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March 24 – March 30, 2025

Villa Maria del Mar & Online via Zoom

All available spaces were filled during the priority registration period for Practice Period participants. Please join the Waitlist for Double Rooms and consider participating online via Zoom. Thank you!

Dates of Registration

  • February 7: In-person registration opens for Practice Period participants
  • February 13: In-person registration opens to all
  • February 20: In-person registration closes
  • March 1: Registration opens for online participants

Dear Everyday Zen Sangha,

This spring, we will again have the chance to sit together for seven days, in person and online, waking with the bell and following the call of the han.

Sesshin will start at 4:00 pm Monday, March 24, and end at noon Sunday, March 30, 2025 (Pacific Time).

The in-person sangha will meet in a new location this year, at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz — a beautiful retreat center overlooking Monterey Bay, with accessible rooms and private bathrooms. The virtual sangha will meet online through Zoom.

Zoketsu Norman Fischer will lead the Sesshin. On Shō Chiku Dō Laura Trippi (Gifted Voice, Bamboo Path) is our Shuso (Head Student).

This is Everyday Zen’s 20th annual and our fourth hybrid sesshin. As always, sesshin serves as a shared space of intensive practice as Practice Period draws to a close.

While you do not need to be participating in Practice Period to join us at this Sesshin, Practice Period participants will have an opportunity to register first, beginning February 6, with registration opening to all on February 13.

Information on the registration dates and process; accommodations and fees for in-person participants; guidelines for participation in-person and online; and a sample daily schedule can be found below. For in-person participants, there is also preliminary information on arrival and departure, and health protocols at Villa Maria del Mar.

Additional details for both in-person and online participants will be provided when registration opens for each and in ‘Welcome’ emails 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

Detail of Living by VOw cover art

Schedule

Daily Schedule

A core instruction for sesshin participants is to follow the daily schedule as fully as their health and circumstances allow. A sample schedule is provided at the link below.

Sesshin Daily Schedule (sample)

Guidelines

Guidelines on Participation

Sesshin is an intensive multi-day silent retreat. The following guidelines express our intention to practice together with a strong seriousness of purpose:

Notes on Sesshin (in-person)Notes on Sesshin Adapted for Zoom

In-Person Participants

Accommodations & Meals

Villa Maria del Mar is located at 21918 East Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, CA, offering comfortable rooms with ensuite, private bathrooms in most rooms. For more information on the facility, please visit the Villa Maria del Mar website.

Villa Maria del Mar has 30 double rooms and a few single rooms. If you would like to choose your roommate, please make arrangements in advance with your roommate. You will be asked to note this on the In-Person Registration Form when you register. Couples who are attending together can request a room with a full-size bed if they prefer.

Vegetarian meals are included, beginning with a buffet dinner the first evening and lunch on the day of departure. Guests with special dietary needs or practices must bring their own supplemental food. Guests with allergies should note these on the sesshin registration form.

Once the sesshin has begun, meals will be eaten in the traditional oryoki manner. Instruction will be provided before the sesshin begins and a brief refresher will be conducted on the evening of arrival. If you do not have an oryoki set of bowls and cloths, you may be able to purchase one when paying for room & board. Or email the Inos (inos@everydayzen.org) for information about sourcing and pricing.

In-Person Fees

Fees for the in-person sesshin cover the direct costs of room and board at Villa Maria del Mar and are therefore not tax-deductible. Full payment is required at the time of registration.

  • Double rooms:  $970 per person
    Arrangements for a specific roommate can be made during registration
  • Single rooms: $1,230
    A limited number will be available

Credit card transactions incur a small processing fee to cover bank charges to Everyday Zen. If you prefer to not incur this fee, select the option to pay by check on checkout.

Health and Safety Protocols

Testing for Covid-19 is required for in-person attendance prior to departing for the airport, if traveling from outside of the Bay Area, or prior to driving/car pooling to the sesshin. Please bring an additional Covid-19 test and an N-95 mask.

If you test positive, feel unwell, develop a new cough, fever, or chills, stay home and email the registrars (registrars@everydayzen.org).

Masking is optional and is encouraged for individuals with autoimmune deficiencies or at increased risk of complications. If you are exposed to someone in the 5 days before sesshin, who has tested positive for the flu or Covid-19, and you test negative for Covid-19 on the day of departure, please plan to wear a mask during sesshin for 5 days after exposure. On arrival, please notify the registrars and the inos of your circumstances.

Arrival Info

  • Check-in: Monday, March 24, 4 pm
  • Sesshin ends: Sunday, March 30, 12pm
    Guests may remain on site through 2pm

Online Participants

Overview

As with any sesshin, in signing up to join the sesshin online via Zoom, you are making a commitment to follow the schedule and the guidelines of the Inos.

Online participants follow the same schedule as the in-person sangha, but meals, walking meditation, and work practice will be taken offline.

We will have limited support for online participants this year. In the spirit of sesshin, we ask that Zoom participants take care of themselves and manage sesshin links and resources for themselves as much as they can. Unfortunately, we will not be able to offer dokusan or practice discussion to online participants this year.

Online participation is offered 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 online via Zoom.

Details and registration available March 1.

Dana

Support Everyday Zen

Registration does not include dana (donation) for Norman’s teaching or the cost to Everyday Zen of offering this sesshin. We encourage you to make an additional donation to the Everyday Zen Foundation. There will also be an opportunity to give dana to Norman at the in-person retreat.

For online participants, joining the sesshin is by donation. The suggested donation is $150, depending on your circumstances.

Dana for practice discussion with senior teachers during sesshin can be arranged directly with senior teachers.

Support Everyday Zen

Thank you!

Thank you for your interest in our upcoming sesshin.

For questions about registration, please contact the registrars (registrars@everydayzen.org). For technical support, contact the web/communications manager (world@everydayzen.org).