About the White Wind Zen Community

The White Wind Zen Community is the Sangha of students of Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi. The Community was founded in 1985 and has several aspects: the Northern Mountain Order, which is the monastic core of the community and the community of formal, general, associate and public students.

In 1985, when Zen Master Anzan Hoshin was asked to name the Sangha of students who had gathered around him, he named this community White Wind Zazenkai - Hakukaze Zazenkai, after the monastery that his own teacher had founded, Hakukaze-ji, and the name of the stream of Dogen's Lineage of Zen that he had inherited and has now passed on. Zazenkai means "gathering together for zazen."

The Zazenkai was renamed White Wind Zen Community in 1989 and is now based in the Zen Centre of Ottawa. It now also has branch centres in Wolfville, Nova Scotia and Harrow, England and students practising individually around the world.

Programs

The Community provides an ongoing environment of study and training for monastics and students. This includes morning and evening sittings, four 7-day O-sesshin (intensive training periods), seven 2-day sesshin and one yaza (all-night sitting) each year, retreats, Dharma Assemblies, residential training, and study of the vast body of traditional Dharma. A variety of classes and tutorials are also available to students.

As well as the extensive teisho (presentations of the Teachings) by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin, and his Dharma successors Ven. Shikai Zuiko osho and Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho also present Dharma Talks.

The Zen Centre of Ottawa also hosts frequent tours and makes available speakers to grade schools and high schools throughout the region.

Several programs are conducted each year that create new opportunities for the public to contact the Dharma. These include:

(Notices about upcoming Naikan contemplation intensives and mindfulness days and retreats are posted on the "Resources" page)

Enrolment

Enrolment in the Zen Community as a student of the Roshi takes seven basic forms: associate student, general student, probationary formal student, formal student, monastic, branch student, or public student.

Associate Students may attend the Thursday evening associate sittings, arrange for daisan (private meetings with a Dharma Teacher) or practice interviews (private meetings with a practice advisor) and have access to recorded teisho and Dharma Talks. In addition they may attend Dharma Assemblies, schedule retreats or engage in a period of residential training.

General Students attend one or more of the general sittings and may arrange to attend all scheduled formal sittings except for sittings and intensives such as sesshin that are specifically designated for formal students or monastics.

Probationary Formal Students and Formal Students Study and practice intimately with the Roshi, or Shikai osho or Jinmyo osho and attend scheduled formal sittings and monthly sesshin.

Monastic Training Formal students committed to deepening their own practice and becoming a resource for the practice of their fellow students may enter the rigor of monastic training as a laymonk or monk.

Branch Members practise at centres or groups established under the direction of the Roshi. Residential training at Dainen-ji is available.

Public Students There are also public students practising and studying at home in Canada, the United States, Europe, India, China, Japan, the Middle East, and West Africa. These students receive regular guidance and instruction by email, telephone and letter. They may also download teisho, Dharma Talks and classes in MP3 format from our Media Site. For more information concerning the resources available to public students, please read the information on the "Long Distance Training Program" Page.