Ango

An , or kessei, is a Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...

 term for a three month long period of intense training for students of Zen Buddhism, lasting anywhere from 90 to 100 days. They are typically held twice a year, the first period from spring to summer and the second period from fall

Autumn

Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter, usually in March or September when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier.The equinoxes might be expected to be in the middle of their seasons, but temperature lag Autumn (also known as...

 to winter. The word ango literally translates as "dwelling in peace"; the summer ango is referred to as ge-ango and the winter period is u-ango.

An , or kessei, is a Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...

 term for a three month long period of intense training for students of Zen Buddhism, lasting anywhere from 90 to 100 days. They are typically held twice a year, the first period from spring to summer and the second period from fall

Autumn

Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter, usually in March or September when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier.The equinoxes might be expected to be in the middle of their seasons, but temperature lag Autumn (also known as...

 to winter. The word ango literally translates as "dwelling in peace"; the summer ango is referred to as ge-ango and the winter period is u-ango. During an ango practice consists of zazen

Zazen

Zazen is at the heart of Zen Buddhist practice. The aim of zazen is just sitting, "opening the hand of thought". This is done either through koans, Rinzai's primary method, or whole-hearted sitting , the Soto sect's method...

, study, and samu (work). Concerning Zen practice in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, author Ellen Birx writes, "Many centers now allow members to attend retreats on a part-time basis. Many have ango, a three-month long period of intensified practice, that members can participate in while continuing to go off to work during the day." Taigen Dan Leighton

Taigen Dan Leighton

Taigen Dan Leighton is a Soto Zen priest, academic and author teaching in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki at located in Chicago, Illinois. Leighton was ordained as a priest by Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1986, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 2000. He began his Zen practice in 1975 at the...

writes a more traditional definition, "These are ninety-day training periods of concentrated practice without leaving the monastic enclosure (except for monks going out for necessary temple business). They date back to the summer rainy season retreats of Shakyamuni's time. In Japan, they have been held twice a year, summer and winter." Additionally, some monasteries and Zen centers hold just one ango per year.