RESIDENCY at DZC

Dharma Zen Center Residency Program

Our founding teacher Zen Master Seung Sahn encouraged his students to live together in Zen Centers where they can derive strength and support from each other's continuing practice. The regular schedule of practicing and working together acts as a backdrop for seeing our karma appear and disappear. We use the analogy of washing potatoes together in a big pot of water. As the potatoes bump into one another, they clean each other more quickly and efficiently than if each potato was cleaned individually.

In the Zen Center, we can see clearly how our opinions create problems, by coming between us and the situation that we find ourselves in. When we let go of these opinions, it is possible to live our every day lives with clarity and harmony. As we learn to cooperate, to see clearly and to accept people and situations as they really are, our minds become strong and wide. Then it becomes possible to act harmoniously and help other people with no trace of ourselves.

Residency requirements include: 

• Attend 8 practice periods and 1 retreat

• Have a meeting with the Abbot and Guiding Teacher

• Attend a house meeting and meet with current residents

• Writing a note about your intentions to the Abbot

If you are interested in residential training and would like to learn more, please contact us.