Top Rated iconTop Rated

Sesshin - Loving Kindness

Location icon
79640 Quincy Mayger Road, Clatskanie, Oregon 97016, USA
Date
June 9 - 15, 2025

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Details of this retreat

Because of our past as well as presently existing beliefs and attitudes, our capacity to meet ourselves and life and the people, places and things within it, with an open heart, is probably not fully embodied. Buddha taught that love and friendliness can be developed immeasurably, and that there is only benefit in filling ourselves and the world with love’s energy.

In this retreat we will engage various practices for opening the aperture of the heart wider than its default setting with the goal of familiarizing ourselves with just how much freedom we have to be warm and open, even in difficult times.

Together we will contemplate metta’s medicine, explore zazen as a heart centered practice and co-create a bright energy of compassion that we can meaningfully carry forth into the world
Sesshin is a rigorous and, at times, challenging silent meditation retreat that is not recommended for beginners. In order to attend in person, we ask that you attend one of our silent weekend retreats or a five-seven day silent retreat at another Zen Center before registering for our longer zen retreats. For more information about what to expect when attending a sesshin, click here.

For the latest on our health policies click here.


 





 

Schedule

Please note: this is an approximation; sesshin schedules vary with leader and season.

First evening
5:00 p.m. Registration begins
6:00 p.m. Dinner (informal) and sesshin orientation
9:00 p.m. Zazen and formal opening of sesshin
10:00 p.m. Monastery doors locked

All full days
4:20 a.m. Wake up bell
5:00 a.m. Zazen
6:50 a.m. Service
7:20 a.m. Breakfast (oriyoki) in dining hall
8:30 a.m. Work period begins
9:50 a.m. Warning bell to clean up
10:00 a.m. End of work period
10:30 a.m. Zazen
12:20 p.m. Service
12:30 p.m. Lunch (oriyoki) in dining hall
3:00 p.m. Zazen
5:20 p.m. Service
5:30 p.m. Dinner (oriyoki) in dining hall
7:00 p.m. Zazen
9:20 p.m. Formal Tea/Zazen
10:00 p.m. Monastery doors locked

Last Sunday
4:50 a.m. Wake-up bell
5:30 a.m. Zazen
6:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:00 a.m. Closing Circle
10:00 a.m. Sunday Program (service, zazen)
11:20 a.m. Dharma talk and formal end of sesshin
12:00 p.m. Lunch (informal)
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change

Getting Here

Location icon Zen Community of Oregon, 79640 Quincy Mayger Road, Clatskanie, Oregon 97016, USA

Accommodation

Event fee
Event fee (ZCO member rate)
Online only (sustaining rate)
Online only (scholarship rate)

Customer Reviews

4.92 out of 5.0 average rating

5.0
Verified logo
Gratitude and Full of Dharma Joy
This was a seven-day silent retreat that was challenging both physically and mentally. I learned a lot and my heart was filled with gratitude and joy.

I was surprised and amazed that there are still koans being practiced in modern times. We are initially pushed toward letting go of our carefully guarded egos.

I am very grateful to the three teachers for teaching their own experiences and practice methods with us. Zen Teacher Fuho said: The greatest purpose of being born as a human being is to achieve enlightenment. When practicing, one breath after another, one phrase after another, you should never give up your original intention of achieving enlightenment.

Chozen Rosi emphasizes the use of powerful physical breathing techniques to achieve a state of mindlessness in practice. Rogen Rosi said: You have to love to continue to meditate with practicing breathing techniques like this. On the last night, Zen Teacher Fuho said It is a great gift that Chozen Rosi has given us an opportunity to meditate silently together in the meditation hall.
I must grasp what I have learned and keep practicing.

5.0
Verified logo
A deep experience in a nourishing setting
I appreciated the container that ZCO has built to plunge deeply into practice. Food was astonishingly good. The teachers were incredibly skilled with means of transmitting the dharma, striking the right notes at auspicious times. A most intimate sesshin.

5.0
Verified logo
Highly recommended
Great Vow’s teachers demonstrate commitment, kindness, and authenticity. Community members and participants show remarkable maturity. Grounds are lovingly maintained.

5.0
Verified logo
Koan Sesshin is a masterclass
This was a challenging Sesshin. The wake-up bell rang at 4:20; formal tea ended at 9:30. In between, Chozen and Fuho gave explicit instructions on developing concentration and switching from thinking mind to awareness mind. Their dharma talks gave the full context for koan study, but made clear that this was koan practice - a surrender of small mind into big mind. This seemed mysterious at first, but made more sense as the days went by. Koan Sesshin is not for the faint of heart, but worked its magic even on beginning students.

5.0
Verified logo
Introduction to Zen
A wonderful one day session covering all the basics. The teachers were lovely and I have so much gratitude toward them for all that they shared.

Similar retreats