At Yokoji we hold 10-12 sesshin per year. There are three 7-day sesshin during each training period, both Spring and Fall, and then two or three weekend sesshin during the summer and winter. Sesshin is pivotal for serious practitioners. It compliments a daily sitting practice and allows a period of time when each person can sink in to the silence and take the rare opportunity to look closely at their life. The shorter sesshin are ideal for beginners, and every year we hold a Beginner's Mind Sesshin, aimed specifically at new practitioners. It is best to take part in at least one of the shorter sesshin before signing up for a longer one. The schedule is full and the days are long, so it works best to experience a weekend-long sesshin first. We also encourage newcomers to attend one of our Introduction to Zen classes first, which we hold every two months. Please check the events page to see when the next one is.

Every year we also have a New Year's sesshin which starts on December 28th and ends on January 1st. This is one of the most popular sesshin of the year. We sit and hold various services (including a fire service where we burn scraps of paper with our hindrances noted down on them) up until midnight on New Year's Eve and then at midnight we all join in for a ceremony to celebrate the end of the old and the coming of the new. Afterwards, we have an informal toast and some snacks. In the morning we hold more services; a fire service, where we offer our resolutions with incense into a ceremonial fire, and a memorial service honoring the founders of the temple.