ZenistSaturday – Saturday · 8 days
08–15
Jewel Mirror Sesshin
Hokyoji Zen Practice Community / Eitzen, MN, USA
Find Meditation Retreats
Scanning 111 centers · 88 upcoming retreats
The Retreats Desk · August 3
Practice with the hands busy
In the hottest stretch of a record summer, the calendar fills not with marathon sesshin but with retreats that put a bow, a dye vat, or a lump of clay in your hands.
The week's forecast reads like a warning label. This is the ongoing North American heat wave, the one that has been setting all-time records at weather stations across the country, and the felt sense of it is oppressive — a public leaning, secularly, toward shade, slowness, and cool dark. The lifestyle press has a name for the mood by now: soft summer, slow living, the body asking for less. It's worth noticing that the appetite underneath is retreat-shaped, even when it doesn't call itself that.
August
2026 21 retreatsMonday – Sunday · 7 days
10–16
At Home in Rock and Water: A Wilderness and Meditation Retreat
Zen Mountain Monastery / Mt Tremper, NY, USA
Monday – Sunday · 7 days
10–16
At Home in Rock and Water: A Wilderness & Meditation Retreat
with Danica Shoan Ankele, Gokan Bonebakker
Zen Center of New York City/Fire Lotus Temple / Brooklyn, NY, USA
Monday – Sunday · 7 days
10–16
Grasses, Trees, and the Great Earth Sesshin
Great Vow Zen Monastery / Clatskanie, OR, USA
Tuesday – Sunday · 6 days
11–16
Deep Rest in Zen and Yoga: Learning to Let Go
San Francisco Zen Center / San Francisco, CA, USA
Tuesday – Sunday · 6 days
11–16
Returning To Now-Sangha Week
with Lucy Xiao
San Francisco Zen Center / San Francisco, CA, USA
Wednesday – Sunday · 5 days
12–16
Mountain Bowl, Mountain Fire—A Clay Retreat
with Jody Hojin Kimmel
Zen Mountain Monastery / Mt Tremper, NY, USA
Wednesday – Friday
12–14
The Reset Retreat: Bringing the Joy of Dharma to Your Work and Life
San Francisco Zen Center / San Francisco, CA, USA
Friday – Sunday
14–16
Summer Roshi Retreat
with Taiun-roshi
Atlanta Soto Zen Center / Atlanta, GA, USA
Saturday
15
Summer Zazenkai: A One Day Meditation Retreat
Great Vow Zen Monastery / Clatskanie, OR, USA
Sunday
16
Zazenkai w/ Diane Wells-Nowell - Half-Day Sit
with Diane Wells-Nowell
Monterey Bay Zen Center / 4th Ave, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA, USA
Monday – Sunday · 7 days
17–23
Hazy Moon Sesshin
with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Danica Shoan Ankele
Zen Mountain Monastery / Mt Tremper, NY, USA
Monday – Sunday · 7 days
17–23
One Continuous Thread: Home Practice Intensive—August
with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Jody Hojin Kimmel, Danica Shoan Ankele
Zen Mountain Monastery / Mt Tremper, NY, USA
Saturday
22
Chant for Peace at Heart of Wisdom
Great Vow Zen Monastery / Clatskanie, OR, USA
Saturday
22
Half-Day Sit
Zen Mountain Monastery / Mt Tremper, NY, USA
Saturday
22
Half-Day Sit (online)
Zen Mountain Monastery / Mt Tremper, NY, USA
Sunday
23
Zazenkai (All-Day Sit)
Boundless Way Zen Temple/Mugendo-ji / Worcester, MA, USA
Friday – Sunday
28–30
Weekend Sesshin - Fall Ango Opening
with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Danica Shoan Ankele, Gokan Bonebakker
Zen Mountain Monastery / Mt Tremper, NY, USA
Saturday
29
Ango Opening Zazenkai
Zen Mountain Monastery / Mt Tremper, NY, USA
Saturday – Saturday · 15 days
Aug 29 – Sep 12
Walking Mountain Pilgrimage Sesshin with Bells Mountain
Great Vow Zen Monastery / Clatskanie, OR, USA