Yellow Springs Sesshin

Above is the zendo created at Grailville, a retreat center in Loveland, OH, for the seven-day sesshin of the Yellow Springs Dharma Center. Through the window to the left is a bunch of cows, completing the midwestern Zen experience, moo’s and all. There were also a couple roosters nearby who nicely heralded the rising sun each day.

I drove down for sesshin to continue my koan play, thinking it’d be fun to see what koan work was like with another teacher. Just to be clear, I haven’t at all jumped from the Boundless Way ship and will be going to sesshin in late July with the Boundless Way folks too.

The itinerant teacher, Daniel Terragno (like James Ford) is a successor of John Tarrant but when John went independent from the Diamond Sangha, Daniel stayed with them.

I’ve known Daniel for more than a decade as a colleague, enjoying time with him whenever I can, like at meetings and such. Once we slipped out of an AZTA meeting in San Francisco and drove to Mill Valley to have a lovely evening with mutual friends.

As a teacher, Daniel struck me as well trained and deeply settled. I learned some important things about koan practice and teaching from him that I’m very grateful for.

If the size of the group were really dependent on the quality of the teaching, this guy would have a really big group. But Daniel is strikingly nondramatic and nonpromotional so works with small groups in Sebastopol, Chile, Argentina, and in Ohio.

The Diamond-Sangha style sesshin container was simple, clear, and well managed by the sincere efforts of the sesshin officers.

So this here is a hearty recommendation for Daniel and the Yellow Springs group.