Welcome. Come sit with us on Wednesdays at 7 PM and experience silence in community.

We also offer day-long zazenkai meditations most months, and periodic 4-day sesshin retreats.

Orientation to our Zen forms and instruction in posture, breath and walking meditation, is offered to newcomers and visitors. Please feel free to write information@oneheartsangha.org if you would like a brief orientation before your first visit. You can also read more about our Zen practice. Wear comfortable clothing. Come as you are. You may sit on a cushion or a chair. Feel free to bring your own cushion or bench if you wish.

In Zen, everyone is a beginner in each moment.

Events

Wednesday Evenings 7:00-8:30 p.m., Washington Ethical Society

Visit our Location page for detailed directions, transit and parking information, and a map.

Arrive at 6:45 pm, find a cushion or chair, and be seated by 6:55. At 7:00 the opening bell rings for first sitting period. We sit three periods of 25-minutes of zazen with kinhin between. Chant practice is during the third sit. While we encourage you to sit zazen for all three periods, you may attend as many sitting periods as your schedule or comfort permits.

If you arrive late, please wait outside of the zendo on one of the benches or chairs in the main foyer until the next kinhin (walking mediation) period starts. Set up your cushion and join the zendo during kinhin. Please also leave during kinhin if you need to depart early.

Monthly Saturday Zazenkai - Day of Zazen 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

We hold a monthly Saturday Zazenkai, usually on the second Saturday. Zazenkai or “Day of Zen” is a chance to deepen our practice by sitting together for longer than on Wednesday evenings. Please visit our Zazenkai page for more details or to register.

Haiku Study on Sunday afternoons 4:30-5:30 p.m., on Zoom

Zen has a longstanding haiku poetry tradition. For more information, or to join the haiku study email list, contact Sensei Bob at RobertErtman@msn.com.

Special Events

Sesshin - Residential Retreats

Periodically we hold three day residential sesshins, for an immersive period of silence and living in community. They are generally held over a weekend in May, September, or January. Please visit our Sesshin page for more details.

Term Intensives

Sometimes we offer Zen intensives as a way to deepen practice. You can speak to a teacher about the Zen 108 at any time. Group events are announced in advance.

Bearing Witness Retreats

In September 2025, there will be a Bearing Witness Street Retreat in downtown Washington DC. Street retreats are an opportunity to bear witness to the living conditions on the street. Visit the Street Retreat page for more information.