Windhorse Zen Community is a group of Dharma practitioners dedicated to a dynamic, engaged Zen practice, on the mat and in the world. The Windhorse is an ancient symbol of the boundless freedom and energy of our own intrinsic nature, and the fundamental perfection of all existence. With the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha on its back, the Windhorse carries this teaching of Original Perfection to beings in all directions.
Rooted in the ancient mountains of western North Carolina near Asheville, Windhorse Zen Community is a group of people who come together to practice Zen, to wake up to the deepest truth of the Buddha’s teaching and to embody it in their daily lives.
The teachers at Windhorse, Sunya Kjolhede and Lawson Sachter, were ordained and sanctioned by Roshi Philip Kapleau. The training at Windhorse blends the strengths of both Rinzai and Soto practice, using breath, open awareness and koan-based zazen meditation.We also work with unconscious forces that deep practice may bring to the surface – both those that are creative and inspiring, as well as those that stir up painful mindstates that may undermine one’s Dharma work. We live simply, growing our own food, heating with wood collected from our woods, and trying to live in harmony with the earth and each other. Recognizing the vital role of authentic relationship, we set a high value on Sangha as the living expression of Zen teaching and practice. Along with daily meditation and regular retreats, we offer residential training that makes it possible to be immersed in the practice here at Windhorse for longer or shorter periods of time. Founded by Lawson Sachter and Sunya Kjolhede, Windhorse relocated from Upstate New York to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, just outside of Asheville.
Both Sunya and Lawson are Dharma heirs of Roshi Philip Kapleau and have been practicing Zen for over 30 years. Married and ordained, with four grown children, they’ve been exploring ways of integrating traditional Zen practice within the context of family and relationship, social and environmental activism, and group and intrapsychic dynamics.
The basis for this exploration is a zazen (meditation) practice that integrates the concentrated energy of Rinzai Zen with the deeply rooted faith-mind of Soto practice. Daily sitting and extended retreats, or sesshin, lay the foundation for seeing into the root illusion of a fixed, isolated self, opening the way for genuine and lasting change—in our lives and in the world.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.
This first line of Edward Abbey's poem "Benedicto," feels strangely relevant to those of us who pulled up stakes in Rochester, NY, in August, 2003 to relocate to the mountains of Western North Carolina. We now have a wonderful place on Panther Branch Road in Alexander, NC, located 15-20 minutes northwest of Asheville.
The property also has a "most amazing view", a view only hinted at in these photos - a sweeping overlook of the ancient, majestic Pisgah Mountains to the south. On many mornings white mist envelopes these blue mountains, resembling a Sung dynasty landscape. Then, as the mist clears, the mountains and green foothills reveal themselves, with white, yellow, and orange wildflowers scattered everywhere. Summer nights are bright with stars and moonlight and the flashing of thousands of fireflies. It is an extraordinary place: the land breathes a stillness and power deeply conducive to Zen practice.
