Spring comes with flowers, autumn with the moon,
summer with breeze, winter with snow.
When useless things don’t stick in your mind,
That is your best season.
Wumen Hui-k’ai (d.1260)

“Sesshin” means “to settle the heart mind, to touch the heart mind, to convey the heart mind. At sesshin, we separate ourselves from the concerns and preoccupations of our busy, everyday lives. In these special training circumstances, we are free to devote ourselves entirely to the practice of realising the Buddha Way. We are free to be true to our hearts. We are free to transcend the background chatter of our busy minds and see into the fact of our own nature.

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.

Bookings:

Applications are now open for members and non-members. If we need to limit attendance numbers to minimise the COVID risks, 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 1st September
2nd priority: Anyone (member or non-member) booking a full-time position by Friday 15th September
3rd priority: Any other bookings, in the order they are receive.

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.

Flyer and Application form here