October news: Soto Zen North America, Ask Me Anything, and upcoming events

Posted on Oct 22, 2025

Soto Zen North America and THZ

About ten years ago, an idea started to form around establishing a true Soto Zen denomination outside Japan, something that had never been done. Years and many hundreds of hours of meetings later, it came together as Soto Zen North America. A Board of Directors was put together a couple years ago (I was part of it), and from that we established a Denominational Council; together, the two bodies hold administrative and religious responsibility for the organization.

Three-day retreat: September 12-14

Posted on Sep 2, 2025

We’re hosting a 3-day retreat from Friday, September 12 to Sunday, September 14 at The Deanery Project (751 W Ship Harbour Rd, Lake Charlotte, Nova Scotia). You can join us in person or online at our regular Zoom link (passcode = vow). 

June news: upcoming events and more

Posted on Jun 2, 2025

June 20-22 ceremonies and events

From Friday, June 20 to Sunday, June 22, we’ll be holding a series of events including shinsanshiki (Mountain Seat Ceremony, where Koun will be officially installed as abbot of the temple) and hossenshiki (Dharma Combat Ceremony).

Hossenshiki and shinsanshiki: a note from Koun

Posted on Apr 7, 2025

I’ve been asked to explain the ceremonies we’re doing this June. It's not easy; they exist in a very particular historical context. So I’ll try to explain some of that first.