Applications are now being accepted for Boundless Way Zen Temple 2024 Sesshin.
We offer three kinds of sesshin: Online, Residential, and Hybrid. At Online Sesshin, all teachers and students attend from their own residence via Zoom. All practice periods are held in the Zoom zendo, and all dokusan (individual meetings with the teacher) are held in Zoom breakout rooms. Residential Sesshin are held at Boundless Way Zen Temple, 1030 Pleasant Street, Worcester, MA. All students stay at the Temple. Beds and meals are provided. A Hybrid Sesshin has both residential and online attendance options, all practice together, with some students in residence at the Temple, and others attending remotely via Zoom.
We are offering Residential Sesshin in March, August, and December; Hybrid Sesshin in February, May, and October; and Online Sesshin (Distant Temple Bell) in January, April, June, September, and November. In addition, there will be a two-week residential program starting in late July leading up to Summer Sesshin in August.
Sesshin Date | Type | Length | Teachers | Registration |
May 17-20 | Hybrid | 3-day | MB,DR,MH | open through May 10 / May 16 |
June 21-23 | Online | 2-day | MB,DR,AR | open through June 20 |
July 26-August 9 | Residential | 2-week residential program | open through July 19 | |
August 9-16 | Residential | 7-day | MB,DR,AR,MH | open through August 2 |
September 6-9 | Online | 3-day | MB,DR,MH | open through September 5 |
October 4-7 | Hybrid | 3-day | AR,MH | open through Sept. 27 / Oct. 3 |
November 8-11 | Online | 3-day | tbd | open through November 7 |
December 6-9 | Residential | 3-day | tbd | open through November 29 |
Sesshin: an intensive Zen meditation retreat
Nine hours of meditation per day, liturgy, oryoki (traditional Zen meal ceremony), and dokusan (private meetings with the teachers)
At our: Boundless Way Zen Temple (Mugendo-ji) 1030 Pleasant St, Worcester, MA 01602
Suggested registration fees are listed for each sesshin type.
Registration fee amounts can be adjusted to your specific needs.
Registration is limited.
The online registration form is at: Sesshin Registration.
For questions please contact registrar@boundlessway.org
Sesshin Teachers
Melissa Myōzen Blacker, Rōshi is a Guiding Teacher and the abbot of Boundless Way, a Soto Zen priest, and a Dharma heir to James Myōun Ford, Rōshi in two lineages: an ordained Soto transmission through Jiyu Kennett, Rōshi and a lay koan-teaching lineage through John Tarrant, Rōshi. Melissa is a resident teacher at Boundless Way Zen Temple in Worcester, MA. She holds degrees in anthropology, music and counseling psychology. From 1992 to 2012 she was a teacher and director of programs at the Center for Mindfulness, founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Her writing appears in a number of collections including Best Buddhist Writing, 2012, The Hidden Lamp, and Zen Teachings in Challenging Times, and she is co-editor of The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen’s Most Important Koan. Her writing also appears in various Buddhist magazines, including Shambhala Sun, Lion’s Roar and Buddhadharma.
David Dae An Rynick, Rōshi is a founder and Guiding Teacher of Boundless Way. He is Dharma heir to Zen Master George Bowman in the Korean Rinzai lineage and to James Myōun Ford, Rōshi in two Soto lineages. David is also a grandfather, gardener, life coach and author of This Truth Never Fails: A Zen Memoir in Four Seasons.
Dharma Holder Alan Sanhyō Richardson began his practice of Zen Buddhism in 1973 and has sat with Boundless Way since 2007, serving in a number of leadership positions and sesshin officer roles. In 2021 he received Dharma Entrustment (the lay equivalent to Denkai) from his primary teacher, David Rynick, Rōshi, and began serving as Resident Teacher for Sky Flower Zen, an online Boundless Way sangha. Alan has taught English literature for many years at Boston College, with a specialty in poetry. An avid hiker and backpacker, he is the author, most recently, of Breakfast with Salamanders: Seasons on the Appalachian Trail.
Dharma Holder Michael Sokei Herzog is the Boundless Way Zen Temple Director and resident teacher. He is the Chairperson for both the Temple Samu Committee and the Temple Communications and Technology Committee. Since joining the Temple in 2011, he has held a number of service positions including tanto at sesshin. In 2022 he received Dharma Entrustment (Denkai) from his primary teacher, David Rynick, Rōshi. Michael is an artist who works under his dharma name Sokei. His art focuses on Zen teachings, and can be seen on his website, sokei.xyz.
Sesshin Daily Schedule
Each sesshin starts on a Friday evening with an optional online orientation, or with residential attendees arriving and setting up, at 6:00 p.m. Sesshin officially begins at 7:00 p.m. with all gathering in the zendo (virtual or physical). Each full day during sesshin consists of four formal practice periods punctuated with meal, work, and rest practice periods according to the schedule below. The final day of sesshin (Monday, for 3-day sesshin) ends at 12:30 p.m. for online attendees or 1:00 p.m. for residential attendees.
