The word "sesshin" means to collect one's heart and mind. Participate in a five-day meditation retreat in the Zen tradition at Dai Bosatsu Zendo in the Catskill Mountains of upper New York state.

Sesshin is the essence of Zen practice. These week-long intensive Zen retreats are held at Dai Bosatsu Zendo six times a year. The tradition of sesshin began with Shakyamuni Buddha's intense sitting under the bodhi tree in India. On the morning of December 8, he attained enlightenment upon seeing the morning star. These kind of retreats are practiced by all Zen schools throughout the world.

Students gather for a week of silence, zazen (Zen sitting meditation), chanting, teisho (formal Zen talks given by Abbot Shinge Sherry Chayat Roshi), Dharma talks by other teachers, and dokusan (private interviews with Shinge Roshi). The schedule includes a brief period of daily work practice, rest periods and three vegetarian meals a day.

On America's Bicentennial, July 4, 1976, International Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monastery, opened its doors. Located on 1,400 acres high in the Catskill Mountains Forest Preserve, DBZ continues to offer an ideal setting for authentic Zen practice to lay and ordained Zen students of all religious and cultural backgrounds.