Zen Meditation Retreat
Sesshin Talks
A sesshin (接心, or also 摂心/攝心 literally "touching the heart-mind") is a period of intensive meditation (zazen) in a Zen monastery.
While the daily routine in the monastery requires the monks to meditate several hours a day, during a sesshin they devote themselves almost exclusively to zazen practice. The numerous 30- to 50-minute-long meditation periods are interleaved with short rest breaks, meals, and sometimes short periods of work (Japanese: 作務 samu) all performed with the same mindfulness; nightly sleep is kept to a minimum, at six hours or fewer. During the sesshin period, the meditation practice is occasionally interrupted by the master giving public talks (teisho) and individual direction in private meetings (which may be called dokusan, daisan, or sanzen) with a Zen Master.
In modern Buddhist practice in Japan and the West, sesshins are often attended by lay students and are typically one, three, five, or seven days in length. Seven-day sesshins are held several times a year at many Zen centers, especially in commemoration of the Buddha's awakening to full enlightenment (anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi). At this Rohatsu sesshin, practitioners seek to relax and quiet the mind to the point of cessation of mental chatter and emotional impulse, samadhi, kensho, or satori.
Title | Speaker | |
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October 1st, 1973, Serial No. 00216 Letting Go, Samadhi, Sesshin, resistance |
Oct 01 1973 |
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April 5th, 1973, Serial No. 00291 Pain, Monastic Practice, Freedom, Bodhisattva Vow, Sesshin |
Apr 05 1973 |
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June 7th, 1972, Serial No. 00474 Commitment, Ordinary Mind, Sesshin, Bowing, Intimacy |
Jun 07 1972 |
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June 5th, 1972, Serial No. 00472 Commitment, Sangha, Posture, Sesshin |
Jun 05 1972 |
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June 3rd, 1972, Serial No. 00470 Dream World, Sesshin, Pain, Silence, Sangha |
Jun 03 1972 |
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April 7th, 1972, Serial No. 00457 Vows, Posture, Community, Mahayana, Sesshin |
Apr 07 1972 |
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April 6th, 1972, Serial No. 00456 Doubt, Buddha Nature, Culture, Sesshin, Faith |
Apr 06 1972 |
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April 4th, 1972, Serial No. 00454 Shikantaza, Sambhogakaya, Dharmakaya, Sesshin, Nirmanakaya |
Apr 04 1972 |
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April 2nd, 1972, Serial No. 00452 Love, Sesshin, Faith, Death, Nirmanakaya |
Apr 02 1972 |
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February 19th, 1972, Serial No. 00443 Bowing, Hate, Composure, Building, Sesshin |
Feb 19 1972 |
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February 9th, 1972, Serial No. 00441 Buddha Nature, Humility, Impermanence, Bell, Sesshin |
Feb 09 1972 |
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February 8th, 1972, Serial No. 00440 Pain, Sangha, Mahayana, Sesshin, Vows |
Feb 08 1972 |
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February 6th, 1972, Serial No. 00438 Sesshin, Peace, Patience, War, Bowing |
Feb 06 1972 |
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December 7th, 1971, Serial No. 00427 Sesshin, Community, Buddha Nature, Precepts, soto |
Dec 07 1971 |
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Sewing SesshinSerial: SR-00122 Sunday, June 20, 1971 Sesshin, Okesa, Dogen, Attachment, New Year, Freedom, Bodhidharma, Lay, Concentration... |
Jun 20 1971 City Center |
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Freedom from EverythingSerial: SR-00150 Sesshin Lecture, Day 5 Sesshin, Happiness, Demons, Precepts, Perfect Wisdom, Attachment, New Year, zen,... |
Jun 09 1971 City Center |
