A silent 3-day Zen meditation retreat with a focus on daily activity.
Red Cedar Zen is delighted to announce we can again offer our new financially accessible, silent Zen sesshin at Samish Island Campground. (See also our 8-day sesshin with Zoketsu Norman Fischer)
The retreat revolves around the Zen koan:
As Yunyan was sweeping the ground, Daowu said, "Too busy."
Yunyan said, "You should know there's one who isn't busy."
Daowu said, "If so, then there's a second moon."
Yunyan held up the broom and said, "Which moon is this?"
Come meet the one who's not busy and gaze up for the second moon when we come together for three days and nights of silent practice of sitting, walking, and work meditation in this beautiful church camp on the water on Samish Island in the Skagit Valley.
There will be oryoki meals using ingredients from local sources, daily dharma talks by Nomon Tim Burnett, dokusan with Tim, and an extended afternoon work period.
The three-day sesshin runs from 5pm on Sunday June 30th until 5pm on Wednesday July 3rd.
In appreciation of the fuller work period (2-3 hours), and that we'll be doing our own food, our Samish Campground hosts have generously offered to reduce the rate significantly.
Exact Location:
This year's work sesshin will be using the main Samish Campground (not the church). Check in at the dining hall and bring cushions to the main camp "CFC" (large barn-like building we use as a zendo at the 8-day retreat).
Schedule: (full time attendance only)
Sunday - arrive between 4pm and 5pm to set up the zendo and be ready for evening practice starting at 7pm. Note that
no dinner will be served, bring a snack as needed.
Monday - 5am - 9pm silent sesshin day. 3 oryoki meals.
Tuesday - 5am - 9pm silent sesshin day. 3 oryoki meals.
Wednesday - 5am - 4pm sesshin day. Oryoki breakfast and lunch.
After afternoon work we'll clean up and be out at about 5pm.
Prerequisites & Requirements
To benefit from being at a Samish Sesshin please sign up only if you have done Zen meditation with a community and can commit to silent practice, do your best to follow the entire schedule, and stay on the Samish grounds for the duration.
Food
The retreat includes 3 simple vegetarian meals per day prepared with local ingredients starting with breakfast on Monday. Meals are taking with the oryoki eating bowls. Plan on bringing your own set. If you need to purchase one we recommend the sets from Still Sitting.
Housing: Housing is provided with several options:
E-Cabins are recently built multi-room cabins with a bathroom shared by one neighboring room:
E-Cabin, solo room, $130 - $180 sliding scale
(8 available to us, sharing extends this resource to more participants)
E-Cabin, shared room: $110 - $160 sliding scale
(16 spots available in 8 rooms).
e-Cabin Exterior
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e-Cabin Interior
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Rustic Cabins - simple plywood cabins built in the 1950's. Camp style bathrooms in a separate building. Most rustic housing will be private.
Rustic cabin, solo room, $90 - $140 sliding scale
Rustic Cabin, exterior
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Rustic cabin, interior
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RV with Hookup - you are welcome to bring a camping trailer or RV.
RV option: $90 - $140 sliding scale
Tent - you can bring a tent and camp on the lawn. A lower cost option.
Tent Option: $70 - $120 sliding scale
Notes on fees:
1) Dana (teacher donations) is not included in these fees. Registration fees cover retreat costs with any extra to Red Cedar Zen Community for our ongoing expenses and costs. An opportunity to make teacher donation (dana) will be available at the site.
2) Paying higher on the sliding scale enables us to offer scholarships. In the registration process you first pick your housing and stay length which adds the base fee. Then additional funds may be added on the next screen.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available for all of our events on request. Please contact the registrar.
Samish Island Campground
We have rented the Community of Christ's wonderful camp at the eastern end of Samish Island for over a dozen years for our residential retreats. A wonderful place where sea meets sky.
11633 Scott Rd, Bow WA 98232
Map and Directions
