‘Live neither in the entanglements of outer things 

These words from Verses On the Faith Mind point us to the Middle Way.

In this sesshin we will explore how to bring this teaching into our everyday life.

The sesshin will be held concurrently at the Annandale Zendo and online via zoom and will be led by Jane Andino and Peter Bursky.

Jane Andino has been a student of Paul Maloney since 2007 and was invited to be an apprentice teacher in 2018. She received transmission from her teacher Paul Maloney at the end of the 2022 Winter sesshin. Jane is a leader in the Blue Mountains Zen group and works as a musician.

Peter Bursky has studied primarily with Subhana Barzaghi Rōshi and Allan Marett Rōshi. He was invited to become an apprentice teacher in 2019. He is also a musician and student in the Ueda Sōko-ryū tradition of Chanoyu (Japanese Tea Ceremony).

Winter sesshin begins on Friday evening and closes at midday on Wednesday. There are four blocks of zazen per day: Early Morning, Morning, Afternoon and Evening. Participants can sign up for any number of blocks but are urged to take advantage of the long weekend and sign up for the full Friday to Monday sittings. The Annandale dojo is open for Early Morning, Morning and Afternoon blocks, but all Evening blocks are online.

Attending the opening of sesshin on the Friday evening is mandatory unless there are exceptional reasons not to. This is an online/offline sesshin, so we want to ensure that you understand how the schedule will work and can ask any questions about technical aspects before the sesshin begins. Dokusan will be offered in the morning and afternoon for those online and at Annandale. For those not booked for online dokusan, this will be a free period for outside kinhin, zazen, reading, or other meditation activity.

At Annandale, Peter will lead the sesshin on Saturday and Sunday, Jane on Monday and Tuesday. Friday evening and Wednesday morning will be only online.

The schedule will include zazen, walking meditation, sutra recitation, dokusan and a teisho every evening. Please set up a quiet place in your home, so you can sit comfortably and without distraction. Attending sesshin at home and at Annandale is a wonderful opportunity to integrate your zazen and work/home practice: we find how to be un-busy in all our activities.

A scholarship will be available for members and non-members who are struggling with their finances. This is available for full time attendance at this sesshin. Please contact Scott for more details.