Mountain Seat Ceremony

The Mountain Seat Ceremony is a Zen ceremony held at Sansui-ji Temple in Bellingham, Washington. It is hosted by Red Cedar Zen Community, a Zen Buddhist sangha and non-profit organization in the Pacific Northwest. Anyone looking for a Zen temple ceremony in Bellingham will find it here.

About the Community

Red Cedar Zen Community offers a full rhythm of Zen practice alongside its ceremonies. Its calendar includes a weekly practice schedule, sesshin and retreats, a Fall Practice Period, Zen Work, and a Wilderness Dharma Program. Its teaching draws on Dogen, Suzuki Roshi, the Zen ancestors and koan study, and its practice includes chanting, dharma talks and private interviews with teachers (dokusan). Training is organized in stages, from settling in through the middle period to precepts and Jukai.

The Setting

The ceremony takes place at Sansui-ji Temple in Bellingham, in northwest Washington.

Before You Go

Red Cedar welcomes newcomers through its Buddhist basics and Zen forms resources, which explain chanting, vocabulary and practice etiquette. The community also keeps registration policies and ethical guidelines for its events, and these are worth reading before you attend.