Written by Scott Thornton
Every August, teachers in the Sanbo Zen lineage from all around the globe gather for a week of intensive koan training called Kenshukai, under the guidance of our Abbot Yamada Ryoun Roshi. The roughly 60 participants range from those who have recently completed the koan curriculum with their home teachers to those who have already been appointed Assistant Teacher, Teacher, Associate Roshi, or Full Roshi at previous Kenshukai.
These events are most often held somewhere in Europe, where the majority of our teachers live. This past August we were once again at Domicilium Zen Center in a small village called Weyarn in the foothills of the Alps, about 40 miles south of Munich. Very picturesque!
We begin each morning at 5:45am with four rounds of zazen and dokusan. Then there’s breakfast and samu (work practice). Then another block of zazen followed by a teisho. On the first and fourth days, the teisho is given by Ryoun Roshi; on the second day, by one of the Assistant Teachers; and on the remaining days, by an Associate or Full Roshi. This year we got to hear marvelous teisho from both Valerie and Henry, so Mountain Cloud was well represented!
At 11:00am, we switch gears and go into a conference room setting where the Kenshukai proper takes place. We pick up where we had left off the previous year in the koan curriculum and take up the koans sequentially until lunch time.
There is more zazen in the afternoon, then Kenshukai sessions before and after dinner, ending the evening with a final round of zazen and a closing ceremony.
On the middle day, the schedule is devoted to committee meetings and a General Matters meeting involving everyone, followed by lunch and an excursion of some sort, all sandwiched by early morning and late evening zazen.
The Kenshukai sessions themselves are intense. It can be intimidating to offer a presentation in front of everyone, knowing you’re likely to get some pushback and correction from the Roshi. On the other hand, there’s a dynamic energy and lots of laughter, not to mention valuable insights and clarification of obscure koan points, which we are able to bring back to our students.
On the final evening, Roshi announces his choices for a relatively small number of appointments, based on his perception of their progress and insight. This is obviously a very heightened moment, filled with a lot of joy and perhaps relief, often along with some measure of disappointment.
Another element that makes this undertaking so special is the social aspect. There are deep bonds and friendships between us, despite our coming from all over the world — Europe, Asia, Australia, North America. I have attended for 13 years now, and there are many who have done so far longer, including a few who have been doing this since 1989.
Unlike sesshin protocol, we get to socialize during meals and between activities during coffee and tea breaks. There’s always an outing of some sort — to a museum, a bus tour of the local area, or a walk in the forest — on the middle and final days, and a boisterous afterparty full of live music and dancing.
In his closing remarks each evening, Roshi always reminds us that what we are doing is vital for our own development, for our work with our students, and for the health and viability of our lineage, but that we should also enjoy ourselves and relish our friendship. He’s generally a light-hearted soul (despite his compassionate fierceness in dokusan), but he seems particularly happy at Kenshukai, which I find inspiring.
Who knew? Zen is fun!
Sanbo Zen is known for the rigor of its teacher training and also for its primary feature of being a lay tradition. We live in the real world of jobs and families and shocking news cycles. Our training and our practice are essential, and they help us to live into this time and place more fully. I am eternally grateful to my current teacher Henry Shukman Roshi, who continues to train me in koan work, and for my root teacher Ruben Habito Roshi for his many years of generous and wise guidance, and for initiating me into this amazing enterprise, Kenshukai!
Scott Thornton (San’un-ken) is a Teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage at Mountain Cloud. Scott provides practice guidance to personal practice retreatants 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.
