An Invitation from Awakening Together Zen Community :
Hello Friends,
Awakening Together Zen Community extends a warm invitation to our sibling sangha to join us for our Spring 2022 Retreat, which we offer in a hybrid in-person/online format.
April 14-16
Thursday-Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (CDT)
Lunch Break, 12:00-1:30 PM each day
Online Offering: As a hybrid retreat, we are offering virtual participation for the entire retreat schedule for those unable to join in person. And as a virtual participant, it is also acceptable for you to participate in portions of the retreat as your schedule allows. If you are registered, you will receive all retreat materials and recordings of dharma talks.
While we acknowledge that the virtual experience will be different than being in person, our hope is that technology will allow for meaningful participation and engagement in the retreat for those outside of Minnesota or those otherwise unable to attend in person.
Read on for more information on the retreat, including How to Register found at the bottom of this email.
Retreat Theme:
Clarifying the Call to Practice: On the Great Matter of Birth and Death
What is Zen practice? What is its motivation? What is its direction? Why practice? What can this practice offer a fragmented and fractured world?
Traditionally, the striking of a wooden board with a mallet signals that zazen is about to start. Its sharp and definitive sound—while still warm and inviting—calls the sangha to practice together. The wooden sounding board, called the han, is inscribed with these words:
“Great is the matter of birth and death. All is impermanent, quickly passing. Awake! Awake! Don’t waste this precious life.”
In this experiential retreat, we’ll explore the meaning, resonances, and rhythm of this call to practice. In doing so, we have the opportunity to clarify our life and its direction. How can we go about living fully and freely in our day-to-day lives together? Our practice is responding to this constant call to live out the full truth of life, wholeheartedly, for the sake of all beings.
As our retreat coincides with important days of other traditions, we’ll also look to some wholesome teachings within those wisdom traditions which may illuminate our own understanding and practice.
Schedule:
April 14-16
Thursday-Saturday
8 AM - 5 PM Lunch Break,
12:00-1:30 PM each day
The daily schedule will include Zazen, Kinhin (walking meditation), Dharma talks, Inquiry, Relational Practice, and Ceremonies.Dharma talks will take place each day from 10-11 AM (CDT). Zazen and Kinhin (sitting and walking meditation) will occur during both the morning and afternoon segments.Inquiry will take place each day from 3-4 PM (CDT). You will receive a detailed schedule just prior to the retreat.
Retreat Cost: While we hope to eventually move towards a dana-based payment model, we recognize that we do not currently have the business structure in place to do so. For this retreat, we will have a set fee for the in-person and the online portion. Payment will be made directly to Flint.
In-person cost - $265Online cost - $65
Given the possibility of a COVID related disruption to our in-person plans, we are splitting the in-person registration fee into an initial payment and a final payment. Upon confirmation that our in-person plans are moving forward, you will pay the remaining balance of the registration fee. If COVID conditions disrupt Flint’s travel plans or CDC or local guidance about meeting in person changes significantly, we will move the retreat entirely online. (Also see in-person COVID Precautions below)
When you register, you will be asked to pay $100 as an initial payment for in-person or $65 as a one time payment for the virtual option. For in-person registrants, we will send out a PayPal link to pay the remaining balance of the in-person fee in early April.
COVID Precautions: We are planning this event with an abundance of care. Here are some notes we’d like to share with you:
We are interconnected: This retreat is one of a series of events happening within the Appamada sangha constellation this season. Flint’s travels will take him from Austin to Minneapolis, to Madison, and then on to the UK within a matter of weeks, so the care we take within this event will extend as care beyond it.
We’ll continue to monitor local community COVID case counts and hospitalization rates, as well as accord with local and national guidance around maintaining health, and reserve the option to move to an entirely virtual event should the need arise.
Currently, the event space does not require masks within individual meeting spaces, but does ask that we wear masks in public spaces, so please have a mask on hand. We will continue to assess our plans for masking as we draw near to the event.
We have kept registration capacity low (25 people instead of 40 as we have had in the past) in an effort to provide additional physical distancing in the event space. We continue to evaluate the possibility of increasing capacity.
Please take precautions to ensure your own safety, and that of all beings. We encourage participants to be vaccinated and boosted, and to test for COVID within 72 hours of attending. Masking and physical distancing practices are welcome. If you do not feel well, or you suspect you may have been exposed to a communicable illness, please join us virtually.
You may request free COVID test kits delivered to your home here: https://www.covidtests.gov/
This link will take you to the CDC’s list of approved N95 mask manufacturers: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/n95list1.html
We will share updates as we get closer to the event date.
In-Person Location:
Carondelet Event Center
1890 Randolph AvenueSaint Paul, MN, USA
How to Register: Use the link below to register for the retreat.
https://atzcspringretreat.eventbee.com
Questions? Please feel free to respond to this email with any questions that you might have about registration or the retreat itself.
With love,
CJ, Emily, Jenna, Liz, Marla, & Ryanon behalf of
Awakening TogetherA Zen Practice Community based in the Twin Cities MN