Dharma Teacher Weekend 2026

October 17 through 18, 2026

In-Person and Online at Providence Zen Center

Deadline for Overnight In-Person Attendees: 12:00 PM Eastern Time on October 9th, 2026 (or sooner, depending on the number of registrations)
Deadline for In-Person Day Attendees: 12:00 PM Eastern Time on October 14th, 2026
Deadline for Online Attendees: 12:00 PM Eastern Time on October 15th, 2026

Register for DTW Today

The Kwan Um School of Zen Dharma Teacher Weekend is right around the corner and we would like to invite all Dharma Teachers (DTs) and Dharma Teachers-in-Training (DTiTs) to join us as we practice together and share together and learn something along the way.

If you are a DT or DTiT, you should have received an email regarding the upcoming Dharma Teacher Weekend. If you did not receive one, please contact the office with a current email address.

Keeping the Dharma Alive

How do we receive the Kwan Um tradition, embody it in our own lives, and pass it on in ways that meet this moment?

This weekend explores the many ways Dharma Teachers keep the teaching alive: through practice and forms, talks and orientation, service and peaceful communication, welcoming newcomers and growing sanghas. We’ll learn from senior teachers, strengthen practical teaching skills, explore creative and contemporary approaches—from poetry and calligraphy to therapy and technology—and reconnect with the heart of our role: helping others.

Together, we’ll honor what has been handed down while asking how the Dharma can remain vital, accessible, and responsive to the world today.

The Kwan Um School of Zen | Americas is hosting the Dharma Teacher Weekend both in-person and on Zoom this year. This Weekend is open to all Kwan Um School of Zen Dharma Teachers and Dharma Teachers-in-Training.

We invite Dharma Teachers and Dharma Teachers-in-Training from all the Kwan Um School of Zen sanghas worldwide. Since the event is in-person as well, the times will naturally be more accommodating for those in the US time zones. We ask for your understanding in this, and we’re happy to have you join us in this event as you can!

As a Dharma Teacher, you set the example for our School. “How can I help?” is the question we always ask. We actually have an answer to that question! Please volunteer to clean up after meals, to help with tech, to set up the Dharma Room, to do laundry, and to prepare breakfast for your sangha.

If you register for Dharma Teacher Weekend in-person, we would sincerely appreciate your help with these tasks. If you’re attending online, you can still assist by offering Zoom (tech) support.

We will confirm your volunteering assignment(s) with you via email before the Dharma Teacher Weekend begins. If anything changes, please let us know ASAP so that we can find a new person to help out with that task. Please keep an eye out for an email from membership@kwanumzen.org regarding your volunteer assignment(s).

Thank you for your help! We are deeply grateful for your practice and support.

Our Covid policy for the weekend is:

  • We ask that you self-test the day of your expected arrival at the event. If you are positive, PLEASE STAY HOME.

  • If you had contact with a Covid positive case in the last week before arrival, are sick, or are experiencing Covid-like symptoms, PLEASE STAY HOME.

  • Masks are optional.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Dharma Teacher Weekend Schedule
(still in-progress)

The Pagoda Gift Shop will be open during breakfasts, lunches, and dinner. Anytime the door is open, come on in!

Evening Events on Friday, October 16th

6:30 PM to 7:30 PM: Evening Practice chanting and meditation
Location: Main Dharma Room

7:30 PM to 8:15 PM: Welcome / Check-in / Tea

8:15 PM to 9:15 PM: Friday Night Jam
Location: Main Dharma Room

Saturday, October 17th

5:00 AM: Wake Up

5:15 AM: Bow to Zen Masters

5:20 AM: 108 Bows

5:50 AM to 7:30 AM: Chanting, Sitting & Kong-An Interviews (in-person and on Zoom)
Location: Main Dharma Room, interview rooms (TBD), and on Zoom

7:30 AM to 8:30 AM: Breakfast
Location: Dining Room

Morning Program and Dharma Faire

8:30 AM to 9:10 AM: Icebreaker

9:10 AM to 9:20 AM: Intro + 5-Minute Reflection

9:20 AM to 9:25 AM: Break

9:25 AM to 9:45 AM: Dharma Faire Round 1

  • “‘You’re Welcome!’ Welcoming New People / Creating a Warm Space,” led by Danielle Alpher

  • “Marketing 101,” led by Edahn Small and Solomiya Martynovych

  • “Giving Orientation Instruction,” led by Diego Villasenor

  • Zoom: “Senior Teacher Session – Connection and Mutuality in Senior Dharma Teacher Interviews,” led by Rebecca Otte JDPSN

9:45 AM: 5-Minute Break

9:50 AM to 10:10 AM: Dharma Faire Round 2

  • “Giving Dharma Talks,” led by James Hudspeth

  • “Poetry Workshop,” led by Zen Master Jok Um (Ken Kessel)