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Calmness of MindSerial: SR-00151 Sesshin Lecture No. 2 Practice is to expose yourself as you are, express yourself fully. Accepting your teacher's words.... Sesshin, Zazen, Breath, Community, Emptiness, Priest, Pain, Community, heart, Hate,... |
Jun 07 1971 City Center |
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The Teaching Just for YouSerial: SR-00147 Sesshin Lecture No. 1 Sesshin, Precepts, Dragons, Bodhidharma, Truth, sitting, Buddha Nature, Politics,... |
Jun 05 1971 City Center |
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It Is Actually Buddha's PracticeSesshin, |
Feb 20 1971 Tassajara |
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Calmness of your MindSerial: SR-00079 Saturday Morning, February 13, 1971 Sesshin, Pain, New Year, Suffering, confusion, Oneness, Beginners, Community,... |
Feb 13 1971 City Center |
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Just Enough ProblemsSerial: SR-00273 Sesshin Lecture, Lecture 7: Page Street Apples Sesshin, War, Enemies, Hate |
Feb 12 1971 A City Center |
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OLD - Not Sticking to EnlightenmentSerial: 71-02-12-B Sesshin Lecture, Day Seven: Closing Words Sesshin, Sixth Patriarch, |
Feb 12 1971 B City Center |
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Not Sticking to EnlightenmentSerial: SF-05445B ===== Awakening the Archive - Tape #26, by Shundo David Haye ===== It's not completely clear how this talk dropped off the radar, as the tape had been copied and... Sesshin, Sixth Patriarch, Emptiness |
Feb 12 1971 B City Center |
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Humor Is More Real Than ReallitySerial: SR-00274 Sesshin Lecture No. 5 Sesshin, Discrimination, Dragons, Observe, Emotions, Instruction, confusion |
Feb 09 1971 City Center |
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Wherever You Go, You Will See YourselfSerial: SR-00271 Sesshin Lecture No. 3 Sesshin, Tozan, Sandokai, zen, Discrimination, Precepts, reality, Freedom, Death... |
Feb 07 1971 City Center |
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Resuming Big MindSerial: SR-00272 Sesshin Lecture No. 1 [”For this seven-day sesshin, there are only transcriptions for lectures given on Days 1, 3, 5,... Sesshin, Big Mind, Hate, stubbornness, Zoom, sitting, Zazen, Anger, Ceremony, heart,... |
Feb 05 1971 City Center |
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Restore the Buddhist Teaching in its Original WaySerial: SF-06121-A Sunday Evening, August 16, 1970 [The first part of the lecture was not recorded.] Sesshin, Faith |
Aug 16 1970 A City Center |
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Our Practice is Expression of Our True Buddha-mindSerial: SR-00067 Sesshin Lecture, No. 4 Sesshin, Precepts, Beginner’s Mind, Precepts, Buddha Mind, Discrimination, Sutra,... |
Aug 04 1970 City Center |
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OLD - Zazen Practice and Listen to the Right TeacherSerial: 70-08-03 LECTURE Sesshin, |
Aug 03 1970 |
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Zazen Practice and Listen to the Right TeacherSerial: SF-05631 ===== Awakening the Archive - Tape #24, by Shundo David Haye ===== In the last years of Suzuki Roshi's life, very few talks were lost from the collections... Sesshin, Dogen, Bodhidharma, Precepts, Bodhisattva Precepts, Observe, Precepts, Faith... |
Aug 03 1970 City Center |
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Walk like an Elephant and Sitting like a FrogSerial: SR-00066 True Practice As Expression Of Buddha-Nature Sesshin, Sengai, Buddha Nature, Family Practice, War, Bodhidharma, Zazen, Monks... |
Aug 02 1970 City Center |
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Observation of Precepts and Practice of Zazen is Same ThingSerial: SF-06049 Sesshin Lecture No. 1 Sesshin, Precepts, Precepts, Doubt, Buddha Nature, Faith, Ceremony, Ordination, Lay,... |
Aug 01 1970 City Center |
