2026 Spring Practice Period: Nothing Lacking, Continuous Practice

This five-week online practice period uses a classical Zen teaching moment as its spine: the legendary exchange between Masters Shenxiu and Huineng over whether enlightenment is something to be polished and refined through effort, or whether it's already present and simply needs to be recognized. It's one of the central questions in Zen, and the retreat investigates it through sustained practice rather than lecture.

Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, part of the San Francisco Zen Center lineage, offers this as an online format—meaning you sit from home on your own schedule but with structured daily practice windows and weekly group classes. The five weeks build in two sesshins: a one-day intensive and a three-day one, both held online, which tighten the focus and rhythm.

What's included

• Daily sitting practice (you join when you can within the structured window)
• Weekly classes and instruction
• Dharma talks throughout the period
• Two online sesshins: one-day and three-day formats

For someone new to online practice periods, this format lets you stay rooted at home while participating in the teaching arc and rhythm of a residential center's program. The sesshin days offer more concentrated practice if you want to deepen during the five weeks.