Fall Term 2026 – Practice Intensive Group Resource Page

Fall Term 2026 Meeting Dates:

Meetings with Domyo take place on her Zoom (ending in 5898); Peer Group Meetings take place on BWZ Zoom #2 (ending in 1010).

Thursday Practice Intensive Group: 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, Sept-Feb.
Meetings with Domyo are two hours long: 4-6pm Pacific, 5-7pm Mountain, 6-8pm Central, 7-9pm Eastern.
Peer Group Meetings are one hour long: 4-5pm Pacific, 5-6pm Mountain, 6-7pm Central, 7-8pm Eastern.

• Sept 3rd (1st Thursday) – Orientation – one hour. Please try to make this, but if you can’t, it will be recorded (or you can attend the Saturday Sept 5th orientation). This will let you spend September working on the first topic for discussion at the first full meeting in October.
• Sept 17th (3rd Thursday) – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Work
• Oct 1st (1st Thursday) – Meeting #1 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Work
• Oct 15th (3rd Thursday) – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Relationships
• Nov 5th (1st Thursday) – Meeting #2 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Relationships
• Nov 19th (3rd Thursday) – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Material Life
• Dec 3rd (1st Thursday) – Meeting #3 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Material Life
• Dec 17th (3rd Thursday) – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Embodiment
• Jan 7th (1st Thursday) – Meeting #4 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Embodiment
• Jan 21st (3rd Thursday) – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Free Time
• Feb 4th (1st Thursday) – Meeting #5 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Free Time

Saturday Practice Intensive Group: Almost all 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month, October – February except where noted.
Meetings with Domyo are two hours long: 11am-1pm Pacific, Noon-2pm Mountain, 1-3pm Central, 2-4pm Eastern, 6-8pm UK, 7-9pm Eastern Europe.
Peer Group Meetings are one hour long: Noon-1pm Pacific, 1-2pm Mountain, 2-3pm Central, 3-4pm Eastern, 7-8pm UK, 8-9pm Eastern Europe.

• Sept 5th (1st Saturday) – Meeting #1 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Orientation – one hour. Please try to make this, but if you can’t, it will be recorded (or you can attend the Thursday Sept 3rd orientation). This will let you spend September working on the first topic for discussion at the first full meeting in October.
• Sept 19th (3rd Saturday) – 12–1pm – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Work
• Oct 3rd (1st Saturday) – Meeting #2 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom – 5898) – Subject: Work
• Oct 17th (3rd Saturday) – 12–1pm – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Relationships
• Nov 7th (1st Saturday) – Meeting #3 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Relationships
• Nov 21st (3rd Saturday) – 12–1pm – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Material Life
• Dec 5th (1st Saturday) – Meeting #4 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Material Life
• Dec 19th (3rd Saturday) – 12–1pm – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Embodiment
• Jan 9th (SECOND Saturday to extend holiday break a little) – Meeting #5 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Embodiment
• Jan 23rd (3rd Saturday) – 12–1pm – Peer Group Meeting – BWZ Zoom #2 (-1010) – Subject: Free Time
• Feb 6th (1st Saturday) – Meeting #4 with Domyo (Domyo’s Zoom -5898) – Subject: Free Time

Study Plan:

The Fall-Winter Term 2026 Practice Intensive Groups will begin with orientation sessions in September, a month before the first (October) meetings so students can be prepared for a meaningful discussion there (rather than making the first of the five main sessions an introduction). NOTE: You can attend either orientation session (9/3, 4pm Pacific, or 9/5, 11am Pacific) as the Saturday meeting is on Labor Day weekend. We will also record it in case you can’t make it to the orientation. There will be a mid-month peer group meeting in September.

Each of the five main sessions will cover a different area of your life of practice, and focus on a different (short) text and one of Domyo’s Zen Studies Podcast episodes. 

Monthly Assignments:

• Read the assigned text daily throughout the month (at least 2-3 pages each day, so you will end up reading the whole text multiple times over the course of the month).
• Listen to or read the podcast episode at least once.
• Attend the mid-month peer group session and discuss the topic of the month together.
• Reflect on a set of questions/prompts Domyo will provide for the month’s practice. Take a first stab at answering them asap. Go ahead and do this in the shared journal if you like, or however you want. Try to do this within the first week of the month the questions apply to.
• Subsequently, you are asked to choose one (or more) of these:
  • journal (500-1000 words per entry, no more than 4000 words total over the course of the whole month, just so we don’t have too much to read) in the shared journal: Thursday Group Shared Journal    Saturday Group Shared Journal
  • journal (500-1000 words per entry, no more than 4000 words total over the course of the whole month) shared with Domyo by email
  • take notes for yourself and make an appointment to meet with me to discuss in a practice discussion (not formal sanzen, https://calendly.com/domyo)

Meetings with Domyo:

Monthly meetings with Domyo will involve a brief check-in lasting no longer than 30 minutes so the bulk of the time can be dedicated to discussion of the topic. Each participant is asked to spend 10 minutes (or less, allowing for discussion) sharing something personal and significant that came up for them in relation to the previous month’s area of practice. Ideally, sharing will be very specific and practical, not theoretical, helping us all learn to see all the various areas of our lives as rich with practice opportunities.

Meetings with Peers:

Check-ins and/or conversation centering on that month’s practice area.

Subjects: 

September Practice, discuss at early October Meeting – Work (including non-paid work and practical responsibilities) – practice with this throughout September, discuss at October meeting

• Text: Dogen’s Tenzokyokun: Instructions for the Tenzo (Head Cook) 
• Podcast: Work as Spiritual Practice According to Dogen’s “Instructions to the Cook” (2 parts)

Questions to answer in shared journal, by email with Domyo (only), or in a practice discussion with Domyo. Write down answers, at least for your own sake, within the first week of the practice month (so your answers can inform your month’s practice):

1. List the work you do, including paid and unpaid work. Be specific.
2. What are your motivations for each of your different kinds of work?
3. What is an example of work you enjoy? Describe your attitude and experience while doing this work.
4. What is an example of work you resist or resent having to do? Describe your attitude and experience while doing this work.
5. Describe at least one point of tension, conflict, or dissatisfaction associated with your work, and how you practice with it.
6. What is something that activity in this area of life teaches you?
7. What is one aspiration you have with respect to your work?
8. What is something from the assigned text that you have found relevant to your practice?

October Practice, discuss at early November Meeting – Relationships (family, intimate, friendships, co-workers, Sangha members, etc.)

• Text: Dogen’s Bodaisatta Shishobo: The Bodhisattva’s Four Embracing Actions
• Podcast: Dogen’s Shishobo: The Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings (4 parts)

November Practice, discuss at early December Meeting – Material Life (finances, home, possessions, security, material pleasures, etc.) 

• Text: The Buddha’s Advice to Sigalaka
• Podcast: How to Relate to Worldly Pleasure as a Buddhist (2 parts)

December Practice, discuss at early January Meeting – Embodiment (health, exercise, diet, athletics, physical pleasures, illness, aging, etc.) 

• Text: Dogen’s Senmen: On Washing Your Face 
• Podcast: Coming!

January Practice, discuss at early February Meeting – Free Time (things you choose to do – leisure, hobbies, travel, creativity, artistic expression, etc.)

• Text: Poetry from Zen Master Ryokan (link here, but if you can afford to purchase, that would be best; the Terebess website does not always respect copyright laws)
• Podcast: Coming!