Online attendees are expected to attend all online formal practice periods (bolded below), arriving at least 5 minutes early to the Zoom zendo. Schedule accommodations are available for online attendees from distant time zones. Online attendees take their meals offline.
Residential attendees follow the full schedule and attend all practice periods, meals, and work periods.
Sample Daily Schedule
(Eastern U.S. Time Zone)
5:00 am | Wake |
5:30 am | (Residential) Tea in the zendo. |
6:00-7:30 am | Early morning formal practice period |
7:30 am | Breakfast, Samu (work practice), and rest practice |
9:30-12:30 pm | Late morning formal practice period with sutra service, teisho, and Dharma dialogue |
12:30 pm | Lunch, rest practice |
2:30-5:30 pm | Afternoon formal practice period |
5:30 pm | Dinner, rest practice |
7:00-9:00 pm | Evening formal practice period |
9:00 pm | Rest practice. Lights out 10:00 pm |
Registration
Registration for Sesshin in 2024 is open. In prior years, we have opened registration a few months before the start of each sesshin. This year you may register for any 2024 sesshin throughout the year right from the beginning, even all of them at the same time. If you register for multiple sesshin, you don’t necessarily have to pay for them all at once.
Since you may register several months before a given sesshin begins, we will send an email reminder approximately one month before the start of any sesshin for which you are registered. If you have not yet paid your registration fee, the email will include a reminder that you need to pay to keep your space.
Notes about registration:
- We offer easy-to-use online registration. This application is a streamlined and secure process. You may use Paypal to pay the registration fee, or you may mail a check. The link to the registration form is below.
- After completing and submitting the online application form you will be taken to our payment page. Here you may pay online with a credit or debit card by clicking on the Paypal button. You do not need to be a member of Paypal to use this payment method.
Registration for Online attendance
Registration for online attendance at an Online or Hybrid Sesshin remains open until one day before sesshin starts. Payment is expected before the start of sesshin.
Registration for Residential attendance
Space is limited for residential attendance at a Residential or Hybrid Sesshin. Registration for residential attendance or for the waiting list remains open until one week before sesshin starts. To hold your space in sesshin or on the waiting list, we must have received payment in full of the registration fee three weeks before the start of sesshin. (Fees may be adjusted to your specific needs, do not let financial considerations keep you from applying).
Important notes about registration for residential attendance:
- Your place will be secured after both a completed application and your payment have been received. Verbal requests for a sesshin reservation are not accepted.
- Registration closes one week before sesshin starts.
- If you were on the waiting list and a space did not become available, you will be offered a full refund of your fee. If you are on the waiting list for a Hybrid Sesshin, you may opt for online attendance, and you will be offered a refund of the difference between the residential fee and the fee for online attendance.
- If you have not paid your registration fee one month before the sesshin begins, you will receive an email reminder. If we have not received your fee by three weeks before the start date of sesshin, and there are others on a waiting list, you may lose your spot at sesshin.
Suggested Registration Fees
For online attendance at a 3-day sesshin, the suggested registration fee is $210 for members or $240 for non-members.
For online attendance at the 2-day Sesshin in June, the suggested registration fee is $100 for members and $125 for non-members.
The fee for residential attendance at a 3-day sesshin is $325 for members of Boundless Way Zen Temple, and $360 for non-members.
For the 7-day residential Summer Sesshin in August, the fee is $750 for members and $840 for non-members.
In each case, the amount is a suggested amount. Know that you can pay more or less than the suggested amount.
All contributions support sharing the Dharma so please do not let financial considerations affect your decision to apply. We do ask everyone to make some contribution, no matter how small.
Attendance Type | Sesshin Length | Temple Memeber | Non-member |
Online | 2-day | $100 | $125 |
3-day | $210 | $240 | |
Residential | 3-day | $325 | $360 |
7-day | $750 | $840 |
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Online Cancellation
For online attendance, if you must cancel your attendance at any time before sesshin starts, for any reason, you will be offered a full refund of your registration fee.
Residential Cancellation
For residential attendance, the cancellation policy is as follows:
- Payment in full is required at the time of registration.
- If you cancel prior to 4 weeks from the sesshin start date, 100% of your fee will be refunded.
- If you cancel between 4 weeks and 1 week (7 calendar days) prior to the sesshin start date, 75% of your fee will be refunded.
- If you cancel fewer than 7 calendar days prior to the sesshin start date, 0% (none) of your fee will be refunded.
We realize that there are extenuating circumstances that might prevent you from attending sesshin. During the last week before sesshin starts, we provide a 100% refund of your residential fee only for a positive test result in your household, a death in the family, your illness, or the illness of a close family member for whom you must provide care. If you or someone you must care for becomes ill and you cannot attend sesshin, please notify the registrar as soon as possible.
If you are canceling residential attendance because of a positive test result, you will be offered a full refund of your fee. If it is a hybrid sesshin, you may convert to online attendance and receive a refund of the difference between the residential fee and the suggested fee for online attendance.
The online registration form is at: Sesshin Registration.
If you have any questions please email registrar@worcesterzen.org .
We hope to see you at sesshin!