Below you will find information about our longer-range schedule and upcoming events, and information concerning Sandy's attendance. Please check back from time to time to get the latest updates. You will also find useful information in the most recent Kaihan.
The Center will host its week-long Spring Zazen-kai from Thursday, April 1, through Thursday, April 8. The retreat will begin with informal dinner at 6 PM on April 1. Formal sitting will begin at 7 PM. the retreat will end with formal lunch at noon on April 8.
The retreat is open to participation by those with all levels of experience in formal Zen practice, including beginners. As in the past, the retreat will also be open to part-time attendance, with preference for lodging given to full-timers.
Red Pine will speak three times during the retreat, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 2-4, and will present a slide show on Thursday evening after supper. He will also speak at Elon University on the evening of March 31 and the morning of April 1.
Please visit the Retreats page for much helpful general information about Zen retreats at Sosen-ji, and check back here as the dates get closer. For more information on attending talks by either of these speakers please check the web site periodically, which will be updated as more information becomes available, or contact the Center directly by phone or email.
Heart of Stillness — Deepening Presence, April 10, 2010
A One-Day Retreat and Workshop guided by
Susan Harper and Sandy Stewart
The Heart of Stillness workshop is devoted to practices of meditation, wholehearted attention, and perceiving the discoveries of the listening body. Our listening bodies, all 70 trillion cells, are humming with life, awareness, and are receiving the "news of the universe."
Meditation practices involve attending with heart, stillness and silence. We are no longer present primarily as a personality, but as a field of awareness. We are alert, open, and available to perceive the web of visible and invisible relationships we call the world.
What Will We Do?
Explore Continuum Movement Meditation
We move in the language of life with micromovements, subtle wave motion, and breathe with heartful attention.
Practice Zen Meditation
In sitting, standing and walking we pay attention, very close attention, to our selves and to everything we do and experience.
Perceptual Practices
How we pay attention matters. Perceptual practices open the ways in which we attend and liberate unexamined habits of perception, listening and speaking.
Awaken the Heart of Stillness
Inside the wild tenderness of our heart, imagination awakens. New images, movements and directions emerge for how we may live and meet our world.
Workshop Logistics
The workshop will be held at the North Carolina Zen Center. The full cost including tuition and Center fees is $100. To register send a $50 non-refundable registration deposit, payable to NC Zen Center, to Sandy Stewart, 283 Quartz Hill Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312-6592. Final payments are due March 15, 2010
Workshop times: April 10: 10-6pm (Bring a bag lunch)
What to Bring: Yoga-sized mat and blanket. Well be working on a wood floor. Wear comfortable clothing, easy to move in. Bring layers so you'll be comfortable. Room temperature is generally constant however more or less activity may affect your warmth level. The Zen Center has an ample supply of meditation cushions.
Contact Susanna and Sandy Stewart 919-542-4234 - susannastewart@embarqmail.com
For more event information visit: www.continuummontage.com
body. Our listening bodies, all 70 trillion cells, are humming with life, awareness, and are receiving the ìnews of the universe.î †
Meditation practices involve at
The Center is also quite happy to announce that the well-known author and translator known as Red Pine will be coming to the Center in April, 2010, for the Spring Zazen-kai Week. Red Pine has studied and practiced Buddhism for many years in Taiwan, and traveled extensively in China. He has published widely recognized translations of Chinese poetry and sutras, including Han Shan’s Cold Mountain Poems and The Diamond Sutra.
Sandy will be traveling to Miami for treatment for an injured knee and will be away from the Center from February 20 through at least March 6.
To those of you who were looking forward to the return this spring of Stephen Batchelor, the Center unfortunately has to announce that he will not be able to visit this year because of scheduling conflicts.
There is no construction ongoing at the Center currently, but there are still many large and small tasks that need attending to, including general tidying up and grounds care and maintenance. As we move into summer there are many opportunites to contribute time, skills and tools.
If you wish to contribute in any way, your help would be most welcome. Please call or email us for specific needs or other information.