Zen Mind, Writer's Mind — 2013
August 2-4, 2013
Great Tree Zen Temple
Alexander, North Carolina
Alexander is 15 miles north of Asheville, NC.
Description
"To control your cow, give it a wide pasture." Shunryu Suzuki expressed this thought and now you can explore its meaning in this Zen writing retreat for women. Take down the fences around your definition of "writing" and explore what it means to you. In writing, most of us are bound up by shoulds learned from teachers, parents, and our own self-doubt. What if we had beginner's mind and simply befriended the words?
We will write and read in circle in the morning. You will have afternoon time to explore writing on your own. Silence, solitude, community, and practice (both meditation and writing practice) are the 4 pillars of the writer’s life.
You need not be a writer and no meditation experience is required to attend or write. Come with an open mind and empty notebook and leave with an open heart and a notebook of inspiration.
Accommodations limited to 10 women.
Commuters are welcome for this retreat.
Location
Great Tree Zen Temple is located 20 minutes north of downtown Asheville, North Carolina, surrounded by the southern Appalachian Mountains
Great Tree is a residential Zen practice for women under the direction of Teijo Munnich, disciple and dharma heir of Dainin Katagiri Roshi. Directions can be found on the Great Tree website by clicking here.
Accommodations and Meals
Dormitory Style rooms and vegetarian meals.
Time
Check In: Friday, August 2nd. Check in 3-5; orientation at 5 pm; dinner at 6 pm
Check Out: Sunday, August 4th by noon.
Registration
Register online at Great Tree's website.
If you have questions or a problem with registration, please call 828/645-2085 or email at info@greattreetemple.org.
Sign-up remains open until spaces are filled.
Cost
Room and Board: $150/Great Tree members and $175/
nonmembers, whether lodgers or commuters; food is included for both.
Teacher Compensation: Generosity is shown toward the teacher for the effort she/he has made to study, learn, and share the teachings. At the retreat's end, students are asked to contribute dana. Dana is a Pali word (the language spoken in India during the time of the Buddha about 400 BCE) meaning "generosity."
Abbess Teijo Munnich
Dana for Great Tree Zen Temple is also appreciated. Great Tree is a non-profit and relies on financial support through charitable contributions.
"Material goods, the teachings. Both are perfectly complete offerings, the value of which cannot be measured."
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.
—Lao Tzu
So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner’s mind… This is also the real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. Be very very careful about this point… It is the secret of Zen practice.
—Shunryu Suzuki
