Treeleaf Zendo

Here’s a look back at our spring retreat,

which was held on Saturday, April 5th of 2025, to both celebrate Hanamatsuri and 700 years since the death of Master Soji Keizan, the other patriarch of Soto Zen alongside Eihei Dogen Zenji.

On Hanamatsuri

We celebrated Hanamatsuri, which corresponds to Vesak in South Asian Buddhist traditions, marking the birth of the Buddha.

Hanamatsuri traditionally takes place on 8 April in Japan, and is a dual celebration of the birth day of the Buddha, and the emergence and viewing of cherry blossoms which is an important part of Japanese culture. Hanamatsuri literally translates as Flower Festival. It is not unlike the Christian Easter in its combining of a religious event with nature’s cycles.

Keizan Zenji
We also honored Keizan Jōkin Zenji (1268–1325), who is second only to Master Dōgen in terms of his importance to Sōtō Zen and in fact the Sōtōshu operates on the view of Ichibutsu Ryoso (One Buddha, Two Founders). The Sōtōshu Constitution declares that, “The Sōtōshu shall primarily honour Shakyamuni Buddha, and shall honour Koso Joyo Daishi (Dogen Zenji) and Taiso Josai Daishi (Keizan Zenji) as its Two Founders.”

Whereas Dōgen Zenji is credited with founding the Sōtō school in Japan, master Keizan is seen as having been responsible for its popularization and spread . He also founded Sōji-ji which, together with Dōgen’s own Eihei-ji temple, is to this day one of the two head Sōtō Zen training centres.

Keizan’s notable writings include Denkōroku (The Record of the Transmission of the Light), which contains enlightenment stories for the first 53 Zen ancestors, from the Buddha to Master Dōgen (although it should be noted that these are more legendary than historical), and Zazen-Yōjinki (Points to Keep in Mind when Practicing Zazen).

We began the retreat in the morning, by sitting Zazen, alternating with short periods of kinhin, after which we held our morning service. The service honored both the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha and the life and legacy of Keizan Zenji. We humbly and respectfully offered incense and chanted a few sutras, offering our sincere efforts and practice to our Founders and to the wellbeing of all beings.

You can watch the two services below:

Dharma Talks

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After Zazen and the morning service, Rev. Kotei and Kokuu offered dharma talks centered on master Keizan’s life, teachings and contributions to the development of Soto Zen. We also took some time to have a brief community discussion on the topic, exploring the impact of master Keizan on our practice nowadays and tackling a few koans from his Denkoroku.

You can watch the Dharma talks and discussions below: