True Refuge Week: Self-Directed Intensive Practice for MRO Students
with MRO Teachers and Senior Staff·Zen
A self-directed intensive practice week for Mountains and Rivers Order training students, limited to nine participants. The retreat combines a structured foundation—zazen, meals, and morning caretaking—with flexibility to pursue your own practice focus: sutra study, art practice, or sustained silent sitting.
About this retreat
This retreat is designed for established students in the MRO lineage—not an open public offering. The structure assumes familiarity with zazen practice and the center's community.
The format trades the guided schedule of a traditional sesshin for a hybrid approach: mornings anchor the group in zazen and caretaking, meals are communal, but afternoons and evenings are yours to shape. You might spend them in silence, working with a sutra, making art, or sitting intensively. The nine-person cap suggests intimate, self-directed work within a held container.
If you're an MRO student, contact the center directly for teacher information, the exact daily structure, and what counts as "self-directed" practice in this context. The signup page will clarify eligibility and the registration process.
Originally listed on Zen Center of New York City/Fire Lotus Temple's website.
Full details from Zen Center of New York City/Fire Lotus Temple
A self-directed intensive practice week for Mountains and Rivers Order training students, limited to nine participants. The retreat offers flexible structure with zazen, meals, and morning caretaking while allowing students to shape their own practice focus through sutra study, art practice, or sustained silent retreat.
Also at Zen Center of New York City/Fire Lotus Temple03
Saturday
Radiant BIAPOC Zazenkai
with Hojin Sensei
Zen Center of New York City/Fire Lotus Temple
Monday – Sunday · 7 days
One Continuous Thread: Home Practice Intensive—October
Zen Center of New York City/Fire Lotus Temple
Saturday
Half-Day Sit
Zen Center of New York City/Fire Lotus Temple