Rohatsu Sesshin

The annual Rohatsu sesshin at Mountain Cloud Zen Center, co-led by Sanbo Zen master Henry Shukman and associate master Valerie Forstman. "Rohatsu" means the eighth day of the twelfth month — Bodhi Day — traditionally the day the Buddha looked up at the morning star and awakened. The retreat honors that moment and takes it into practice, gathering as the year darkens toward the solstice, "bolstered by the silence of the coming winter," to deepen realization through zazen.

Sesshin is the intensive heart of Zen training: long days of silent seated meditation held in a strong communal container, with dokusan — one-to-one interviews with a teacher — and daily talks. Henry Shukman, originally from the UK, is an award-winning poet and author (One Blade of Grass, Original Love), spiritual director emeritus of Mountain Cloud, and co-founder of the meditation app The Way; his co-teacher Valerie Forstman leads from the center's zendo.

Mountain Cloud sits on two dozen acres in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains off the Old Santa Fe Trail — a small, handcrafted zendo in high desert country. The sesshin is offered hybrid: on-site residential, commuting, or online participation, with online retreatants supported by their own orientation, handbook, and break-out sessions.