Events, sits and connections

IOWA SIOUXLAND ZEN RETREAT

August 17-23, 2026

Be a master everywhere, and wherever you stand is your true place.  — Master Rinzai

Fugen Roshi, Kogen, and Daiden will lead this retreat with a focus on integrating mind, body, and heart with stillness.

The week will celebrate the deepening of commitment to the practice with two important ceremonies, Jukai, for Zen Ministers, and Inka. 

Inka is the highest level of spiritual recognition in Zen Buddhism.  Please join us in support as Fugen Roshi confers on Daiden/Dan Pecaut the honor and grave responsibility of joining the Rinzai lineage, bringing the dharma to this suffering world.

The total cost of the retreat is $800 per person for a single room and board. A $400 deposit is due when registering to reserve your place. The remaining $400 balance is due August 1.Plan to arrive the morning of the first day. Rides can be coordinated from the nearest airport, Eppley in Omaha, NE (OMA).

Further information will be sent after we receive your deposit. Please register by going to our Check Out page. Be sure to leave email and/or phone to recieve more information about this retreat. Swaha! 

ZAZEN

We meet as a sangha every Monday on Zoom and Wednesday evenings in person and on Zoom. 7:00 pm CST. 

Activities include a brief check-in, a teaching, a moving meditation, and zazen (sitting meditation). If you would like an invitation to sit with us, please contact Daiden at dpecaut@gmail.com

Do you live near Sioux City, Iowa? You can join us at the First Congregational Church at 4600 Hamilton Blvd., Sioux City, IA 51104. Enter from the upper parking lot. 

2026 MEDITATION IN NATURE at the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center

May, June, August, and September on the last Saturday of each month. 8:30 am.

Join us for meditation in nature!
Meet by the picnic tables near the Nature Center. 
We’ll sit in meditation (zazen), we’ll do a meditative walk in the woods (called kinhin), and we’ll do gentle movement/embodiment practice (called qigong). 
Dress for the outdoors.
Bring your own cushion or chair. 
Easy to do. Beginners are welcome. 
Enjoy the healing qualities of stillness and nature! 

PRIVATE MEETING

Schedule a private meeting with Daiden at dpecaut@gmail.com.

———

Integrating Body into Practice

Saturday, January 24, Online Zen Workshop - Integrating Body into Practice

9am-noon CT

This very Body is the Buddha.   - Hakuin

If you're not in your body, where the hell are you?

Join me and Kogen/Keith Martin-Smith as we deepen practice by exploring the intersections of body and mind.

 If you're like me, you were raised in a culture where the body is treated as an "it". However, enlightenment is not separate from the physical body but experienced through it, integrating ordinary life with ultimate reality.  Join us as we explore practices that integrate body and mind.  Body and mind are not two. Indeed, this very Body is the Buddha.

To allow for planning please register using this form .