As it is important that newcomers have an online session (see below) to insure that they get off to a good start. Online times are pre-assigned for newcomers only and offered on the first and/or second day of the retreat. If you have not done a retreat (residential or virtual) with Shinzen for many years, you may also be assigned an online time.

Please check the sign-up sheet on the table outside the zendo to see what time and room you have been assigned. If you are unable to attend the pre-assigned online session, please see the retreat manager immediately to re-schedule.

Online Hosts
Once the retreat is full, you will be asked to host an online room or be on a wait list. Hosting an online room means vacating your room during the online times. This is a wonderful seva (service) to the community. Please consider offering to be an online host when you register.

Online Sign-Ups
Sign-up sheets will be on the sign-up table and instructions on how to use the telephones for a session are in each room. First-timers will be assigned a time for their first online. If you would like additional onlines after your first one, write your name in an empty time space with a “#2” (or “#3,” etc.) after it to indicate how many online sessions you have had. If you have not had an interview or online and all spaces are full, you may cross out any name with a higher number after it and write in your name.

Sometimes there is an opportunity to meet one-on-one with Shinzen. Feel free to discuss any aspect of practice including how to apply it to specific issues and situations in your life. Put your name in one of the time slots on the interview sign-up sheet located on the sign-up table. Individual interviews typically last 10-15 minutes and are conducted in the teacher’s room. Sometimes the teacher runs somewhat behind. If you notice that someone is still with Shinzen, please wait away from the door to allow privacy for the student before you, and continue to meditate as though you were in the zendo. If you need an interview with Shinzen and no time slots are available, write your name at the bottom of that day’s sign-up sheet and Shinzen will try to arrange one for you. Please do not add times to the sheet.

The Co-Teacher will offer 'Office Hours' 2-3 times per day for all retreatants.  No appointment is necessary.  Just arrive at the designated location, knock on the door, then sit in one of the chairs.  The Co-Teacher will wind up the session he is facilitating, and come to get you.

Chanting is a good way to get energized in the morning, so the day is started by chanting the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” from 5:30 a.m. – 6 a.m. This mantra is dedicated to the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Chinese – Kwan-Yin; Japanese – Kannon; Tibetan – Chenresi).

It is sometimes loosely translated as “Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus” and consists of six syllables (Om-Ma-Ni-Pad-Me-Hum) symbolizing the bodhisattva vow to save all beings in the six realms of existence.

Chanting is usually accompanied by rhythmic beats on a hollow gourd or stick, bell, or sometimes a drum. When the chant is complete, we pause in stillness for a while to savor the energy that has developed.

If you arrive at the zendo around 6 a.m., please wait until you see people moving to prepare for the next sit before entering.

Walking is done outside on the grounds (weather permitting) or in the walkways by the bedrooms. During indicated walk/sit periods, we request that you refrain from exercising or taking extended tea breaks in areas that may interfere with walking meditators.

Try to make the meal a meditation from beginning to end. Meditate as you walk to the dining hall, as you wait in line and as you partake of your meal. After the last bite, you may want to sit for a while and savor the delicate after-energies that infuse the body following a satisfying meal.

Sometimes offered by a retreatant at a retreat – location and more details provided if this is an option.

These are also considered meditation periods during which you should maintain a formal technique of body awareness. We are grateful and thank those volunteers who provide their gifts to lead these sessions to enhance our retreat experience.

If you would like to volunteer to lead yoga/qi gong/mindful movement, please see the sign-up sheets on the sign-up table. 

Bodywork and massage sessions are usually available by our own sangha (community) members.

Bodywork sessions are also meditation sessions. While they certainly do help work out aches and pains, bodywork evokes deep and significant sensations over the whole body that can be a productive object of meditation.

During your bodywork session, try to maintain a formal strategy of body awareness such as noting by location – local or global sweeping, noting expansion and contraction, etc. Because you are lying down and relaxing, there may be a tendency to sink into sleepiness, thus defeating the mindfulness aspect of meditation. Make a “strong determination” to maintain a bright, clear state and fight against even the subtlest manifestations of drowsiness.

Also, be sure to maintain noble silence, talking to the body worker only as necessary. Locations for bodywork or massage and sign-up sheets with prices will be on the sign-up table. Body worker(s) are introduced in the Welcome/Orientation session.

If you are interested in offering bodywork during a retreat, please indicate on the registration form and someone will contact you to discuss this possibility or contact VSI prior to registering to discuss criteria to do so.

All-night sitting, known as yaza, is often scheduled for the Thursday of a weeklong retreat. If this is offered, details will be announced during the retreat.

This is an optional activity, but it does offer extraordinary opportunities to deepen your practice that are not available with daytime meditation.

There is a long rest period following lunch and somewhat shorter ones after breakfast and dinner. Although you may take walks, do exercise, continue formal practice, etc., during these periods, many retreatants find it helpful to take a “siesta” so as to be well rested for the work of meditation.

CDs of Shinzen’s teachings are available for purchase throughout the retreat. You may listen to these CDs during the retreat without purchasing them. You can bring your own CD player, and there will also be a few available to use in a common area. Please limit your time on the borrowed players to ensure others also have the opportunity to listen.

CDs are a great way to reinforce the deep and sometimes subtle ideas presented in the dharma talks and group process sessions, as these need time and repetition to sink in.Some CDs deal with the basic principles of the practice, others describe how to use the practice for specific life issues, and others are guided meditations. Also, when you pass through the inevitable periods of low energy and resistance in your daily practice, you can use guided CDs as a “skillful means” to maintain quality meditation.

The CD area is often taken down the night before the retreat ends, so please be sure to make your purchases by the last night and return any you may be have borrowed. These recordings are now available for sale online HERE.