Retreat Calendar
July | August | September | October | November
July |
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June 24 - July 27 Residential Zen Arts Intensivewith ZMM Staff This is the Monastery’s most popular retreat. Designed for those new to Zen, the weekend introduces the most important aspects of traditional Zen training within the context of the unique Eight Gates program... |
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July 1-6 The Artless Arts of Zen: Zen Aesthetic and Your Everyday Lifewith John Stevens The creative process, like a spiritual journey, is intuitive, non-linear, and experiential. It points us towards our essential nature, which is a reflection of the boundless creativity of the universe. Zen Buddhism and, particularly, the Zen arts are a rich source of teachings to help us understand and cultivate our creativity... |
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July 9-13 Touching the Earth: an Art Practice Retreat with Claywith Mn. Jody Hojin Kimmel As the Buddha drew near to his enlightenment experience, he was assailed by Mara, the forces of temptation. He reached down to call upon the Earth to witness his vow to remain unmoved by any distraction. Touching the earth became a gesture of determination, reflecting the Buddha’s unshakable spirit. Clay is a living material that receives, reflects, welcomes and remains faithful to our every touch.. ... |
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July 10 - 13 The Art of Zen Gardens: Sacred Spacewith Stephen Morrell For more than a century, American artists, gardeners and landscape designers have been inspired by the beauty, simplicity and underlying philosophy of Japanese gardens. The aesthetic characteristics that inform these gardens can be traced back to monasteries in Japan. Monastic and lay practitioners commonly employed poetry, landscape painting and gardening to cultivate a rapport with nature and extend their spiritual practice. ... |
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July 10 - 13 A Watercolor Retreatwith Jon J Muth In making art, our intimate relationship with the medium reveals the nature of the work. When painting in watercolor, the spirit of light and color moves within water in such a way that intention is partnered with discovery. Luminosity and opacity are simultaneously present, capturing and releasing the heart of the subject. ... |
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July 18 - 20 Creativity Through Haiku and Haiku-Paintingwith Stephen Addiss With its strong influence of Zen aesthetics, haiku has become the most popular form of poetry in the world, spreading beyond Japan to many different countries. However, the underlying principles are the same in every culture: to suggest feelings and perceptions through natural images, rather than stating them directly, so that readers can experience the haiku in their own minds and hearts. ... |
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July 18 - 20 Poetry in Motion: Writing in Natural Settingswith Ed Sanders A long-time friend of the Monastery, Ed Sanders offers the shapes, sounds, smells, tracks, trees, lichen and all of the calmly and slowly observed natural phenomena as pathways for one’s writing. Venturing forth, seeing, hearing and feeling with heightened awareness, participants will take note of the nuances of summertime in the Monastery’s unique environment. ... |
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July 21-27 Interdependence Sesshinwith Ryushin Osho Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training. We wake up each day before dawn to begin a schedule that includes 7 to 10 hours of zazen, chanting services, formal silent meals in the zendo (oryoki), work practice... |
August |
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Aug 1-3 Introduction to Zen Training Retreatwith ZMM Staff This is the Monastery’s most popular retreat. Designed for those new to Zen, the weekend introduces the most important aspects of traditional Zen training within the context of the unique Eight Gates program... |
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Aug 4-10 Colors and Sounds of Water: Art in Naturewith Ryushin Osho The spacious vistas of Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains provide the background for this unique retreat dedicated to intensive investigation of the meeting point of our creativity, Zen practice and wilderness. We will spend time learning anew how to see, hear and think wholeheartedly—to be completely present to the life of this world and its inhabitants... |
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Aug 8-10 Stories of the Wild: Family Retreat in Tracking and Storytellingwith Jim Bruchac To enter the wilderness as a family and find comfort and wonder in the expanses of the earth, water and sky is to share a gift that lasts a lifetime. This retreat, sponsored |
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Aug 12 - 17 Kyudo: Zen Archery Intensivewith Don Symanski Kyudo demands that we let go of our goals and expectations and live fully in the moment. Through meticulous attention to detail, all aspects of the Kyudo form and movements provide a subtle mirror of the self, as well as an opportunity for deep study. |
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Aug 15 - 17 Taking up the Green Practice Pathwith Stephanie Kaza In the last few years there has been a deluge of books on the market offering “easy steps” to being green. They seem to suggest that all it takes is a few easy actions and we’re there; the planet will magically be made whole again. But the more we understand the complexities of ecosystem functions and human inequities, the more we realize how much effort it will take to turn the ship toward a sustainable future... |
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Aug 18-24 Hazy Moon Sesshinwith Shugen Sensei and Ryushin Osho Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training. We wake up each day before dawn to begin a schedule that includes 7 to 10 hours of zazen, chanting services, formal silent meals in the zendo (oryoki), work practice... |
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Aug 29-31 Ango Opening Sesshinwith Shugen Sensei and Ryushin Osho The weekend sesshin is perfect for those who want an introduction to sesshin practice or for more experienced practitioners who are unable to attend the longer retreats. The retreat begins Friday evening with an orientation to introduce first-time participants to oryoki, face-to-face teachings, and the spirit and schedule of sesshin... |
