Walking Tree Zen
About Us
Walking Tree Zen is Zen Buddhist temple and a community of people who meet to practice zen in Alstead, New Hampshire. We meet weekly on Tuesday evenings to practice zazen (zen meditation). A typical weekly practice includes two 25-minute periods of zazen, a short bit of chanting, and sometimes a dharma talk.
​
In addition to our weekly practice on Tuesday nights we also host a monthly day of zazen practice from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm on the last Saturday of each month.
Zen practice opportunities at Walking Tree Zen also include individual study with a zen teacher, weekend and weeklong meditation retreats, traditional Zen Buddhist liturgy, social gatherings and volunteer service to others in our community.
We welcome anyone to attend at any time.
​
Our Teacher
Our founding teacher is Todd Hotai Watson, Sensei. Hotai Sensei is a Zen Buddhist priest and lineage holder in the White Plum lineage of Soto Zen. He had practiced zen for three decades.
He received dharma transmission from Roshi Peter Seishin Wohl in 2016. For several years until 2026 Todd co-led retreats as a teacher at Treetop Zen Center in Oakland, Maine.
Todd lives in rural New Hampshire with his family and a menagerie of three dozen animals.
