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Zen Mind, Writing Mind
A Weekend of Creative Writing with a Sense of Play and Spirituality in a Safe and Supportive circle of women
Friday, March 28 - Sunday, March 30
Great Tree Zen Temple, Alexander, North Carolina
Alexander is 15 miles north of Asheville, NC.
Description
Creativity arises from play (the releasing of all thought of "how to" and 
of product) and the collapse into discovery. 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? What if we built a poem or story or essay with the same ease we enjoyed as children building a sandcastle? A supportive, safe circle of women is the perfect place for taking an empty-handed leap into pure inspiration! You need not be a writer or a meditator 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 welcome.
Location
Nearly 7 acres of property in the farm country 15 minutes from Asheville. 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 at www.greattreetemple.org/location/location.html
Accommodations and Meals
Dormitory Style rooms and vegetarian meals.
Time
Friday, March 28. Check in between 4 and 7 pm.
Check out by noon on Sunday, March 30.
Registration
Please register through Great Tree by calling 828/645-2085 or emailing info@greattreetemple.org to insure space. You may download the registration form by clicking here.
Sign-up deadline is when all spaces are filled.
Cost
The fee is $120 for lodgers and commuters; food is included for both. The fee does not include compensation for the teacher. At the retreat's end, students are asked to contribute dana for the teacher. Dana is a Pali word (the language spoken in India during the time of the Buddha about 400 BCE) meaning "generosity." 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."