Wilderness Retreat in the Great Smoky Mountains

The mountain landscape that holds our Sangha is a billion years old – mountains formed by a mighty collision of what later became North America and Africa. When young, these mountains rivaled the Himalayas. After formation, these mountains were covered by a forest that has never experienced a major ecological disaster – no volcanism, no ocean submersion, no scouring by the ice age glaciers. The result is an ancient temperate rainforest of unparalleled biodiversity.

A special Sunday guest

We are pleased to let you know that well-known Zen teacher and Dogen scholar Shohaku Okumura, along with his wife Yuko, will be joining us this Sunday for the morning program at Windhorse (9:30 – 11:30).

Shohaku, founder of the Sanshin Zen Community in Bloomington, Indiana, is giving two talks in Asheville, with book signings for his recently published Realizing Genjokoan.  (The first talk was last night at Malaprops; the second, on Zen monk Ryokan, will be at 7 on Saturday evening at the Baha’i Center, and is hosted by the Asheville Zen Center.)

And after...

The Wall

It left no traces. All the lists were taken down, the windows uncovered, furnitures returned to their usual places and the last two of our out-of-town participants left Asheville this morning. The August sesshin with it's full moon and teisho's featuring Master Dogen, a water pitcher and Close Encounters is gone. 

But is there really no trace left?

Before Sesshin

Last Thursday, July 28, Sunya-sensei and Magda Kadlubowska returned from Poland, followed by their suitcases, which arrived a day later. After over 3 weeks of quiet time Windhorse is ready to resume its usual training schedule - or, considering the fact that the pre-sesshin week is now underway - the usual "work like hell" schedule.

The upcoming 6-day sesshin runs from Sunday, August 7th till Saturday the 13th. The work checklists are printed and waiting for the checks. Anyone able and willing to come and help with preparations throughout the week can count on a grateful welcome, focused work practice and a tasty lunch. So don’t forget about the Three Treasures - participating in putting sesshin together is a great way to help wake up the Buddha, turn the Wheel of the Dharma, and strengthen our Sangha bonds!

Wondering how to prepare yourself for the sesshin?