Winter Day of Practice, Sunday, August 25, 2024.

Join us for our Winter Day of Practice in 2024.

Always Coming Home

‘Wherever you are, just try being the host.’

(Zen Master Linji, 9th c China)

Traditionally, Winter is the season of the Earth resting in a state that feels more bare, reflective and quiet.  The days are shorter and darker and it feels natural to gather in close to home and hearth.

Our Winter Day of Practice offers all the elements of a full sesshin day in compact form - and brings it home to right where you are:  Zazen, sutras, teisho, outside sitting and walking…and haiku practice.

Equanimity has been quite the theme this winter, as the world rocks on its foundations in so many ways. Meanwhile, the trees, the rocks, the birds, the ants, the twigs and every blade of grass remains utterly true to itself, untroubled by human sorrows and fears.  And yet – not other.  Intimate companions.

And equanimity is never a done deal but always being noticed in its absence and restored, restoring us to circumstances just as they are, and always suggesting we can find our home exactly here.

So, this time a theme of openly admitting how we are always coming home, always learning to save and be saved by the many beings simply by including them, always letting go of the greed, hatred and ignorance that seeks to divide what is undivided, always finding the medicine right before our eyes in the wholeness of every detail of the living earth.

We’ll also use the reflective space of Winter to explore finding, forming and being formed by haiku practice in the afternoon space of open sitting and walking.

I hope you’ll find your way to join us, in the quiet embrace of this zazenkai.

Time:  9.30am-4.30pm, plus optional Early Morning sit 6.30-7.30am.

Schedule ~ Winter Day of Practice August 25, 2024

Early Morning (optional)

6.30       Zazen

7.30       Breakfast break

Morning

9.30       Sutras (Shortened) + Encouraging Words

10.00    Zazen

10.30    Outside walking

11.00    Zazen

11.30    Lunch break

Afternoon

1.30       Zazen

1.45       Teisho + Haiku guidelines

2.30       Open sitting and walking, haiku gathering

3.15       Koan Inquiry + Haiku sharing

4.00       Dedication, Great Vows, formal ending

4-4.30    Share a cuppa and some social time

Cost:  Sliding scale (from unwaged to fully waged)  $60-$120  

Please Note:You need to be a current Member of Zen Open Circle to take part in this event.  Apply here 

If you are currently experiencing genuine financial difficulty please do not feel excluded – simply get in touch via the contact us page or send an email to gassho@zenopencircle.org.au.

A Word about Dana

Dana keeps the Dharma alive. In accordance with the 2,500-year-old Buddhist tradition of Dana (‘self-donation’),  

Dana, as pure giving, is non-compulsory and has no prescribed rate, but thrives in the spirit of gratitude and generosity. Offering and receiving are freed to complete each other, as one enlarging move of the heart. 

More about Dana