Spring Sesshin
Another sesshin for the books! This year, 27 of us gathered at Oral Hull to complete a 5-day residential meditation retreat lead by our teacher, Domyo. We were also joined by a few folks globally over zoom. Lastly, it is especially sweet to note that we had several long-distance sangha members fly in from out of town to participate. We are always so pleased for the rare opportunity to practice with them in person.
This was our fourth year at this retreat center and it felt great to be back. Spring provides us with a wide range of weather possibilities, and this year we enjoyed a balance of rain and sun. Oral Hull is located outside of Sandy, Oregon. The grounds are gorgeous and even provide access to the Sandy River. We were surrounded by gardens, forest, pastures, and a view of the peak of Mt. Hood.
Sesshin is a rich experience that provides us the opportunity to sit lots of zazen together, eat oryoki style, listen to daily dharma talks, and sit sanzen (private 1-on-1 practice discussions with a teacher). This year was unique because we held a Shosan ceremony on the last evening. Shosan is a question and answer ceremony, where participants had the opportunity to ask Domyo a question related to our practice or the dharma, and she gave us a pithy, yet deeply meaningful response.
Upon closing, many participants remarked on the powerful experience of sesshin and how it has deepened our sense of community, even for those who had never sat with us before. Our next retreat at Oral Hull will happen April 2027 and we are looking forward to returning to our home away from home for another precious retreat.
