Zen Sesshin at Home — Sōtō

You know what the Han
does at 4:30.

That sound — before you've decided to move. That's the form. Not the monastery, not the teacher. The bell.

At home, no one strikes the Han. You become jikido for your own sitting. The moment you're managing the bell, you've left the cushion. Retreat Conductor holds the form.

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The form

The Han.
The rin.
The kinhin that
isn't a break.

You've sat sesshin. You know: zazen doesn't end, kinhin doesn't release you, oryoki turns eating into practice. The form holds you — you don't hold the form.

None of that requires a monastery. It requires someone to strike the Han. When that someone is you, you're thinking about the bell instead of sitting.

Full-day schedule

The full-day form

Sōtō style. Noble silence throughout. If you're visiting during retreat hours, this is live.

Shorter retreats run the morning form: Han, two zazen periods with kinhin, oryoki breakfast, closing bell. The structure holds even in two hours.

How it works

Three things. Then sit.

Choose

Select Sōtō Zen. Pick a length — morning sitting, half day, full day, multi-day. Period lengths and kinhin ratios are already set.

Schedule

Set a start time. 4:30am if the form calls for it. The Han fires. Real time keeps running whether the screen is on or not.

Sit

Period by period, the bell moves. Zazen, kinhin, zazen. Nothing to manage. You're sitting, not conducting.

Retreat lengths

Sit what the day has room for.

Morning sitting

Han, two zazen periods with kinhin, closing rin. Before the day starts.

Half day

Han at dawn, zazen through mid-morning, oryoki, closing. The morning form, complete.

Full day

Han to lights out. Every period in its place. Noble silence throughout.

3-day / 5-day / 7-day

The Han wakes you each morning. Silence accumulates across nights. The form deepens.

Other traditions

The same conductor, different forms.

Vipassana · TheravadaGoenka-style home retreat — body scanning, noble silence, Adhitthana

From the journal

Before you sit the first period.

Zen sesshin at homeThe Han, kinhin, and the problem of no one to strike the bell.Vipassana and Zen, side by sideDifferent forms, the same home-practice problem. What each tradition requires.Discipline without a teacherThe bell is the teacher. Here's how to make it something you can't negotiate with.How long should a home retreat be?Start shorter than you think. A completed half-day teaches more than an abandoned full one.

Early access

The Han fires at 4:30.
You just have to sit.

Beta is open. First 200 members sit free — one-time access, no subscription.