Kyudo

Seiko Kyudo – Sacred Tiger Kyudo

Kyudo, the Way of the Bow, is one of the oldest arts of the Japanese tradition of contemplative warriorship. The aim of the practice is not the target, but to synchronize awareness and body in the present moment.

Seiko Kyudojo is based at Karmê Chöling, a Shambhala Meditation Center in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Our school, Heki-ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha, was brought to North America in 1980 by Kanjuro Shibata Sendai XX (1921-2013) at the request of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

We practice with open-heart gratitude to all practitioners in our lineage and others who have devoted their lives to sincere practice and the continuation of the spirit of kyudo.

One is not polishing one’s shooting style or technique, but the mind.
– Kanjuro Shibata XX

Through Kyudo one can learn to live beyond hope and fear, how to be.
– Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Upcoming Kyudo Programs for 2023

Women’s Kyudo Retreat
with Lucy Halverson
June 1-4, 2023
This retreat considers the unique strengths and challenges of women with the practice of kyudo.

Kyudo Gathering 2023
with Jim Boorstein
August 30 – September 3, 2023
Join Karmê Chöling for its annual Kyudo Gathering at the Seiko Kyudo Azuchi.

Beginner’s Kyudo: First Shot
September 1 – 3, 2023
Join us for this introduction to one of the oldest arts in the Japanese tradition of contemplative warriorship.

Live in a Meditation Community.

Karmê Chöling is a community of practitioners in rural Vermont who share a common conviction in the basic goodness of all beings. Residents quarantine a short time before entering the Main House, where we live mask-free as a household. We feed ourselves much of the year from a one-acre organic garden, have twice-daily meditation sessions and frequent opportunities to study the dharma — in groups and independently. Learn more about Residency

Caring for the Purkhang

Awake in the Winter Landscape

The Sound of Solitary Retreat

Live in Community