For the Time Being: A Virtual Urban Sesshin

Please join us in this 3-day virtual Urban Sesshin, led by Shuso Benjamine KōJin Heath. As we carry on the theme of our Ango study text, Uji—or Being Time—this retreat will examine our shared relationship to time, and how, as engaged Bodhisattvas practicing in the world, each of us manifest past, present and future, uniquely expressing this pivotal moment of our lives.

Each day will begin and end with spacious amounts of zazen, and afternoons will include workshops related to our collective experience of time—bearing witness to our country’s violent and racist past; meeting those ongoing injustices and inequalities from a ground of sustainability and resiliency; and finally examining how each of us can uniquely offer benefit to the world, imagining a future that expresses the qualities that we value as Bodhisattvas.

Morning zazen (8:00a – 9:25a) and evening zazen (6:30p – 7:25p) are open to all via our regular zendo Zoom link, no registration needed. To participate in the workshops and late-morning zazen, registration is required (Zoom details will be included in your registration confirmation email). You may register for the entire retreat, by the day, or join us for a partial day.

Questions? Contact our registrar at registrar@villagezendo.org.

Please note that if you paid for “Full Ango” when you registered for Winter Sesshin, then you will be pre-registered for Urban Sesshin and zazenkai—no further registration needed on your part.

If you would like to register for zazenkai only, please click here.

Register Now


The following people have registered and entered
the 2020-2021 Winter Ango of Village Zendo, Dotokuji
View Ango Roll

Resources: 

Letter from Enkyo Roshi

2020/21 Winter Ango Commitment Form

Letter from Shuso, Benjamine Kojin Heath

Study Text: Uji, “The Time-Being” by Eihei Dogen Zenji

“Being Time” – A Film by Enkyo Roshi in 1990


Suggested Fees:*
*All fees are suggested, and if you can’t give the full recommended amount, we hope that you’ll give what you can afford. Your participation is important to us. For questions, please contact our registrar at registrar@villagezendo.org.

  • Members
    • $120 per day
    • $300 for full Urban Sesshin (Mar 10-12) & zazenkai (Mar 13)
  • Non-Members
    • $150 per day
    • $400 for full Urban Sesshin (Mar 10-12) & zazenkai (Mar 13)

Schedule: March 10 – 12

(All times are Eastern Time)

Open to all via our public zendo Zoom link.
8:00a Zazen (Gatha of Atonement ~8:05)
8:25 Stretch
8:30 Zazen
8:55 Verse of the Kesa, stretch
9:00 Zazen
9:25 Announcements

Open to registered Urban Sesshin participants only.
11:00 Zazen
11:25 Stretch
11:30 Zazen
11:55 Stretch
12:00 Zazen
12:25 Service (Heart Sutra, Sho Sai Myo, Ennmei Jukku), announcements

* 2:00 WORKSHOP * (see below for details)

Open to all via our public zendo Zoom link.
6:30 Zazen
6:55 Stretch
7:00 Zazen
7:25 Four Vows, announcements

Workshops

March 10: Arriving in the Present
A Talk and All-Levels Yoga Practice with Cyndi Lee
2:00p – 4:00p

How can we meet our lives—and thus the world—as it is, from a place of sustainability and resiliency? OM Yoga founder Cyndi Lee will offer a talk on self-caring practices and sustainable yoga as a way of working with all the ingredients of our lives, as we are and as we change. Cyndi’s talk will be followed by sustainable yoga asana practice, a slow-paced practice grounded in mindfulness and designed to balance our physical and mental strength, stability, and clarity. These practices energize and enhance us in the moment, and expand our capacity to move, breathe, and live well in the future.

Return home with new tools that allow us to care for ourselves in a way that naturally helps us care for others and the world.

Minimal props required: Yoga blocks, bolsters, blanket; OR chair, firm pillows, blanket.


March 11: Bearing Witness to the Past
2:00 – 4:00

How can we break through our country’s collective reluctance to acknowledge the reality of our violent history and racial injustice? In this workshop, Village Zendo sangha member Mukei and guest speakers will lead us in bearing witness to the experiences of People of Color in the past and present.


March 12: Imagining the Future
2:00 – 4:00

How can we break out of limiting views of what’s possible? In this workshop, presentations will be shown on creative activism through various forms of expression. Then, collectively, we will imagine how we can envision a future that expresses the qualities that we value as Bodhisattvas

Register Now

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