7 Day Zen Healing / Awakening through Living / Dying Retreat

March 18th - March 25th, 2024
An Integral Zen Retreat
– Where Silence and Healing Converge

Living and Dying Retreat

Life and Death by Eihei Dogen

Translated by Eido Shimano

“Just accept that samsara (life-death) is nirvana. That there is no samsara to avoid. No nirvana (enlightenment) to wish for. Then you will be released from samsara (life-death). It is a mistake to think that life transforms into death. Life is a temporary condition always already with its before and after. Therefore in the Buddha Dharma life is beginningless. Death too is a temporary condition also with its before and after. Thus, death is deathless.

At the moment of life there is nothing but life. At the moment of death, there is nothing but death. Therefore, when there is life just let life be life. When death comes face it and offer yourself. Don't love one and hate the other.

This life-death is the very Life of the Buddha. If you hate it, you lose the very Life of the Buddha. If you dwell in samsara (life-death) and cling to it, you also lose the Life of the Buddha and you have only a lifeless Buddha.

There is a very easy way to become a Buddha. Refrain from all evil. Don't cling to samsara. Have deep compassion for all beings. Show a reverential heart towards elders. Be kind to the young. Don't dislike the myriad things. Keep your mind free of desire and judgments. Then, you will be called a Buddha. Seek no more.”

~Dogen

Description

It is impossible to fully awaken without healing and it is impossible to fully heal without awakening. Resolving the great matter of Life and death is crucial to both. Enlightenment is not the dissolution of the self; it is the realization that the sense of an independent self is a perceptual illusion. Being stuck in this illusion of self is what is referred to as living in samsara.

Letting go of our addiction to samsara requires healing practices. Deepening our insight into the true nature of nirvana requires meditation practices. Becoming a healthy awakened human being requires a full realization that samsara and nirvana are not two.

Snow falls

endlessly

amidst

life and death

~Santoka Taneda

In this retreat we will explore frameworks of death from an Integral Zen perspective, which includes Zen views and practices as well as a Tibetan Buddhist ones. We will be supported practicing purification, healing and awakening, to liberate karma. We will learn about the Bardos and the possibilities in preparing for liberation after our physical death. We will also review end of life topics for others and ourselves.

We have a limited number of triple rooms available, once they are filled the option will be removed.

Retreat Pricing: 

Single occupancy $1,250 (350 deposit + 900)

Double occupancy $975 (limited numbers of rooms) (350 deposit + 625)

Triple occupancy $875 (limited numbers of rooms) (350 deposit + 525)

Refund Policy

Payments are non-refundable. Full payment is due by February 15th, 2024.