Hogen Bays, Roshi

  The light of the Buddha’s awakening has not dimmed. This very moment, alive, awake and luminous. Each year people from all over the world gather to celebrate, to sit in stillness and to be nourished by this truth. All over the world people join in the ritual of Rohatsu sesshin. This sesshin is the culmination of a year of practice and is also the culmination of our fall Ango practice period. At many centers and monasteries, this is the most valued sesshin of the year, and may be the only one that many people are able to attend. We…

  What does it mean to be entering a New Year? One the one hand, as humans, we are simply pinning a tail on vast space and calling it ‘time’. On the other hand, a New Year can have very significant implications in our lives and the lives of those we love. How do we live both truths? This is a practice of staying connected to our fundamental nature, which is expansive and unconditioned. It is a practice of cultivating trust through commitment to practice and connection with Sangha and teachers. What will the New Year bring? Together let’s rest…

  From emptiness springs forth our deepest potential. When we are able to drop our ideas about who and what we are, we can recognize the infinite realm of possibility that has always been our playground. Reality before interpretation, before we start applying labels and identities, is vast and unbounded. From this space, we access the wisdom and compassion that is the source material of our life. With wisdom and compassion as our foundation, we recognize that we are the totality. Nothing separate and always in relationship. We come to see our personality and our personal particularities as part of the…

Watch a short Video from Jogen Sensei, detailing the practice of deep listening: The Joys of Sound with Jogen Sensei Zen Master Bassui – “What is this mind? Who is hearing these sounds? Do not mistake any state for Self-realization, but continue to ask yourself even more intensely, what is it that hears?” Awareness meeting sound has been a gate into the depths of the heart-mind for as long as human beings have longed to touch the divine and open beyond the contracted self. During this sesshin we come together in joyous recognition of the power of deep listening, and…

There is something very special about the magic of autumn and the kicking off of the fall ango practice period that makes this sesshin so powerful. What a great gift it is to be able to sit together in silence. This is our longest sesshin of the year. The extra days enable us drop down into the bare bones essentials of our lives. We have this rare opportunity to turn towards the practice/awakening that is our true nature, and to celebrate quietly together in the container of sesshin. Day after day plunge into the waters of mystery and exploration. Turn…