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Open Your IntuitionSerial: SF-05587-B Sesshin Meeting Sesshin, Intuition, Instruction, Beginners |
Jul 31 1970 City Center |
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Sincere Practice and Way-Seeking MindSerial: SR-00043 Sesshin Lecture No. 3, Sunday, May 3, 1970 Sesshin, American, Transmission, stubbornness, Buddha Nature, Hate, realization,... |
May 03 1970 City Center |
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Helping OthersSerial: SR-00138 Sesshin Lecture, No. 2, Saturday, May 2, 1970 Sesshin, Dogen, Zuimonki, Building, Doubt |
May 02 1970 City Center |
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On BreathingSerial: SR-00139 Sesshin Lecture, No. 1, Saturday Evening, May 2, 1970 Sesshin, Posture, Pain, sitting, Sangha, Enemies, Death |
May 02 1970 City Center |
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Way-Seeking MindSerial: SF-05361 Saturday Lecture Of March Sesshin Way-Seeking Mind, Sesshin, Monastic Practice, Peace |
Mar 28 1970 City Center |
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Non-Dualistic PracticeSerial: SR-00260 Sesshin Lecture No. 3: Sesshin, Big Mind, difficulty, zen, Duality, Karma, Anger, Mahayana, training,... |
Feb 25 1970 City Center |
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Selflessness, Being and Non-Being: The Background of ShikantazaSerial: SR-00261 Sesshin Lecture No. 1: Sesshin, Buddha Nature, Emptiness, Evil, Mahayana, Posture, Freedom, Continuous,... |
Feb 23 1970 City Center |
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Brown Rice is Just RightSerial: SR-00247 Morning Sesshin Lecture Sesshin, Emptiness, Discrimination, Buddha Nature, training, Hate, Suffering, Pain,... |
Feb 01 1970 A City Center |
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Each One Of Us Is A CookSerial: SR-00258 Afternoon Sesshin Tea Lecture Sesshin, Emptiness, Forms, Compassion, Pain |
Feb 01 1970 B |
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Winter Sesshin Lecture No. 6Sesshin, Ceremony, Freedom, Observe, Wisdom, Oneness, Beginners, training, Precepts,... |
Dec 04 1969 Tassajara |
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Winter Sesshin Lecture No. 5Serial: SR-00202 Winter Sesshin Lecture No. 5 Sesshin, Bodhisattva, Dogen, Shobogenzo, Oneness, Ceremony, Precepts, Wisdom... |
Dec 03 1969 Tassajara |
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Practice Should Not Be Perfect, So Descendants Have Something To DoSerial: SR-00203 Winter Sesshin Lecture No. 4 Sesshin, Dogen, Building, difficulty, Monastic Practice, Transmission, Zazen, Breath... |
Dec 02 1969 Tassajara |
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Way-Seeking Mind, Part IIISerial: SR-00194 Winter Sesshin, Day 3, Lecture No. 3 Way-Seeking Mind, Sesshin, Bodhisattva Vow, Big Mind, difficulty, Vows, heart, Monks... |
Dec 01 1969 Tassajara |
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Way-Seeking Mind, Part IISerial: SR-00266 Winter Sesshin Lecture No. 2 Way-Seeking Mind, Sesshin, Buddha Mind, Don't Know Mind, Big Mind, Intention,... |
Nov 30 1969 Tassajara |
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Way-Seeking Mind, Part ISerial: SR-00267 Winter Sesshin, Lecture No. 1 Way-Seeking Mind, Sesshin, reality, Faith |
Nov 29 1969 Tassajara |
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Sesshin, Sixth Night LectureSerial: SR-00129 Tassajara Sesshin, Don't Know Mind, Posture, Ceremony, Addiction, Duality, Beginners,... |
Sep 1969 Tassajara |
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Sesshin, Third Night LectureSerial: SR-00130 Tassajara Sesshin, Emptiness, reality, Passions, Intuition, Bell, Forms, American, difficulty... |
Sep 1969 Tassajara |
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Shosan CeremonySerial: SR-00213 Tassajara [Beginning of ceremony not recorded.] Sesshin, Shosan, Perfect Wisdom, Dragons, Breath, Death, Intuition, Lay, Bell,... |
Sep 1969 Tassajara |