How many hours a day will be spent meditating?
During the academic portion of the program, i.e., when we are in Kyoto, we meditate for one 40-minute period in the early morning and a second (optional) 40-minute period in the late afternoon. The meditation hall in the temple hostel, however, is open 24 hours a day and students are free and encouraged to meditate for as long as they wish. Further, when training outside of Kyoto in Zen and esoteric Shingon temples, required meditation periods are increased to as many as five sittings per day.
