Under the bodhi tree living beings are ferried over
Ferried across, all beings are born into no-birth, no-death
Birthless, deathless is the true great being
The great Vairocana Buddha has no form, no marks.
Daowu (769-835)

At sesshin, we let go into vastness and silence and settle into our depths. Here we can be gentle with ourselves and embrace the present moment without thoughts of realisation, without ideas of goals. Here is radical simplicity, seeing what is, seeing when the flow of living is blocked – lovingly, intelligently, compassionately. ‘Sesshin’ means ‘to settle the heart-mind, to touch the heart-mind, to convey the heart-mind’; each day offers endless opportunities to continue this practice and realise each moment, each moment which contains everything.

Old-timers and new students alike are most welcome. However, as sesshin involves seven or eight hours a day of zazen – sitting meditation – it is suitable only for people with experience in meditating for extended periods.

Kodoji or Ancient Ground Temple, is SZC’s retreat centre in the Upper MacDonald Valley, about 2 hours north-west of Sydney, via Wisemans Ferry and St Albans. It was built over the last thirty-five years by Sydney Zen Centre students. Kodoji sits in a beautiful valley called Gorricks Run, surrounded by high sandstone cliffs and deep wilderness.

Indoor accommodation is available if you require it. Most participants prefer to bring their own tents and camp in the paddock, or sleep under cover of the dojo verandah.

COVID safe:

The sesshin will be run on COVID-safe principles. If you experience cold/flu/respiratory symptoms in the days leading up to the sesshin, you can not attend sesshin, and we will fully refund your fee.

Backup plan / cancellation of sesshin:

In the event that flooding or fire risk prevents us from accessing Kodoji, our backup plan is to relocate the sesshin to our Annandale zendo during the daytime, with early morning and evening blocks online. We will provide a refund option for participants who might find these arrangements impractical.

Bookings:

Applications are now open for members and non-members. If we need to limit attendance numbers, we will allocate places in the order they are received, subject to the following priorities:

1st priority: SZC members who book full-time or part-time positions by Friday 5 September.
2nd priority: Anyone (member or non-member) booking a full-time position by Friday 19 September.
3rd priority: Any other bookings, in the order they are received.

Closing of applications/cancellations/refunds:

Much volunteer organisation is required to plan food, transport, and other logistics for sesshin, and late changes make that work harder and may impact our costs. Therefore:

• All fees must be paid in full by Friday 19 September.
• No applications will be taken after Friday 19 September.
• No refunds are payable for cancellations after Friday 19 September, or if you leave sesshin earlier than agreed, unless your withdrawal is COVID-related.

Fees:

Full time SZC member: $620  Full time non-member: $780

Part time SZC member: $90 per day   Part time non-member: $120 per day

Children: $10 per child per day

A 10% additional fee will apply for payments made after Friday 19 September

Payment of fees: Please make a bank transfer via PayID using our email: info@szc.org.au Please tag the payment with your last name and the letters “SE”.

Contact: Ben Kunovski benkunovski@gmail.com & Ameli Tanchitsa ameli.tanchitsa@gmail.com

Please email both Ben and Ameli when applying for sesshin.