Left weekly koan study for a Zen Center that felt right
So, I've been doing koan training with a teacher at my local Zen Center, a ten-minute drive from my house. I liked the teacher, and a weekly sitting at a Center, including dokusan, is an incredible opportunity. It's rich. Still, for several reasons, decided to leave the Center.
In the meantime I participated in a sesshin at a Center much further from my house. Everything seemed to click. The interaction in dokusan felt vulnerable, open. During dokusan, the words of the teachers really landed and resonated. I recognized in the teachers and sangha members something I want to learn myself. It is further away, half a day in the car, a few hours by train. But it feels like the place I need to pursue my practice. This also proved to be the last push in my decision to leave my (now, former) Center.
I hope I can do shoken there, perhaps jukai, and, definitely, koan study. I plan to attend four or five sesshins a year. What do you think, can koan study still be meaningful if I only sit sesshins there four or five times a year? I decided I would be happy even if I were only sitting with one strong koan for a year..
Posted Sep 2, 2026, 12:39 PM UTC