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55
Friday Retreat Schedule
If you did not stay at the monastery the night before, you will need to arrive by 5:30 a.m.
to give yourself time to put your belongings away and receive any necessary instruction. 
Overnight Guest
If you stayed at the monastery the night before, you will be woken at 5:00 a.m. by three strikes on
the densho (bell) outside the door, or a knock on the door. Please respond to let us know you are
awake by simply saying “gassho”. Following that turn the light on, sit in seiza (a kneeling
posture) and with your hands in gassho, recite the Verse of Waking:
As we wake this morning,
May all beings
Realize each dharma as it is,
Pervading the ten directions.
SA MAM SA HAM AH
You will have 40 minutes to wash and dress (owing to the number of residents and washrooms,
retreatants should shower during the free period after breakfast or lunch rather than first thing in
the morning).  Put away all of your belongings, as there should be no personal items left in view.
You may have some tea or coffee in the Dining Hall. Please be sure to leave the coffee area neat
and orderly. 
There are no scheduled sitting on Friday mornings, and so you will be sitting alone unless
another student has scheduled to sit a retreat. 
Preparation for the 6:00 Morning Sitting
At 5:40 a.m. please go to the Hatto to check that everything is in order. 
Open the left-hand door of the Butsudan by gently pressing on it to release the push latch
and, using the stone and matches provided, light the candles. Place the burnt match in the small
blue and white Chinese bowl. If you need new candles, you will find a replacement set on the
glass shelf outside the rear door of the Hatto. 
Inside the Butsudan you will also find a box of incense marked “for retreatants”. Place a stick of
incense in front of the incense burner, running horizontally along the front edge of the Butsudan. 
Finally, make sure that the kaishaku, clock, and gong are placed next to your seat. You will be
sitting in the Shinsu's seat unless you are sitting a retreat with other students, in which case, the
senior-most student can sit in the shinsu’s seat; the others should sit in the seat to the right of
Jinmyo osho’s seat. The senior-most student will act as jikido (time keeper for the sitting rounds).
You should have all of this done and be ready to enter the Hatto to begin kinhin by 5:45. 
6:00 Morning Sitting
Opening the Butsudan in the Hatto
Walking clockwise around the room, walk to the Butsudan. Stand in front of it with your feet
together and bring your hands to gassho (palm to palm). Without first bowing, lower yourself into
a kneeling posture (seiza) and then bow. Straighten, and pick up the stick of incense. Hold it
vertically between the tips of your index fingers, raise your hands and place the knuckles of your