Day of Practice August 27th

The theme?  Deep listening is not-knowing

Once more, a full day of sesshin practice is offered to you right where you are.

Last time in Autumn we explored the subtle and transforming ways in which deep listening opens the kind of attention and presence that is Zazen.  Not-knowing is itself a form of deep listening --- this time reaching inwardly, to the wisdom of the heart-mind settled in Zazen.  Deep listening picks up all the cries of the world together with their painful echoes in us.  Not-knowing is the act of self-relinquishment that can reveal and release the compassionate response.

Where:  Your place

When:  9am-5pm, plus the optional early morning sit from 6.00-7.30am.

What:  Sutras, zazen, dokusan, outside sitting and walking, teisho, koan inquiry -- and social time at the end.

Cost:  $50, plus the opportunity to offer Dana* (donation) to acknowledge the gift of the teaching, to be shared by the two teachers (who on this occasion will be sitting together at Cloud Mountain).

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*The practice of Dana in Zen completes the cycle of the gift of the teaching. Lewis Hyde (author of The Gift) describes the offering of dana as “a labour undertaken by the soul to effect the transformation after a gift has been received.” Typical offers of dana for a full day of practice range anywhere from perhaps $20 to $100 and beyond.  There is no set expectation, here. Dana is a negotiation with your own heart, and this is its genuine value as a practice, freed from transactional calculation.

We’ll follow the form that people found so valuable in Autumn:

Early morning (optional)

6.00-7.30   Zazen – enter the Open Dojo when ready and just take your seat

Morning

9.00-11.30   Sutras, zazen, dokusan opportunity, outside kinhin

Afternoon

2.00-5.00   Teisho, dokusan opportunity, open sitting,  koan inquiry, social time at the end.

Don’t miss out.  Reserve your seat quickly! 

Dokusan opportunities will be offered in order of signing up.