 22
Farewell Breakfast (optional), March 28
This five-day Big Heart Retreat is an intimate, in-person gathering held in Genpo Roshi’s private home near Manini Beach on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. With ocean and volcanic earth as its backdrop, the retreat offers a rare container for deep inner inquiry, presence, and authentic connection.
Genpo Roshi is internationally recognized for his ability to guide people into direct, embodied realization. Drawing on decades of Zen training and the Big Mind and Big Heart processes, his teaching invites your own innate wisdom to reveal itself—naturally and without force.
This retreat is experiential rather than instructional. Days will include periods of zazen (sitting meditation), silence, guided inquiry, group dialogue, rest, and time for integration. The rhythm of the retreat is spacious and responsive to the group, rather than tightly scheduled.
Participation is intentionally limited to a maximum of 10 people, creating a deeply personal and confidential environment. The small group format allows for genuine connection, individualized attention, and a sense of shared exploration.
Big Heart refers to the capacity to meet everything—joy and grief, clarity and confusion, strength and vulnerability—without closing. There is nothing to achieve and nothing to fix. Rather than offering answers, this retreat supports a deepened trust in your own inner knowing.
Participants are responsible for their own accommodations, meals, and transportation. Lodging is recommended near Manini Beach / Kealakekua Bay, close to Roshi’s home and ocean access. If you are new to the area or unsure where to stay, assistance is available—please contact Chet Cannon before registering.
This retreat is offered as both a container for practice and a meaningful way to support the ongoing work and mission of Kanzeon Big Mind Zen.
Before You Register
This retreat may be a good fit for you if:
You are open to deep self-inquiry and emotional honesty
You value a small, intimate group setting
You are comfortable with periods of silence and unstructured time
You feel drawn to embodied exploration rather than conceptual teaching
This retreat may not be a good fit if:
You are seeking clinical therapy or psychological treatment
You prefer highly structured schedules or lecture-based learning
You are currently experiencing acute psychological crisis or instability
Important considerations:
This retreat can be emotionally powerful. Participants may encounter strong feelings or vulnerable material. You are always responsible for your own pacing and care.
The retreat takes place in a private home. Respect for shared spaces, quiet hours, and the container of the group is essential.
The setting includes uneven ground and outdoor areas; participants should be comfortable managing their own mobility and daily needs.
Confidentiality is a core agreement. Personal sharing within the group is not discussed outside the retreat.
If you have questions about fit, logistics, accommodations, or travel, or if you are unsure whether this retreat is right for you, please contact Chet Cannon before registering. We are happy to support you in discerning whether this offering aligns with where you are in your life and practice.
Sample Daily Structure
Four Consecutive Tuesdays in April
The Sixth Patriarch & the Platform Sutra
3-Day Online Masterclass April 24-26
More information coming soon
Four Consecutive Tuesdays
This is an opportunity to share and explore our experiences of loss and grief and their relation to our Zen practice. The losses we experience come in many forms, not only persons and relationships but pets, health, jobs, possessions, and so on. Rather than a course about an abstract or impersonal subject, these classes address our personal experiences and the questions that arise from them — questions which many if not all of us Zen practitioners have faced or are facing in our own lives.
5-Day Summer Retreat with Genpo Roshi
Oregon,USA
May 30 - June 3
In-Person · Limited to 25 Participants
Birthday Commemoration for Genpo Roshi and Shiho Retreat for Paul Thielking
Four Consecutive Tuesdays in June
3-Days Big Mind Workshop
Looking at the Buddhadharma Teaching through the Lens of the Big Mind Process
5-Day Big Heart Retreat with Genpo Roshi
July 27 - 31 (Retreat Dates)
Opening dinner July 26
Goodbye Breakfast (optional), August 1
Four Consecutive Tuesdays in August
Mazu & the Rinzai Stream
3-Day Online Masterclass August 28-30
5-Day Sesshin
Shiho for Shozen
Maine
Four Consecutive Tuesdays in October
November 9 - November 13 (Retreat Dates)
Opening dinner November 8
Goodbye Breakfast (optional), November 14
Four Consecutive Tuesdays in December
Sekito & the Soto Stream
3-Day Online Masterclass December 11-13
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