Annual Kanzeon/Big Mind Sangha Sesshin - August 24-31, 2024
This year’s annual Kanzeon/Big Mind Sangha Sesshin will be unique and special in several ways:
It will be held at Yokoji-Zen Mountain Center in the magnificent wilderness of the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California. Founded in 1984 by Taizan Maezumi Roshi, it is where some of his successors, including Genpo Roshi, have trained, and has been functioning since 1995 as a year-round Zen Training Center for residents and non-residents under the direction of the abbot, Tenshin Fletcher Roshi. Regarded as one of the most respected Zen Training Centers in the Western world, it is also within three to four hours driving distance from Los Angeles (LAX) and about two hours from Ontario California (ONT) and Palm Springs (PSP) airports.
Yokoji’s beautiful blend of traditional and modern facilities will make it possible for participants to enjoy the experience of a full-scale sesshin with a schedule including sitting, ceremonies, meals together, talks by Genpo Roshi, and personal interviews with Roshis and Senseis.
As 2024 marks Genpo Roshi’s 80th year, this year’s sesshin will be an opportunity for his fellow-successors of Maezumi Roshi and their successors and students from all over the world to celebrate this milestone and his years of practice and teaching, and to renew their bonds and friendships.
A highlight of the sesshin will be the Shiho, Dharma transmission, of Charlotte Jigen Juul as a Sensei and twenty-sixth successor of Genpo Roshi. The public ‘coming-out’ ceremony of Jigen’s Shiho will be held on the last day of the retreat, Saturday August 31st from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, with celebration following. For those who are working on sewing their Rakusus or Kesas, there will also be Jukai and Shukke Tokudo Ceremonies.
For more information on these Zen ceremonies click here.
Registration will open on Monday March 11, at 12:00 PM US Mountain Time (MST) Click the link below to Register
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24 Aug 2024 • Yokoji Zen Mountain Center - Mountain Center, California
Important Details
The total capacity for this retreat will be about 50 people. Student Plus and Active Student Members will have first priority. In addition, there are only about 30 beds available on-site. See below for off-site accommodation possibilities.
Check-In: Saturday August 24.
Our Guestmaster will assign your room when you arrive. That evening we will have an Orientation meeting to talk about the daily schedule and details about Samu (work practice). For Samu we will ask for volunteers to work in the kitchen helping prepare food (under direction of the Tenzo (Head Cook), and for other jobs like washing dishes, and cleaning duties around the facility.
Daily Schedule: Sunday August 25 through Friday August 30
The schedule (details being worked out) will be basically the same for these 6 days. You can expect to start with early morning Zazen and Service. Mealtimes, preparations and cleaning through the day and of course, Genpo Roshi Big Mind Sessions, Dokusan with Teachers and evening Zazen and Service. There will be time to get some rest or take a walk around the mountains.
I'll send the exact daily schedule when it's finalized.
Check-Out: Saturday August 31.
From 11:00 am to about 1:00 pm we will have a Coming Out Ceremony for the Shiho recipients followed by a short celebration and time for everyone to take pictures and give hugs and say goodbye until next time and make a mad dash to the airport!
Registration: To be fair to everyone I will open registration for this event at exactly 12:00 PM US Mountain Time on Monday March 11, 2024. This will give you almost a month to decide whether you would like to register to have a bed and meals on-site at Yokoji. On that day, when registration opens, it will be first-come first-serve to get a spot. A Waiting List will form automatically once we reach capacity. People on the waiting list will be contacted if there are cancellations or new spots open up.
Retreat Fees: We have added an extra day to this retreat. For Student Plus and Active Student Members you will only have to pay for the room and meals for 7 nights at a rate of $100 per night or $700 total. The Teaching fee of $750 is included in your Membership. Check in will be on Saturday August 24. The Retreat will begin on Sunday August 25 at 6:30 am. Check out will be Saturday August 31 after the Shiho coming out ceremony that goes from 11:00 to 1:00 pm. Please try to schedule your flights accordingly.
There will be 2 types of registration for Student Plus and Active Student Members.
Room and Meals at Yokoji $700
Meals only at Yokoji $300 (for those staying at off-site lodging)
Sleeping Rooms: There are a limited number of beds on site, about 30. The sleeping arrangements range from small 2-3 person cabins up to a room called The Loft which will hold 10. The Loft will be either all women or all men. How we end up assigning the sleeping arrangements will depend on the composition of attendees. I won't be able to reserve any specific places except for the Teachers and staff. Please be ready to be flexible in accepting the room you will be assigned. You may not even know where you end up until you get there.
Meals: Three meals a day are provided. All meals are vegetarian. Let me know if you have other dietary preferences or restrictions.
Transportation to and from Yokoji:
Driving: I encourage drivers to carpool if possible. There's a Google Map on the webpage that you can rely on to get you there. Here's a link. Yokoji Google Map
Flying: We highly recommend flying in and out of Ontario California airport (ONT) as it is the closest and easiest. It's about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive to Yokoji from there.
A second choice is Palm Springs Airport (PSP). It's about the same distance but may be more expensive to fly into.
If you must, Los Angeles International Airport is available (LAX) but the drive to Yokoji can be as long as 4-5 hours depending on traffic which is notoriously bad.
Airport Pick Up and Drop Off: If at all possible, please rent a car because we will have no ability to do pick up and drop off. It's best also, if people can work with each other to carpool and share the costs of car rental and gas. I will provide all registrants a list of the other participants and their contact information well beforehand so you can talk and make your own arrangements. It's way too complicated for us to do this for you.
You may also hire an Uber, Lyft or Taxi to take you but the costs for this may be quite high.
Alternative Lodging Off-Site: There are a few options in nearby towns of Mountain Center and Idyllwild, California. Here are links to the Trip Advisor site where you can check out the options. If you plan to stay off-site but eat at Yokoji you can select that option on the registration page.
Mountain Center: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g32757-Mountain_Center_California-Vacations.html
Idyllwild: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g32519-Idyllwild_California-Vacations.html
Daily Schedule: We're still working on the details so check back here later. Basically we start at 6:30 AM and finish by 10:00 PM. Please note that one of the parts of these more traditional retreats is a thing called Samu. Samu is work practice and that means that everyone will be called upon to help cook, wash dishes, and clean the bathrooms and common areas. Just so you know!
Finally: It's possible that we sell out quickly. If we reach the limits on reservations you will be automatically put on a waiting list in order of when you attempted to sign up. If there are cancellations, or new spots become available I will contact people starting at the top of the waiting list to see if they would still like to attend.
How to get to Yokoji Zen Mountain Center |