2025 Rohatsu Sesshin with Valerie & Henry

2025 Rohatsu Sesshin: Waking Up to This World
Co-led by Valerie Forstman and Henry Shukman
Saturday, December 6 – Friday, December 12
**Onsite participation is full for this sesshin – use Register button below to join waitlist and register for online participation in the meantime!**
Join us for this annual Rohatsu Sesshin. Valerie and Henry will be co-leading the retreat from Mountain Cloud’s zendo and the event will be hybrid.
For this week of Rohatsu we set aside our daily concerns, our ordinary conventional social ties, and release ourselves back into the original ground that is the heart of the great wisdom traditions – as well as the heart of our lives.
Sesshin literally means “touching or meeting the heart.” This is the practice that opened up Shakymuni Buddha to his true, original nature. A week of silent sitting, in which we commemorate his awakening with our own. This tried and true practice can open up the boundlessness at the core of each of our lives. We gather in stillness to let ourselves relax, rest, and release into the true source of all experience – the awake world that is our true home.
We’ll be taking our cues from the profoundly clear Japanese master Hakuin. Hakuin is celebrated in Zen. He struggled ardently for many years to get thoroughly clear about his own true nature. When he finally did, he composed a beautiful verse celebrating the power of meditation – the “Song of Zazen.” We will be using this renowned text, alongside some Zen koans, as agents of nourishment and transformation as we sit together.
Join Valerie and Henry for Rohatsu 2025 at Mountain Cloud. In-person registration is full but online attendance is open and encouraged.
3 Ways to Participate:
1. Online: Full Time ($345)
Full access to retreat (from 6am MST – 9pm MST daily), receive daily talk recordings via email, and access to the optional 1-1 guidance sessions with Zen Teacher Carolyn Seburn.
2. Online: Part Time ($175)
Design your own schedule and receive daily talk recordings via email. For example, you could join for the Dharma Talk Block from 9:30am – 12pm which includes guided movement, 1-3 periods of silent meditation, a dharma talk, and optional break-out discussion sessions with our assistant teachers. Or, you could join for just the Morning & Evening blocks to bookend your day. Whatever schedule you choose, each day you will receive the recording of the day’s talk and Q&A to view at your convenience.
3. Just the Talks ($75)
Not able to sit with us but curious to hear how Henry and Valerie co-create their talks over the course of the week? Sign up to receive recordings of daily dharma talks & Q&As, so you can follow along with the progression of the retreat.
Immersive Online Experience
We are thrilled to offer a comprehensive online experience that can offer profound connection and depth. Online participation includes:
- Orientation & Welcome Session: Saturday, December 6th at 6:00 PM MT. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to meet your fellow online retreatants, set the tone, and establish intentions for the week ahead.
- Closing Session & Integration Session: We offer a closing circle at the end of the retreat, and an “integration” session in the week after the retreat. These provide extra context, opportunity for Q&A, and the chance to connect with fellow participants.
- Daily Recordings: Receive recordings of Talks and Q&A sessions each day, allowing you to revisit and deepen your understanding of the teachings at your own pace.
- Optional Break-Out Group Support Sessions: Days 1-3 we will offer sessions with Scott Thornton, Carolyn Seburn, and Shana Smith, for personalized support and guidance as you settle into your practice, make adjustments, or navigate challenges.
- Optional 1-1 Practice Guidance: Full-time participants will have the opportunity to meet 1-1 with Sanbo Zen teacher Carolyn Seburn, providing extra support to dive even deeper during the retreat.
Explore our Online Retreat Handbook to delve deeper into the practices and principles of our Zen retreats. Learn how to create an optimal environment for deep practice from the comfort of your home. Click here to access the handbook.
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Your Online Support Team

Carolyn Seburn is a Sanbo Zen Teacher based in Ontario and a regular teacher in our hybrid/online events. She provides online dokusan to our members and during our 6-day retreats, dharma talks, and workshops for our 30 Days of Zen Course.
She is an authorized Dharma successor of Roselyn Stone (Sei’un An – Clearing Away the Clouds) Rôshi of the Mountain Moon Sangha (Toronto and Brisbane). She has been practicing Zen meditation since 1985 and guiding Zen practice since 2015. Married, with one offspring, Carolyn is also a biologist and public servant who focuses on wildlife conservation. Carolyn is also appointed a Zen teacher with Sanbo Zen International.

Scott Thornton (San’un-ken) is a Teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage and a Teacher and Residency Advisor at Mountain Cloud. Scott provides practice guidance to residents and leads our weekly Book Group, monthly Aging Buddhas gatherings, and weekly Intro to Zen classes.
Scott and his wife, Guiding Teacher Valerie Forstman Roshi, came to work at Mountain Cloud in July of 2022. After an early career as an actor and singer, he turned to Clinical Psychology, a profession he has worked in for over 45 years (and from which he plans to retire in early 2026), though he still enjoys the occasional singer-songwriter gig! He began meditating on his own for 12 years before joining The Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas and beginning Koan study with Ruben Habito Rōshi in 2000. He continues his training with Henry Shukman Roshi.
Shana Smith is an Assistant Teacher of Sanbo Zen based in Florida. Shana provides online 1-1 practice support to our members, and provides workshops for our 30 Days of Zen Course and sesshins.
Shana discovered yoga in 1990 and began attending regular classes in several different styles of yoga. After several years of ardent practice and study, she began to teach at her local studio and Yoga Temple. Shana became interested in the sensations and insights she experienced in Savasana, which led her to begin a regular meditation practice and in 2007 took refuge in the Sanbo Zen Lineage, and recently become a Sanbo Zen Assistant teacher. Over the years, she has found a tremendous synergy between Yoga and Zen, and integrates the two in her daily, committed practice.
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Program Cost
Just the Talks – $75 (Recordings of 6 Talks & 3 Q&As emailed daily)
Part time – $175 (3 days or just a portion of each day)
Full time – $345 (4-6 days)
Benefactor – $425, pays for your attendance and supports scholarships for others.
Scholarships – We will also provide 25% and 50% needs-based scholarships upon registration.
For general questions about the retreat contact Xander.
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Sample Retreat Schedule (Mountain Time)
* Note that this Sesshin starts on Saturday evening rather than the usual Monday evening.
Saturday
- 6pm Dinner & Orientation
Daily Schedule (Sunday – Friday)
Morning
- 6:00-7:30am Sitting
- 7:30-9:30am Break
Main Block
- 9:30am -Noon Sitting and dharma talk, and chants (recorded and shared via email in the evening)
- Noon -1:30pm Break
- 2:00-5:30pm Movement, Sitting and Q&A (recorded and shared via email in the evening)
Evening Block
- 5:30-7:00pm Break
- 7:00-8:30pm Sitting & Closing Chants
Friday
- Same as above until Closing Ceremony at 11am.
- Start
- December 6
- End
- December 12
- Event Categories
- Retreats, Sanbo Zen, Sesshin, Special Events