Applications to attend in person are closed.
Registration to attend online closes at 5:00 pm (PT) Monday, March 27.
Dear Everyday Zen sangha,
This spring, we will again have the chance to sit together for six days, in person and online, waking with the bell and following the call of the han.
Sesshin will start at 5:00 pm Monday, March 27, and end at noon Sunday, April 2, 2023 (Pacific Time).
This will be our second hybrid sesshin. The in-person gathering will be held again at the Santa Sabina Center in San Rafael. The virtual gathering will take place through Zoom. Zoketsu Norman Fischer will lead the Sesshin. Myogen Kanyu (Clear Eye, Brave Friend) Neal Shorstein is our Shuso.
With this Sesshin, we complete the transition to a new annual schedule in the Bay Area. Practice Period has now shifted from fall to the winter-spring and sesshin returns to its place as a core element of Practice Period.
The draft daily schedule and guidelines for participating in person and on Zoom can be found below, along with the link for dana to support our offerings. For in-person participants, there is also general information on arrival and departure and Covid protocols. For Zoom participants, there is information on the commitment we ask you to make and the link to register.
More detailed information for both in person and Zoom participants will be provided in ‘welcome’ emails a few days before the start of the sesshin.
We look forward to sharing this precious time for practice with you.
— Norman and the Everyday Zen Sesshin Team
Schedule
Daily Schedule
A core instruction in sesshin is to follow the schedule. Click the button below to see this year’s Daily Schedule.
Sesshin Daily ScheduleGuidelines
Guidelines on Participation
Sesshin is an intense silent retreat different from our monthly one-day sittings. Here are guidelines from Norman that express our intention to practice together in sesshin with strong seriousness of purpose.
Dana
Support Everyday Zen
For in-person participants, the fee for room and board covers only our direct costs to Santa Sabina. For Zoom participants, joining the sesshin is entirely by donation with a suggested donation of $150.
Please give what you can to support Norman and his teachings and the increased costs to Everyday Zen of offering this sesshin.
Dana for practice discussion with senior teachers during sesshin can be arranged directly with senior teachers.
Make a DonationFor In Person Participants
Arrival Info
Arriving at Santa Sabina Center
Covid Check In begins at 3:00 pm and Registration begins at 4:00 pm on Monday, March 27th. We ask that you do not come earlier unless you have been specifically asked by the inos to do so. A Covid testing group will be on hand to do Lucira Covid tests (see below for specifics.)
You will be able to pay any outstanding fees, get settled into your room, and set up your space in the zendo prior to dinner, served at 6:00 p.m. An orientation, one period of zazen, and the Pali Refuges will complete the evening by 9:00 p.m.
Sesshin will end at noon Sunday, April 2nd.
Santa Sabina is not able to accommodate arrivals earlier than 3 pm on Monday, March 27 or departures later than 2 pm on Sunday, April 2.
Covid Protocols
Covid Testing & Protocols
At the Santa Sabina Center, to ensure optimal health practices and for the safety of all participants, we will observe the protocols developed by our hosts and informed by current research. All attendees must be fully vaccinated and boosted and test negative for Covid.
Everyone will be tested on-site at Santa Sabina on March 27. Please see the email sent the week prior to sesshin from the Covid team for details. Please bring N95, KN95, or KF94 masks. Covid testing will determine whether masks will be required.
Those awaiting testing and test results will be asked to wait in their car. Those without a car may wait in the cloister, a covered space with seating that accommodates social distancing.
For those traveling on an airplane we recommend testing at home with a rapid antigen test before you leave, as well.
For Zoom Participants
Registration
Join Us on Zoom
As with any sesshin, in signing up, you are making a commitment to follow the schedule and the guidelines of the Inos. Participation on Zoom is designed for those who sign up to sit the full sesshin. It is not offered as an opportunity for drop-in practice.
At the same time, we realize that not everyone will be able to follow the sesshin schedule in sync with those of us tuning to the rhythms of the in-person sangha in Santa Sabina. For long-distance participants, please follow the schedule as much as you can manage given your time zone.
Suggestions for setting up your practice space and information on dokusan and practice discussion will be provided with the ‘welcome’ email a few days before the start of sesshin.
Register to Join on Zoom