- A 90-Day Online Guided Practice Period
Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha
June 12th – September 9th, 2024
June 12th –
September 9th, 2024
Remaining*
*Register now and gain access to any resources or recorded dharma talks that have already been shared on our course platform.
Image: Tangen Harada Roshi, © Kogaku Harada
About Commit to Sit
For new and advanced practitioners alike, Commit to Sit is a guided 90-day practice period designed to empower you on your Zen meditation journey through a structured and supportive environment led by experienced teachers.
This unique practice period includes:
A Classic Zen Text as our Guide
This Summer’s Commit to Sit guiding text will be Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha: The Life and Zen Teachings of Tangen Harada Roshi. Through anecdotes, stories, and practical wisdom, readers will gain an intimate understanding of Harada Roshi’s life and deep insights on Zen philosophy and practice offered through his unique teachings.
Weekly Dharma Talks and Q&A Sessions
12 renowned Zen teachers from across the US and Japan will join us for a weekly talk and interactive Q&A — live-streamed Monday evenings at 7:00pm ET and available afterwards via video recordings.
In-Depth Learning with Daily Emails
An email with selections from the guiding text and a video reflection for the day by our Guiding Teacher, Koshin Sensei, will be sent to your inbox each day of the practice period. These serve as supportive tools in the learning process and offer consistent guidance.
90 Days of Video Reflections from Koshin Sensei
Short video teachings from Koshin Sensei reflecting on the guiding text will be included in each of the daily emails.
Daily Meditation Opportunities with a Global Community
Learn and practice in our Online & In-Person Zendo (the “One-do”) with participants from around the world. Foster a sense of community wherever you are.
Discussion Opportunities
Engage in reflective discussions with fellow Commit to Sit practitioners through a private online forum.
...and more!
An International Group of Sōtō Zen Teachers
Led by New York Zen Center’s Guiding Teacher Koshin Paley Ellison with weekly dharma talks from 13 incredible Zen teachers from the US and Japan.
Commit today
The standard cost of this program is $108 — all payment levels offer the same access to the program. Please choose a payment level that works for your financial situation. Supporter level and above pricing is available for those who wish to increase their support of NYZC and our work to make the dharma accessible to all.
What Participants Are Saying
“An opportunity for accountability for zazen practice with the NYZC. I have no Zen center near me in South Carolina, so it has been wonderful to be able to participate in this period with you all. I believe this is my third one!”
“This has been a reawakening and a deepening of my practice. Through the text and discussions I was able to see through my limited experience to a deeper understanding that allowed my practice to bloom. Moments of clarity and tempering expectations helped me find the dedication to maintain my practice. I have never had a stronger practice with the continued understanding to let it be what it is. This has been life changing.”
“I have participated in every Commit to Sit. I do it, and will continue to do it, because it provides me things that I lack in my own practice: structure, discipline, and community support. CTS is gentle, reliable, well organized, and consistent.”
“This has been very special for me – communal support to deepen my practice. I’m a long-time meditator going mostly solo. The daily emails with the texts and the weekly dharma talks and the sense of sangha have been incredibly supportive. This is my first CTS with NYZC and I’m so grateful.”
“It’s a way to keep in touch with the practice, beyond my daily meditation – a way to keep a finger touching the universe.”
“Commit to sit has become my primary engagement with the broader Buddhist community. It is a way for me to be part of a sangha. It deepens my practice and understanding and provides motivation to sit regularly.”
“Commit to Sit has come to mean a lot to me. I feel that through my association with NYZC via Commit to Sit that I’m able to access the larger Sangha. Commit to Sit enables me to have a regular structured practice within Sangha relationship that fits my schedule and inclinations. I especially appreciate the abilty to access dharma talks videos after the fact as I’m not often able to be present for the live Zoom sessions.”
“Extremely generous offering of the dharma. So many thanks for the huge amount of work this took.”
“For me, the daily readings and the dharma talks are very important. The writings that have been selected for the sessions and the associated dharma talks have opened my mind to a greater understanding of Zen practice and meaning.”
“Making A Vow” | Calligraphy by Tangen Harada Roshi
About the “Author”
About the “Author”
Tangen Harada (1924-2018) was one of the most revered contemporary Zen masters of the Soto School. Born in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, he trained at Hosshin-ji monastery and became an heir of the famous Sogaku Harada Roshi. At age thirty, Tangen Roshi became the abbot of Bukkoku-ji monastery, where he taught for close to sixty years. Maintaining a strict and traditional spirit of practice, he accepted all manner of students—monastic and lay and of all nationalities, gender, and ages, influencing the many students and teachers around the world who practiced under his guidance until his death in 2018.
Expand your practice this summer
Commit to Sit started June 12th but there is still plenty of practice period left until we close on September 9th! The standard cost of this program is $108 and all payment levels provide access to the same program materials. Please choose a payment level that works for your financial situation.
