Treeleaf Zendo
A Soto Zen Sangha
by Jundo Cohen Roshi For centuries, Zen Buddhists have been supported by, and been, artists, craftspeople and artisans. They make the beautiful implements that we use in our rituals, temples and practice places, from Buddha Statues to incense burners. Now, we have had such a gift to our Sangha. As you know, this Sunday, we…
We are very content to make this announcement, and ask everyone sitting with our sangha to join in its celebration. Our sangha will welcome through ‘Home Leaving‘ ordination, an additional three new novice-priest trainees, familiar and friendly faces around here: Kōriki Mark Jackson, Kōjitsu Brett Williams and Shinkon Joseph Gaston. They will join our present novice-priest…
TEACHER TALKS Roshi Jundo Cohen Sometimes I reach for analogies to express this Zen way. Today, as the weather warms, I turn to swimming … Imagine this world as a great pool, beyond Olympic-size, vast, holding all the world and all the galaxies, seemingly boundless. Where it came from, where it goes, we cannot be…
Dear All, an auspicious and happy announcement for our Treeleaf Sangha Master Dogen wrote in Shobogenzo-Menju, Face-To-Face Transmission: “Then Śākyamuni Buddha, in the order on Vulture Peak in the Western Country, India, among an assembly of millions, picked up an uḍumbara flower and winked. At that time the face of Venerable Mahākāśyapa broke into a smile.…
Spring Retreat Highlights Here’s a look back at our spring retreat, which was held on Saturday, April 5th of 2025, to both celebrate Hanamatsuri and 700 years since the death of Master Soji Keizan, the other patriarch of Soto Zen alongside Eihei Dogen Zenji. On Hanamatsuri We celebrated Hanamatsuri, which corresponds to Vesak in South Asian…
TEACHER TALKS Roshi Jundo Cohen As a young man, in search of “true Zen,” Master Dogen made the dangerous journey to China, experiencing great sea storms and illness along the way. Even after arriving and visiting many Zen teachers here and there, he still could not find what he searched for. Finally he found his…
Treeleaf Monthly Ryaku Fusatsu The Precept Recommitment and Atonement Ceremony From the time of the early Buddhist sangha, monks and nuns would gather at the time of the full and new moon to confess wrongdoing and atone for their actions. There was also a recital of the Prātimokṣa (rules of monastic discipline) and, for lay people,…
Treeleaf Monthly Zazenkai At the beginning of every month, usually on the first Friday/Saturday, the sangha gathers for a 4-hour practice period, led by our teacher and Treeleaf founder, Roshi Jundo Cohen. The format of the meeting is as follows: 50’ Ceremony (Hannya Shingyo, Sandokai) & zazen 10’ Kinhin 30’ Zazen 20’ Kinhin 40’ Dharma…
Treeleaf Weekly Zazenkai If you’d like to join the sangha for practice, at Treeleaf we offer weekly zazenkai (zazen meetings), where we formally practice together. Our weekly zazenkai led by Jundo Roshi, our principal teacher and founder, is held every Friday evening (US time) or Saturday very early morning (EU time). The format of the…
Treeleaf Sangha One Day Retreat Dear sangha members and friends, we will have a one day retreat on Saturday, April 5th of this year, to both celebrate Hanamatsuri and 700 years since the death of Master Soji Keizan, the other patriarch of Soto Zen alongside Eihei Dogen Zenji. The format for this retreat can be found…