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Led by Mary Jaksch Roshi, Sean Weaver Sensei, and Shona Pierce Sensei
Where: Mt Hutt Retreat, Hart Rd RD 12 Rakaia, Canterbury
Location Details: Mt Hutt Retreat Location. When: 15 to 18 December 2023. Starting Friday 15th at 6:00pm and finishing on Monday 18 December at 2pm. Cost: $220-$260 allowing for different income levels. |
More Details
This year we will meet our fellow Dharma travelers at Mt Hutt Retreat for an in-person Sesshin. Mary Jaksch Roshi, Sean Weaver Sensei, and Shona Pierce Sensei will lead us as our teachers in the retreat. This very special and deeply intimate time allows us to completely surrender to our practice, to let go of everyday concerns and turn our awareness instead to the beauty and grace of each moment in the deep stillness of Sesshin.
Sesshin: The word shin in Japanese means “mind,” in a sense that combines both thinking and feeling so we call it “heart-mind”. Sesshin literally means to “touch,” “express” or “reveal” this heart-mind. In other words, Sesshin is about the awakening of insight and compassion. It’s the foundational retreat that Zen practitioners everywhere attend if possible once or twice a year in order to keep our practice strong. The form of Sesshin is much the same everywhere around the world, consisting of a full programme of silent meditation, chanting, bowing, walking, eating, resting, hearing talks, face-to-face interview with the teachers, cleaning and food preparation. Everything we do in Sesshin is designed to plunge us increasingly, throughout the six days, into deep, reflective stillness. To enter wholeheartedly into Sesshin enables us to see into our own deepest motives and discover a new freedom from fears and compulsions. People leave Sesshin feeling refreshed, more emotionally stable and more joyfully alive.
Registration: We would appreciate registration as soon as possible to help facilitate easier organisation of Sesshin, roles and food. At the latest your registration must be in by 8 December 2023.
Fees: Fees include accommodation, food, the teachers’ accommodation and food, and minimal teaching fees. Please pay within the sliding scale, according to your financial situation. Instructions for payment can be found when you click the Registration button.
COVID precautions: An in-person Sesshin will require that participants have no current symptoms and test negative to a recent Covid RAT test before arrival. Full refunds will be made to anyone who tests positive. We will share a Health and Safety protocol with particular regard for participants who are immune compromised either themselves or people close to them in their lives.
If you are flying: Please arrive in Christchurch before 3pm on December 15th. Let us know what time you are arriving in Christchurch and we will coordinate lifts to the retreat. We also need to know the time that you need to be back at Christchurch airport. We will let you know who will pick you up and when. We recommend a flexible ticket in case symptoms arise or you test positive for Covid.
Dana: You are encouraged to offer Dana/Koha for the teachers in the form of cash or a personal gift. You may include a card or offer Dana anonymously.
* * *
Things to bring:
Everyone is asked to complete and provide the organisers with a negative Covid RAT test before arrival at the retreat.
If you are flying: We can provide a pillow, zafu, zabuton, and rugs for warmth in the zendo. Please indicate your need for these on the registration form. (Some knee cushions will also be available.)
Everyone: sleeping bag or other bedding, pillow and pillow slip, hot water bottle, torch, raincoat and warm clothes, sturdy footwear/boots, ear plugs & personal items. Slip-on shoes/slippers are handy for indoors. Please bring warm, comfortable black or dark clothes to wear in the zendo. The Retreat Centre is at the foot of the Mt Hutt mountain range so even though it will be summer time, there is always a chance that it may get cold especially in the evenings and early mornings or if the weather turns cold on us.
Food and allergies: The food is vegetarian. Where we can accommodate your food allergies we will. Should this not be possible and to reduce stress in the kitchen, you may need to adapt a meal to suit you. You may wish to bring food substitutes, e.g., gluten free bread or cereals. You can include your food requirements in the registration form.
Sesshin: The word shin in Japanese means “mind,” in a sense that combines both thinking and feeling so we call it “heart-mind”. Sesshin literally means to “touch,” “express” or “reveal” this heart-mind. In other words, Sesshin is about the awakening of insight and compassion. It’s the foundational retreat that Zen practitioners everywhere attend if possible once or twice a year in order to keep our practice strong. The form of Sesshin is much the same everywhere around the world, consisting of a full programme of silent meditation, chanting, bowing, walking, eating, resting, hearing talks, face-to-face interview with the teachers, cleaning and food preparation. Everything we do in Sesshin is designed to plunge us increasingly, throughout the six days, into deep, reflective stillness. To enter wholeheartedly into Sesshin enables us to see into our own deepest motives and discover a new freedom from fears and compulsions. People leave Sesshin feeling refreshed, more emotionally stable and more joyfully alive.
Registration: We would appreciate registration as soon as possible to help facilitate easier organisation of Sesshin, roles and food. At the latest your registration must be in by 8 December 2023.
Fees: Fees include accommodation, food, the teachers’ accommodation and food, and minimal teaching fees. Please pay within the sliding scale, according to your financial situation. Instructions for payment can be found when you click the Registration button.
COVID precautions: An in-person Sesshin will require that participants have no current symptoms and test negative to a recent Covid RAT test before arrival. Full refunds will be made to anyone who tests positive. We will share a Health and Safety protocol with particular regard for participants who are immune compromised either themselves or people close to them in their lives.
If you are flying: Please arrive in Christchurch before 3pm on December 15th. Let us know what time you are arriving in Christchurch and we will coordinate lifts to the retreat. We also need to know the time that you need to be back at Christchurch airport. We will let you know who will pick you up and when. We recommend a flexible ticket in case symptoms arise or you test positive for Covid.
Dana: You are encouraged to offer Dana/Koha for the teachers in the form of cash or a personal gift. You may include a card or offer Dana anonymously.
* * *
Things to bring:
Everyone is asked to complete and provide the organisers with a negative Covid RAT test before arrival at the retreat.
If you are flying: We can provide a pillow, zafu, zabuton, and rugs for warmth in the zendo. Please indicate your need for these on the registration form. (Some knee cushions will also be available.)
Everyone: sleeping bag or other bedding, pillow and pillow slip, hot water bottle, torch, raincoat and warm clothes, sturdy footwear/boots, ear plugs & personal items. Slip-on shoes/slippers are handy for indoors. Please bring warm, comfortable black or dark clothes to wear in the zendo. The Retreat Centre is at the foot of the Mt Hutt mountain range so even though it will be summer time, there is always a chance that it may get cold especially in the evenings and early mornings or if the weather turns cold on us.
Food and allergies: The food is vegetarian. Where we can accommodate your food allergies we will. Should this not be possible and to reduce stress in the kitchen, you may need to adapt a meal to suit you. You may wish to bring food substitutes, e.g., gluten free bread or cereals. You can include your food requirements in the registration form.