Zen Retreats and Deep Meditation

Key wellness & practice strategies from the video (Zen retreats / deep meditation)

Meditate daily as the foundation

• Do zazen every day, even if it’s only “5 miserable minutes.”
• Choose a consistent duration that works for you (he often does ~30 minutes; sometimes 25 minutes).

Understand “depth” without turning it into a goal-state

• There’s no specific state you must achieve for the practice to be valid.
• What matters is right effort and being present with whatever state you’re in.
• The “problem” is yearning for another moment (including fantasies of enlightenment). Practice should focus on experiencing this moment fully.

Use longer practice (retreats) to shift experience—without chasing a trophy

• Retreats can feel “deeper” because the mind gets worn down from repetitive thoughts.
  • Thoughts are compared to chewed gum losing flavor.
• As you sit longer, you may notice the repetitiveness/boredom of thought—this can open different “spaces.”

In retreats, alternate sitting with walking meditation (kinhin)

• A typical structure described:
  • Multiple sittings (often 30–40 minutes each)
  • Interspersed with about ~10 minutes of kinhin (walking meditation)
• Kinhin is done very slowly in Soto Zen (and faster in Rinzai traditions).

Plan your retreat rhythm realistically

• An example retreat schedule includes early wake-up and many sitting blocks (e.g., wake around 4:30, first sitting around 5:00, then repeat cycles of sitting + kinhin).
• If you can’t do a full retreat, consider mini-retreats during the day.

Retreat “peak time” tends to be in the middle

• For him, the deepest period tends to occur around:
  • The middle of the retreat (e.g., 2nd day of 3-day)
  • Middle/near end of the last days for longer retreats (e.g., 5-day)

Don’t underestimate the value of doing what you can (even if limited)

• If you’re helping run retreats or can’t fully immerse, it may reduce your sense of depth—but the practice still matters.
• He encourages people to do retreats when possible.

Exercise analogy for motivation

• Zazen is likened to exercise:
  • More practice → more benefit
  • Less practice → less benefit
• But the goal isn’t to “win” a special state—it’s to train presence.

Presenters / sources mentioned

• Brad Warner (presenter; author of Zen books; creator of Hardcore Zen / hardcorezen.info)
• Shunryu Suzuki (Suzuki Roshi) — author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind; audiobook referenced: Becoming Yourself
• Nishijima Roshi — Zen teacher (retreats and practice guidance)
• Tim — his first teacher (mentions daily zazen guidance)
• Greg Fein — referenced (at Tassajara / Berkeley Zen Center)
• Muho Novke — referenced (German teaching in Japan)
• Shoshana Jack Halpern — Zen Confidential (YouTube channel) and author of Zen Confidential and The Lone White Monk
• Dōgen — referenced indirectly (timekeeping/incense analogy)
• Hardcorezen.info — donation/support source (PayPal/Patreon links mentioned)