Event Type : Torrey

Winter Sesshin with Diane Musho Hamilton Roshi
December 1-8, 2024
Torrey, Utah

Rohatsu Winter Sesshin is an intensive meditation retreat dedicated to the practice of zazen. Practitioners who gather at Two Arrows Zen in Torrey will be joined by online participants from many locations. The experience of a strong sitting schedule will benefit everyone who wishes to deepen their practice of zazen.

Rohatsu is Japanese for “eighth day of the twelfth month.” The Buddha was enlightened on the eighth of December when he looked up at the morning star, the planet we call Venus. The brightness of this planet was seen by Buddha at the end of a week straight of the deepest Samadhi.

From within this state of mind, the Buddha said: How wondrous, how wondrous! All beings are endowed with this pure nature! What a wondrous, astonishing thing has been realized! All the ten thousand things, all the flowers, all the trees, all the rocks, all things everywhere are shining brilliantly! The Rohatsu Sesshin commemorates that realization.

Participants in Torrey will observe silence throughout the retreat. Even when not in the meditation hall, participants endeavor to maintain silence at all times—in all forms of practice. Meditative awareness is offered as a gift to support each other in creative, noble, and joyful silence. There will be an orientation dharma talk at the beginning and one for integration at the end of the retreat. 

The Winter Sesshin in Torrey will start on Sunday, December 1, at 4 p.m. and end on Sunday, December 8, at noon. The program includes Zazen, Dokusan for new practitioners, community meetings, samu (work practice), and silent walks in nature.

Everyone coming to Torrey should plan to stay until the retreat closes at noon on Sunday, December 8. There are no early departures. The retreat includes all meals, from dinner on 12/1 until breakfast on 12/8.

The cost is $899 for Two Arrows Zen Members and $1019 for General Admission.

Please CONTACT US for registration information.