The Roots of Zen Leader - How Sesshin Brings the Flips to Life
Photo: Participant from Winter Sesshin
By Brad Reed
Anyone who has taken a Zen Leader course knows the experience of the last day of our training when we’re invited to sit in the virtual dojo of Chosei Zen. The firmness and energy of the Virtual Dojo participants is palpable and our Zazen is taken to the next level. Something older and deeper is felt in that sitting and of course we are warned in advance, to “be still!”
I had the opportunity to attend two in-person sesshins in the past few months, most recently the winter sesshin at Daikozen-Ji in Madison, Wisconsin. As a Virtual Dojo member, I didn’t think this was going to be possible for me until 2026, but life changed my plans and I am so thankful it did. It’s hard to put into words the experience of sesshin; the full depth of it simply cannot be expressed through words alone. That said, I am going to try my best and encourage you, if you can, to attend in-person training at Chosei, and experience for yourself how it can deepen your understanding of the flips of Zen Leader, create new opportunities for clarity and change your life.
Sesshin has a funny way of breaking you up and putting you back together. Through a rigorous schedule, long hours, group commitment and carefully planned teachings, it creates an opportunity for us to break through old habits and step into something greater. Throughout the 6 days, and without even realizing it, I was able to more deeply embody and work with all 10 flips of our Zen Leader curriculum. This article will summarize some of my key experiences and how they brought the flips to life.
Flip 5: From Playing to Your Strengths to Strengthening Your Play, AKA “FEBI”. I’ve heard more times than I remember, Ginny talks about how all the energy patterns are available to us. This became abundantly clear during our samu (work) projects, which involved lots of construction and clean up. As a natural Visionary, my usual way is to see a big picture of a project and collaborate with others to make it happen. I have substantially improved my Driver energy over the past 1.5 years (sesshin helps with this a lot) and even stepped up my Organizer. Interestingly, during our work period, we were given a plan, tools, a timeline and conditions to get it done. A collective synergy or “kiai” carried the project forward. There isn’t much time to stop, think, or rest in your ingrained habits. The training itself continuously propels you to respond to the needs of the situation and the group first rather than your own. When it was time to Organize through insulation cutting or woodworking, we organized. When another needed help, we stepped up. When the project took a life of its own, we adjusted the vision and when it was time to hustle, we hustled! The training takes you away and shows you how ALL of the patterns are available to you and especially when the group pulls you out of learned tendencies. This is also a wonderful way to embody Flip 8: It’s All About Me To I’m All About It. The aspect of surrender and “going with the flow” during sesshin and samu allows us to manage our energy, listen and learn and serve the situation. That way, things continue, work gets done and we continue to work as one, dissolving the delusion of self and other.
At some point during sesshin, you may wonder what you are doing there or how much more you can take. This level of strain and doubt can pull to the surface deeply ingrained habits, beliefs and tendencies. This was the case for me on day 4, when I experienced Flip 4: From Out There to In Here. There was a sharp shift in the way I was perceiving sesshin, Chosei, my colleagues, teachers etc. and yet, deep down I knew it was an underlying fear being brought to the surface of my awareness. As difficult as it was, I sat with it and eventually it dissipated and I experienced much greater clarity, ease and joy. When I shifted, so did everything around me.
For the most part, the flow and rhythm of sesshin is out of your hands. You need to surrender and let go of how you’d like things to be; it’s designed that way! Flip 6: From Controlling to Connecting really comes to life as we have to get out of our limited self, connect with others and move in a different way in order to make it through sesshin. It’s not about any one, it’s about becoming one.
Flip 1: Coping to Transforming is a cornerstone of the whole sesshin. Accepting conditions as they are creates the space, energy and freedom to continue to function. Sitting for long hours, working with fatigue, frustration and pain, requires you to continuously accept and let go of conditions as they are to make room for other possibilities and opportunities to arise. Whether it’s counting through fatigue, or noticing where in your body there isn’t pain, sesshin offers 6-days worth of this flip.
Lastly, there are certain points during sesshin that “little Brad” just couldn’t or didn’t know how to get through intense periods of exhaustion and strain. It was in these moments that Flip 10: From Delusion to Awakening showed up, as my senses had to expand into a much bigger place of stillness, where everything that was happening was just arising. No tiredness, no judgment, no strain, no more difficulty, just resting in the place that has no place to go. To know intimately that this is available to us, in any situation, I believe, is the cornerstone of our practice and the purpose of our training in Zen Leader.
I would encourage all of my colleagues in the Zen Leader program to consider diving deeper into the roots of our training at Chosei. This small article represents only a glimpse into the value of the experience and I can’t underscore how much it helped improve my understanding of our work in the Zen Leader curriculum. If you have any questions at all, please reach out, I’d be happy to talk to my friends.
Brad Reed is a Zen Leader Instructor. He is also a transformational coach and trainer and the founder of Repurpose You.
