March 2026 Sesshin (6-Day Meditation Retreat)
Three Treasures Sangha typically holds two, seven-day sesshin each year. Residential Sesshin with Jack Duffy and Lee Shields, March 8-14, 2026 These retreats are rigorous and quite demanding, consisting of about 10 hours of zazen (sitting meditation) per day. They are silent except for the teacher’s daily teisho (dharma talk), and for dokusan (practice-related interview with the teacher). Online and part time attendance are welcome. See the Sesshin page for more information.
Read MoreTalks from the September, 2025 Sesshin
Talk 1 – “No Body” Breaks a Toe – by Leland Shields Read the transcript Listen to the talk Talk 2 – Buddha-nature – by Madelon Bolling Read the transcript Talk 3 – Nothing in The World – by Leland Shields Read the transcript Listen to the talk Talk 4 – How is Buddhism Being Maintained Here? – by Leland Shields Read the transcript Listen to the Talk Talk 5 – Roaming the Mountains, Blue Cliff Record 36 – by Leland Shields Read the transcript Listen to the talk Talk 6 – The Way...
Read MoreThe Way Has to Flow Without Obstruction— a talk by Leland Shields (September 19, 2025)
Listen to the talk …The Way has to flow without obstruction. Why would you block it? The Way flows freely when the mind doesn’t dwell on anything. Once it dwells on something, it is imprisoned… Pine, Red. Three Zen Sutras: The Heart, The Diamond, and The Platform Sutras (Counterpoints Book 7) (pp. 81-82). Catapult. Kindle Edition. This passage was taken from a paragraph in Huineng’s Platform Sutra. It’s the first sentences that draw me in and stop me in my tracks. …The Way has to flow without obstruction. Why would you block it? The Way flows freely when the mind doesn’t dwell on anything…...
Read MoreRoaming the Mountains — a talk by Leland Shields (September 18, 2025)
Listen to the talk Blue Cliff Record Case 36; Roaming the Mountains Chosha went roaming the mountains one day. On returning, when he came to the gate the congregation leader said, “Where have you been, Master?” Chosha said, “Roaming the mountains.” The congregation leader said, “Where did you go?” Chosha said, “First I followed the fragrant grasses on the way out, then I came back pursuing the falling flowers.” The congregation leader said, “How very much like the sense of spring.” Chosha said, “It even surpasses the autumn dew dripping on the lotuses.” [Xuedou] added the words, “Thank you...
Read MoreHow is Buddhism Being Maintained Here? — a talk by Leland Shields (September 17, 2025)
Listen to the talk Blue Cliff Record Case 35: [Manjusri] “Three Three” [Manjusri] asked [Wu Cho], “Have you come from near or far?” “From the South,” replied [Wu Cho] (the south of China). “How is southern Buddhism being maintained?” asked [Manjusri]. [Wu Cho] replied, “In this corrupt age of the dharma, priests are venerating the precepts a little.” [Manjusri]asked, “How many are there?” “Three hundred here, five hundred there,” replied [Wu Cho]. How is Buddhism being maintained here?” [Manjusri]said, “Ordinary people and saints live together. Dragons and snakes are mixed.” “How many are...
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