True Refuge Week: Self-Directed Intensive Practice for MRO Students
October 17 - 22, 2023

Ah, not to be cut off, Not through the slightest partition Shut out from the law of stars. The inner-What is it? If not intensified sky, Hurled through with birds and deep With the winds of homecoming. —Rainer Maria Rilke All of Buddhist practice is leading us toward our true homecoming: the discovery that this very life, this very heart-mind and body, can be the source of our deepest fulfillment. Through training, and sincere, well-directed effort, as well as the support of a conducive environment, we can find that the refuge we seek is already here. While most formal Zen training at the Monastery involves surrendering our unique needs and interests to the container of the schedule and community, we are offering this week of intensive practice to nurture the journey in a different way. This retreat is limited to formal training students in the Mountains and Rivers Order. For True Refuge Week, you’ll be part of a cohort of no more than ten MRO students, each stepping into residency for a special week of intensive practice in which your personal aspirations will help shape the container. You’ll have oryoki and regular meals with the residents and serve on a…

Buddha's Enlightenment Vigil
December 8 - 10, 2023

After he left his family’s home to seek liberation from suffering, Shakyamuni Buddha spent some years studying with spiritual teachers and engaging in extreme ascetic practices. Through it all, he remained unsatisfied that he had resolved his search. Inspired by a memory of an experience of deep, easeful meditation he’d experienced in his youth, he sat down at the base of a bo tree, took the zazen posture, and resolved not to rise until he had settled his questions. That morning, upon seeing the morning star, he realized annuttarasamyak-sambodhi, supreme perfect enlightenment. At Zen Mountain Monastery, we celebrate the Buddha’s enlightenment with a vigil dedicated to the simple yet profound practice of zazen, which Dogen Zenji called the “dharma gate of ease and joy.” We’ll begin after supper Friday evening with introductory remarks and a renewal of our bodhisattva vows. Then, we’ll mark the Buddha’s enlightenment by sitting together through the night and day. In the spirit of hermitage practice, participants will be invited to sit at their own pace, do walking meditation, rest when needed, and maintain a wholehearted mind of meditation throughout the vigil. A buffet table will be available in the dining hall for meals. Green tea will be…