Each Wave An Ocean: Opening the Gates of Practice

Each Wave An Ocean: Opening the Gates of Practice is a single-morning, in-person retreat at Zen Mountain Monastery on October 3, 2026. The title borrows a familiar Zen image — the wave is not separate from the ocean — but the substance of the morning is the Eight Gates of Zen, the training framework developed by John Daido Loori Roshi ("roshi" is an honorific for a senior Zen teacher). Rather than treating Zen practice as seated meditation alone, the Eight Gates present different dimensions of training as gates, each one a way in.

Teachers Hojin and Daiō will open several of those gates through teaching, reflection, and direct experience. The listing names four:

• zazen (seated meditation)
• the student–teacher relationship
• art and body practice
• the Precepts — the Buddhist guidelines for conduct, taken up in Zen as an ongoing practice rather than a fixed rulebook

The listing is otherwise spare. It doesn't publish a start time or a breakdown of how the morning moves between teaching and practice, and it doesn't say how many gates will be covered or in what order. It also states no experience requirement, so if you're unsure whether it fits your background, contact the center through zmm.org. Registration is $20, the format is in person, and no online option is listed.