For many who practice Zen, every aspect of practice is refuge. Awakening, the Way and our Companions are present in every moment, to be touched, to be relied upon. We come home to them in our solitary meditation, in our shared meditations, in our practice of a life.
When we come together in retreat, we share and offer this refuge explicitly, spending all the hours of the day in a simplified time and space conducive to the practice of deep meditation. In this we pick up a thread woven through our tradition continually since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha; and we carry it forward with us toward those yet to come, this practice of taking refuge in life just as it is.
Our tradition offers a ceremony of refuge, a form in which individuals can express this refuge, this home-coming, and take it up as vows for life, connecting in this intimate way to the Bodhisattva Way of our tradition. Some people in our communities have been preparing for this ceremony, which will be held on Saturday evening during the retreat.
You are invited to join in this refuge retreat. Whatever is your individual sense of refuge, we invite you to bring it, to enter the stillness and deep silence of meditation in community and find there Awakening, the Way and some Companions.
The retreat includes Dharma talks by our two teachers, individual interviews with both, vegetarian meals and times to walk or rest on your own.
Details
When: Wednesday, April 11, to Sunday, April 15, 2012; Ceremony of Taking Refuge in the Bodhisattva Way, Saturday, April 14, 6:30 p.m.
Who: Sarah Bender, Sensei, and Andrew Palmer, Sensei, and members of Springs Mountain Sangha and Wet Mountain Sangha
Where: The Abbey in Cañon City, Colorado
Cost: $380 for a double room. The part-time fee is $95 for each day. Scholarships are available.
Registration deadline: Wednesday, March 21; download registration form here.
Contact: Steve Milligan, steve_milligan08@comcast.net