Summer Solstice Sesshin

A six-day sesshin is the standard intensive retreat format in Soto Zen practice — sustained, minimalist, structured around zazen (seated meditation) as the core practice. Seven to ten hours of sitting per day is typical. What fills the rest of the day: formal oryoki meals (eating meditation, done in silence in the meditation hall), kinhin (walking meditation between sitting periods), work practice (maintaining the temple), and chanting services. The schedule is designed to strip away distraction and habit, creating conditions where the mind settles.

Dokusan — private meetings with a teacher — punctuate the week. These are brief, usually 5–10 minutes, an opportunity to ask about your practice or receive guidance. The teacher sees each person multiple times over the six days.

Noble silence means no talking, no phones, no outside reading. You're present to sitting, to the people around you (without conversation), and to the rhythm of the day. Most people find the first two days disorienting; by day four, the quiet deepens the practice.

Fire Lotus Temple is located in New York City. Residential means you stay on-site in the temple or nearby housing. Bring sitting clothes (dark, simple), a notebook for writing down questions before dokusan, and an open mind about what "retreat" actually means — it's not relaxing, it's focused practice.