September |
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Sep 5-7 Introduction to Zen Training Retreatwith ZMM Staff This is the Monastery’s most popular retreat. Designed for those new to Zen, the weekend introduces the most important aspects of traditional Zen training within the context of the unique Eight Gates program... |
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Sep 12-14 Qigong: Breath/Energywith Arthur Makaris Qi (or ki in Japanese) is a powerful life force that lies at the heart of one’s physical and spiritual well-being. In zazen, qi manifests itself as joriki, the power of concentrated awareness that is available whether we are still or engaged in activity. The practice of qigong fosters harmony of the mind, body and breath, eroding unconscious tension and generating greater health and vitality... |
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Sep 12-14 Zen Master Dogen: The Early Years - Transmitting the Dharmawith Steven Heine Zen Master Dogen’s most famous and frequently read work is the Shobogenzo: Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. It is an extensive and mature expression of Dogen’s appreciation of the dharma. Although the initial sections, including the “Genjokoan,” were composed in 1233, the bulk of the writings are from a decade later, when Dogen was in the process of moving from Kyoto to the Echizen mountains... |
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Sep 19-21 Precepts I: Introduction to the Buddhist Preceptswith Shugen Sensei The moral and ethical teachings of the Buddha are fundamental to all schools of Buddhism, and they are a vital aspect of training within the Mountains and Rivers Order. They are an essential pointer for living an enlightened life. Easily misunderstood as a simple list of rules, the precepts are a profound expression of compassion... |
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Sep 22-28 Mountains and Rivers Sesshinwith Shugen Sensei and Ryushin Osho Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training. We wake up each day before dawn to begin a schedule that includes 7 to 10 hours of zazen, chanting services, formal silent meals in the zendo (oryoki), work practice... |
October |
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Oct 10-12 Buddhist Jataka Tales: Storytelling on the Bodhisattva Waywith Rafe Martin Buddhist jataka tales (stories of the Buddha’s past lives, often in animal form) have been told, written, carved, painted, dramatized and performed throughout the Buddhist world since earliest times. In fact, the Buddha himself is said to have been their original narrator. These stories reveal the deep heart of Buddhist vision and imagination... |
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Oct 10-12 Atonement and Forgivenesswith Shugen Sensei Spiritual practice is centered on the recognition that good and evil exist in the world. Much of human history is the story of harms inflicted by human beings upon themselves, upon others, and upon the earth and its many creatures. Many students of Buddhism are brought to the Path out of the suffering that they have experienced in their lives, both in the harm done to them as well as those hurtful actions they have brought upon others... |
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Oct 17-19 Raising the Mind of Enlightenment:
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Oct 20-26 Harvest Sesshinwith Ryushin Osho Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training. We wake up each day before dawn to begin a schedule that includes 7 to 10 hours of zazen, chanting services, formal silent meals in the zendo (oryoki), work practice... |
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Oct 31-Nov 2 Introduction to Zen Training Retreatwith ZMM Staff This is the Monastery’s most popular retreat. Designed for those new to Zen, the weekend introduces the most important aspects of traditional Zen training within the context of the unique Eight Gates program... |
November |
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Nov 7-9 Practicing Harmony: The Gift and Challenge of Communitywith Mark Finn and Ryushin Osho Amidst our modern dedication to individualism, the sense of a viable community has all but evaporated. Within our families, schools, neighborhoods, and work places, we feel a deep hunger for a sense of communal belonging. Turning back towards rediscovering our connectedness, we need to remember that to enter a community is to practice its realities... |
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Nov 14-16 A Meditation Retreat for Writerswith Susan Piver As writers we all hunger for the same things: time to write and creative flow. Yet even when we find such precious time, it may not be easy to settle into the writing groove. Through practicing meditation, however, we can access our true voice and deepest inspiration. Join us as we interweave meditation practice, personal writing time and group discussion, sharing both silence and our writing with each other... |
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Nov 14-16 Being Somebody and Being Nobody: Study of Self in Zen Buddhismwith Ryushin Osho The path of Zen Buddhism is a path of candid and exhaustive exploration. All of the forms and methods of practice offered by the teachings, in one way or another, provide us with tested approaches to seeing deeply into the nature of reality through study of the self—study of the experience of immediacy available to us throughout our lives... |
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Nov 17-23 Shuso Hossen Sesshinwith Shugen Sensei and Ryushin Osho Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training. We wake up each day before dawn to begin a schedule that includes 7 to 10 hours of zazen, chanting services, formal silent meals in the zendo (oryoki), work practice... |
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Nov 28-30 Introduction to Zen Training Retreatwith ZMM Staff This is the Monastery’s most popular retreat. Designed for those new to Zen, the weekend introduces the most important aspects of traditional Zen training within the context of the unique Eight Gates program... |
