Hokyoji Details

Hokyoji Zen Practice Community

Hokyoji Zen Practice Community offers opportunities to develop and deepen a steadfast practice of the Buddha's path in the Soto Zen tradition. It makes residential practice in a secluded natural setting available to long-term and visiting practitioners around the Midwest and the US. Our resident teacher is Rev. Dokai Georgesen, who received dharma transmission from our founder, Dainin Katagiri Roshi.

Established more than 30 years ago, the southern Minnesota facility's connection to nature and its history as a sacred place of inspiration and renewal make it a unique and powerful location for communal practice. In addition, it is the only place in the Midwest where teachers can bring their own sanghas and lead their own sesshins and retreats within their own styles and traditions. Set among forested hills in rural Minnesota on land selected by Katagiri Roshi and originally developed by the sangha of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, Hokyoji connects our practice with the land. The hills and the rustic buildings provide a sense of peace and a deep quiet that washes the spirit and strengthens our mindfulness.

While we welcome everyone to practice at Hokyoji, the resources we can offer to new practitioners are necessarily limited. We do not offer regular zazen instruction or classes in introductory Buddhism; we suggest doing these with your local sangha. Hokyoji is a place for experienced practitioners to engage in a more intensive schedule of zazen, work and study. Hokyoji is not a "monastery," with a large group of long-term resident practitioners that engages in a daily round of formal observances or clerical training. Dokai is our only permanent resident, although occasionally an individual seasoned practitioner makes an arrangement with him to engage in residential practice at Hokyoji for some period of time. The vast majority of our practice program is made up of events conducted by visiting sanghas, with some additional events led by Dokai that draw practitioners from a variety of sanghas. Most visiting practitioners come to Hokyoji as part of one of these scheduled events.

For complete updated information on Hokyoji and our program schedule, please visit www.hokyoji.org.