Over spring break, 15 students from Whitman College woke up at four a.m., stayed silent for six hours a day and performed manual labor with Zen monks. These students stayed at Tahoma Zen Monastery on Whidbey Island, Washington. For one week, they followed the schedule of the four monks living there.

Sophomore Josh Melander explained the exhaustive schedule:  the students would practice Sanskrit for a half hour and then students would then sit in zazen positions for a couple of hours. They would have a formal breakfast, silent, with choreographed bowl moving, and would clean their bowls with a pickle, never washing their bowls during the whole week. Then, they would then do samu, or manual labor, have lunch and relax during the afternoon. They would do some more sitting, some more samu and have another formal dinner. The evening consisted of sitting for another two hours, then going to sleep.

The students were required to be in silence for six hours a day, including an hour each for breakfast and lunch. The other four hours were spent in silent meditation.

“Because four of those hours were spent just sitting, you were forced to become in tune with your body and mind alike. I think anyone can achieve this level of discipline for five days and greatly benefit from the experience,” said Junior Miriam Kolker.

Kolker and Melander both found the trip fulfilling.

“I found the experience to be very interesting and an excellent introduction to Zen practice. Surprisingly for a meditation retreat, it was anything but relaxing, yet completely worthwhile,” Kolker said. Melander described the experience as “the real deal,” in terms of Zen meditation––this was the actual practice of the philosophy he is interested in.

The Tahoma Zen Monastery was founded by Taigen Shōdō Harada Rōshi, the abbot of a Zen training monastery in Okayama, Japan.

When asked if he would do it again, Melander replied with an enthusiastic “Oh yeah.” He said that he and three others who were on the trip were planning on going back for a more intense residency program over the summer.