Winter is the traditional season for doing intensive meditation practice.
This tradition comes down to us from the time of the Buddha, when monks and nuns would congregate during the three month rainy season in India to practice together. In our school, too, serious students will take this time to do a long retreat or increase their daily practice commitment. In the middle of this three month period one week is set aside for even more intensive practice. The origin of this special week of practice is very interesting. The head of this group was Mahakashyapa, the first patriarch.