The Rohatsu Sesshin I attended at the end of November was a traditional retreat held in the Zen lineage. It lasts for seven full days at this time of the year to celebrate the Buddha's enlightenment. It is customary for students on the retreat to be encouraged to meditate through the night on the final night.
A sesshin such as this cultivates sustained mindfulness throughout the day with a relatively seamless transition between formalised activities such as walking, eating, chanting, bowing and sitting for hours at a time. Many activities have intimately prescribed forms that invite observation of mindful concentration.
During the sesshin, I was struck by our teachers measured approach in both formal talks and practice discussions, they came across clear, measured and mindful, before, during and after the retreat, embodying the practice they spoke of. I would like to spend as much time as I can with people like as this to help me to develop my commitment to consistent practice.
The story of Siddhartha Gautama suggests that it was while gazing upon the morning star after sitting all night that he attained enlightenment. I didn’t sit all the way through on the final night as I had a long drive home after, but sat up late and rose early to sit the next day when we were blessed to see Venus rise during our final outdoor walking meditation.
Back to front page