Rohatsu Sesshin by Paul Medlyn

November 3, 2025

This month, sangha member Paul Medlyn shares a reflection on Rohatsu Sesshin, our intensive five-day meditation retreat held in early December. “Rohatsu” means “eighth day of the twelfth month” and refers to Bodhi Day, commemorating the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Image: Paul sitting in the Doan seat at Boundless Mind Temple

Paul grew up in Flint, Michigan, and had a career as a ballet and modern dancer before beginning his Zen practice in 1989 when he lived just three blocks from San Francisco Zen Center. His practice deepened and transformed in the late 1990s when he became a parent and sole income-earner, broadening his lay-practice dharma path. After moving to New York City from Portland, Oregon in 2021, Paul joined Brooklyn Zen Center and renewed his daily commitment to practice, returning to a new depth of dedication to the bodhisattva vow. He currently serves in the Doanryo and as Jisha to Korin Charlie-Sensei. His Dharma Name is 明氣 Myoki (radiant spirit).

Rohatsu is an annual renewal of faith in the path, and Buddha and in the Sangha.

It is not simply another retreat for me, but Rohatsu is a ritual enactment of the Buddha’s awakening. I sit as the Buddha sat, not to become someone else, but to return to this simple body and this boundless moment. A rare and vital intimate opportunity to enter a ritual space—one shaped by silence, repetition, and shared intention.

In this setting, we move and sit and realize a particular kind of intimacy, one without stories or titles. We come and fully show ourselves: in how we choose and fill a teacup, how we care for a cushion, or pause to help another. In these gestures, I glimpse the heart of awakening—alive in ordinary acts, shared moment by moment.

In the stillness of the zendo, the noise of the world and the presence of screens fall away. The schedule’s steadiness, the quiet between bells, the sound of breath and footsteps—these all become reminders of what is most real.

With deep bows,

Paul Medlyn

Image: Paul sitting in the Doan seat at Boundless Mind Temple

Join us for the Five Day Meditation Retreat, Rohatsu Sesshin this December 10–14. More info here.