We've decided to go ahead with our leadership retreat this spring. I feel a tremendous joy at the thought of being together again.
Holding the Vessel in the New Time
Leadership Retreat at Santa Sabina in Northern California
April 7th – 10th
Thursday eve to Sunday noon
Asking the Apricot Tree
At dawn, still awake
I ask the apricot tree,
“Did you dream, last night?”
“I did. I dreamed leaves and the moon.
I dreamed I flew.” —JT
This note is an invitation and description of our leadership retreat. We haven’t had a leadership retreat in person for three years, and many of you have never been to a leadership retreat.
Here is what it is about.
A student asked Guishan, “Does someone who has attained enlightenment still need to cultivate herself?“
The master said, “Through meditation a student may attain thought without thought, become suddenly enlightened, and realize her original nature. But there are still delusions that have accumulated over numberless eons and can’t be purified in a single moment. Therefore she should be taught how to eliminate the karmic tendencies and mental habits. There is no other way of development.”
Mazu:
To advance from where you can no longer advance and to do what can no longer be done, you must make yourself into a raft or ferryboat for others.
Leadership is not like any of the other retreats we have.
Leadership retreat is designed for people who have come some way in their practice and are Bodhisattvas in our community in the sense that Mazu refers to. We can be very good at samadhi and silent meditation and at the same time, find territory in which we wince and are frightened of what we might think of ourselves.
In leadership we have nothing to defend, even our defensiveness. It’s not our job to improve ourselves, or impress others, although we will try to do that, of course. So the real question is, can we include all the excluded bits and enjoy the hidden freedom that is locked inside our defenses and residual delusions. The leaders retreat is a place where you can discover this sort of embodied freedom. And the kindness and intimacy inside that.
In this retreat we’ll teach some leadership skills, which will help you if you run a group or lead meditation. We’ll explore curriculum from teachers & leaders.
Friendship is one of the great delights of life and of practice and this retreat is a vehicle for enjoying each other and deepening our links.
We are now caught in another great turning of the world. We are trying to work out where we go from here, and you’ll be a part of that.
In case there is any confusion, here is how our leadership retreat is different from sesshin:
Sesshin is our deep dive with lots of zazen. It is devoted to deepening practice in a traditional way, through sitting meditation, koan work, individual meetings with teachers, and Dharma talks by our teachers. We also meet old friends but the retreat is in essence a silent vessel for you to awaken or deepen your awakening.
Thanks, I hope to see you there. —John Tarrant
