ZenistPracticing the Way Retreat
with Rev. Onryu Kennedy and Rev. Musho Darin Podulke-Smith·Soto Zen
Four-day hybrid retreat exploring Buddha activity as embodied liberation and awakening to the dignity in all beings. Co-led by Rev. Onryu Kennedy and Rev. Musho Darin Podulke-Smith, the retreat includes zazen, dharma talks, discussion, and communal practice. Online and in-person options available.
About this retreat
This retreat centers on a single theme drawn from Dogen Zen: the recognition that all beings are already manifesting Buddha activity—that awakening is not something to attain but something to recognize in the dignity and potential present in each moment. The teaching suggests that Buddhist practice itself is this manifestation happening, moment to moment.
The retreat is structured around zazen, dharma talks, and discussion, with time for buffet meals and building communal space together. The suggested readings—Dogen's essays on acting Buddhas and the bodhisattva's four embracing actions, alongside texts by Havel and King on social action and dignity—signal that this retreat connects contemplative practice to ethical engagement in the world.
Format options
The retreat offers both in-person and online participation. In-person participants receive meals and lodging; online participants join remotely. The center has not yet published the full daily schedule or clarified how online participants engage with zazen, meals, and communal space-building.
Funding
Registration fees cover basic costs only. Teachers are supported through dana (voluntary donation), offered before, during, or after the retreat.
Originally listed on Hokyoji Zen Practice Community's website.
Full details from Hokyoji Zen Practice Community
All Beings are Manifesting Buddha Activity
Co-lead by Associate Teacher, Rev. Onryu Kennedy and Rev. Musho Darin Podulke-Smith
Buddha activity is embodied liberation, awakening to the living dignity and infinite potential in all beings. We will explore how Buddhist practices are interpenetrating and manifesting in each moment. There will be opportunities in this retreat for zazen, discussion, dharma talks, buffet style meals and co-creating communal space.
This retreat will be hybrid. The schedule is here:
Suggested reading in preparation for this retreat:
Eihei Dogen, “The Dignified Presence of Acting Buddhas”: http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shobogenzo/022gyobutsu.pdf
Eihei Dogen, “The Bodhisattva’s Four Embracing Actions” https://hokyoji.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/TheBodhisattvasEmbrace.pdf
Vaclav Havel, “The Power of the Powerless”: https://mrdivis.yolasite.com/resources/Vaclav%20Havel’s%20Power%20of%20the%20Powerless.pdf
Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” https://hokyoji.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/1963_mlk_letter.pdf
Registration fees only cover our basic costs. Hokyoji compensates teachers through the dana system. If you would like to contribute, you may do so before, at, or after the retreat. If you would like to donate online, please click here.
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