Autumn Sesshin, October 13-20 2019

The Book of Serenity is collection of 100 koans and poems, which was assembled for Yelu Chucai, a minister of Ghenghis Khan. The book was lost in the wars and rewritten and when it finally arrived out on the steppes, the ministers sat up all night in a yurt reading and discussing it.

The koans were a way to deal with impossible problems and journeys—in this case counseling the Khans to govern the cities, not to burn them. We live in strange times when the old forms are falling away. We might need to find solutions that we couldn’t imagine and were not even looking for. The Book of Serenity is like a great river that carries us, a force greater than our small concerns.

Our long Autumn retreat is a deep exploration of the most important matters with silence, teachings, and intimate conversations with teachers. The season itself is turning toward inwardness and each moment feels like an awakening. As the days grow shorter the heart mind is at peace. 

Gradually through retreats and koans the mind grows more friendly and the heart more open. You notice that you are not wanting your life to be different, it is taking care of itself nicely. Sesshin means to touch the heart, to touch the mind. It’s a transformative experience. That’s what this retreat is about. 

We're at a Tibetan temple in the redwoods dedicated to The Medicine Buddha, a perfect spot for meditation. Join us!

- John Tarrant 

Our retreat offers time for individual interviews with teachers, full days of meditation with morning and evening Dharma talks by John Tarrant and our other teachers. The retreat is held at the Land of Medicine Buddha, a wondrous Mahayana Buddhist temple complex complete with an enormous prayer wheel gatehouse, an active temple, meeting rooms and meadows, all nestled in a redwood grove above the ocean. Morning fog and warm days are characteristic for fall. There is a variety of accommodation available from single or double rooms and yurts, to tent camping. LMB offers vegetarian meals, meandering trails in the wooded hills, a pool for swimming on warm afternoons and a welcoming meditation hall  for our meeting place. Some scholarships are available and PZI members are discounted. Join us! 

More information on registering: contact Jan Black, janfblack@comcast.net, or for help with registration forms: Corey Hitchcock - corey@pacificzen.org 

Retreat Details

• Time: 5pm, Oct 13, 2019 – 12pm, Oct 20, 2019
• Place: Land of Medicine Buddha, Soquel CA. MAP
• See below for costs
• Discounts, as always, are available for PZI Members
• Scholarships are available. Please contact the registrar, Jan Black
• Use the buttons below to select various forms of donations and registrations - you can always go back to add another selection. Donations to the Scholarship Fund help others attend.
• You may register for 2 people in various ways: as a couple, or with separate accommodations. Questions including dietary restrictions for each participant will be gathered after the initial information form is filled in. Questions, or concerns on the forms? Contact Corey Hitchcock
• Looking forward to seeing you there!