What is dokusan? What happens in those face to face encounters with the teacher?
Dokusan or Sanzen means literally ‘work in the room’. It is an opportunity to ask questions and seek guidance, to enquire into the nature of practice and your own true nature with a teacher whose own level of insight has been publicly recognised by a recognised Zen master. You will be received at whatever level of enquiry you bring to the encounter, and encouraged to go further, to look more deeply. What takes place in the dokusan room remains entirely confidential. The dokusan room can be a place of quiet encounter, or of laughter, and the odd sounds of koan presentations. Don’t be worried or intimidated by this – in time you’l find your own way into the spirit of playfulness that often marks the Zen way of meeting with mystery.
