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A sesshin is a period of intensive meditation (zazen)
in a
Zen monastery.
While the daily routine in the monastery requires the monks to meditate
several hours a day, during a sesshin they devote themselves almost
exclusively to zazen practice. Traditionally, the long meditation periods
are only interrupted for a few hours of sleep, short rest breaks, meals,
and short periods of work (samu);
and even these activities should be done with the fullest possible
attention. During the sesshin period, the monotony is a bit broken by the
master (roshi)
giving presentations (teisho)
and individual directions (dokusan/daisan/sanzen)
to the monks.
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