  • “Fun with Forms Workshop,” led by Carol Boudreau

  • “Giving Orientation Instruction” (repeated), led by Diego Villasenor

  • Zoom: “Peaceful Communication,” led by Zen Master Dae An (Bogumila Malinowska)

  • Zoom: “Facets of the Same Jewel: Some skillful means for teaching from the point of view of different traditions,” led by Tim Colohan JDPSN

10:10 AM to 10:15 AM: Break

10:15 AM to 10:35 AM: Dharma Faire Round 3

  • “Designing the Kwan Um App” / Build a website in 20 minutes, led by Edahn Small

  • “Zen History,” led by Mark Brenner

  • “Giving Dharma Talks” (repeated), led by James Hudspeth

  • “Fun with Forms Workshop” (repeated), led by Carol Boudreau

  • Zoom: “How to be an HDT,” led by Tony Sager JDPSN

10:35 AM to 10:45 AM: Break

10:45 AM to 11:30 AM: Morning Program Full Session 1

  • “You’re a Dharma Teacher, Now What?” led by Kwan Haeng Sunim JDPS

  • “Starting a Sitting Group / Growing a Community,” led by Solomiya Martynovych, Daniella Baker, Mark Van Noppen
    On Zoom Zen Master Dae An (Bogumila Malinowska)

11:35 AM to 12:15 PM: Morning Program Full Session 2

  • TBD

12:15 PM to 1:15 PM: Lunch
Location: Dining Room

1:15 PM to 2:15 PM: Post-Lunch Activities

  • Casual walk outside, led by David Fitzpatrick
    Location: Meet in Foyer

  • Art Mural, led by Willie Garver
    Location: Main Dharma Room

  • Zen Calligraphy, led by Jess Rowe
    Location: Dining Room

2:20 PM to 3:05 PM: Post-Lunch Session 1

  • “Between Zen and Desire – The Path Of the Lay Teacher,” led by Colin Beavan JDPSN 

  • Zoom: “Perfect! – The Six Paramitas,” led by Zen Master Bon Hae (Judy Roitman)

3:10 PM to 4:00 PM: Post-Lunch Session 2

  • Zoom: “Zen All The Time — Great Doubt in the Midst of Our Everyday Life,” led by Zen Master Bon Soeng (Jeff Kitzes)
    Our practice in the dharma room is like going to the gym. Necessary, but not enough. This workshop is about using our pain, our struggles, our joys, our relationships, and everything else as a Dharma Gate, waking us up and helping this world.

4:10 PM to 5:25 PM: (Consulting) Interview Questions Practice

Breakout groups with prompts and discussion

  • In-person facilitators: Terry Cronin JDPSN; Colin Beavan JDPSN; Zen Master Jok Um (Ken Kessel); Kwan Haeng Sunim JDPS; Dennis Duermier JDPSN

  • Zoom facilitators: Tony Sager JDPSN; Zen Master Bon Hae (Judy Roitman), Tim Colohan JDPSN

5:30 PM to 6:30 PM: Dinner

Saturday Evening

6:45 PM to 7:15 PM:  Special Chanting

7:30 PM to 9:00 PM:

  • Yoga & Sound Bath, led by Jacqueline Vischer, Lisa Odom-Villela, Danielle Alpher

  • Campfire & S’mores: Stories with Zen Master Seung Sahn, led by Darren Brown

Sunday, October 18th

5:00 AM: Wake up

5:15 AM: Bow to Zen Masters

5:20 AM: 108 Bows

5:50 AM to 7:30 AM: Chanting, Sitting & Kong-An Interviews (both in-person and on Zoom)

7:30 AM to 8:30 AM: Breakfast

Sunday Program

8:30 AM to 9:30 AM: Full Session / Workshop: “Having Better Talks,” led by Zen Master Jok Um (Ken Kessel)
Through a provocative vignette involving disagreement over a hot-button issue in a Zen community, participants will explore what it means to live the Dharma in moments of conflict. In small groups grounded in listening and personal reflection, we’ll examine what arises in ourselves, what the moment may require of speakers and listeners, and how something of value can emerge without prescribing a single “correct” response.

9:30 AM to 9:45 AM: Break

9:45 AM to 10:45 AM: Whole-group session, guest speaker: Zen Master Wu Kwang (Richard Schrobe) – Regional Zen Master

“The Kwan Um approach to practice and teaching and the Sixth Patriarch’s Zen”
The Korean Zen tradition views itself as being neither Rinzai or Soto which are the two lineages that exist in Japanese Zen currently. Korean Zen describes itself as being Sixth Patriarch’s (Sixth Zen Ancestor’s) Zen which is an earlier lineage.

This talk and discussion will explore the influences of Sixth Patriarch’s Zen on Kwan Um teaching and practice.

11:00 AM to 12:00 PM: Closing Circle Talk
Advice to practitioners and teachers; what each person is taking home.

12:00 PM to 1:00 PM: Lunch, Clean Up, and Goodbyes