{"id":750,"date":"2006-03-13T06:48:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-13T06:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2006\/03\/life-1-of-3-zen-and-the-art-of-retreat\/"},"modified":"2006-03-13T06:48:00","modified_gmt":"2006-03-13T06:48:00","slug":"life-1-of-3-zen-and-the-art-of-retreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2006\/03\/life-1-of-3-zen-and-the-art-of-retreat.html","title":{"rendered":"Life: (1 of 3) Zen and the art of Retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

mmm\u2026. post retreat bliss.<\/p>\n

I am just returning from two nights in the mountains of northern Idaho where I embarked on my first ever Soto Zen retreat. The retreat was led by Rev. Master Zensho of the Order of Buddhist<\/a> Contemplatives<\/a>, founded by Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett (1924-1996)<\/a>.It was an incredibly well-needed retreat. I was certainly feeling a bit out of sorts (as my last post<\/a> should indicate). \"\"<\/a>I was accompanied\/brought along by my dear friend, Sally, a long time Soto Zen practitioner. Here she is in front of the Mission Mountains<\/a> in northwestern Montana.<\/p>\n

As you can see from this and the other photos, the trip was as much about getting out of Missoula and into the wild a bit, back in touch with the natural beauty of the northwest.<\/p>\n

Here is a bit of a lake we passed on the way up.
\"\"<\/a>\n

<\/p><\/div>\n

And a sunset from the retreat house.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\u201cthe shop\u201d \u2013 where two other guys and I stayed.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>
From the trip home: some buffalo grazing about 100 yards from the highway in Bison Range<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>And finally, me with the Mission Mountains behind me.<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>For those interested in some details: The retreat was hosted by a couple, in their home in the mountains just south of Sandpoint, Idaho. Sally and I arrived around 6pm Friday night, in time for dinner and evening meditation. For the first night it was just the five of us: our hosts, the monk, and Sally and I.<\/p>\n

The meditation:<\/span> briefly, we sat in the typical Buddhist posture (they aren\u2019t rigid about leg posture), in rows facing the wall with eyes open (as opposed to facing each other with eyes closed, which I am more accustomed to). Their is no \u2018object\u2019 of the meditation, it is what I would call an \u2018open awareness\u2019 meditation, where one simply practices bare awareness and bringing a wandering mind back to that open awareness. It\u2019s harder than it sounds \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

The schedule <\/span>(from what I remember): after the Friday evening meditation, we had a short dharma<\/a> talk and worked out the schedule a bit, then off to bed (around 9:30pm). Up at 6:30 for 7am meditation and short service. Breakfast (all meals Saturday and Sunday morning were in silence) around 8:30am, then meditation\/walking meditation\/meditation. Then a dharma talk, then lunch around noon and free time (for working, reading, resting) until 4pm, when we had another dharma talk, sitting\/walking meditation\/sitting. A light dinner, and then evening service and meditation. Then free time and to bed again at about 9:30 to start it all again Sunday. Around 1pm Sunday we finished with one last dharma talk and conversation as people began packing up to go.<\/p>\n

As I said, it was a much needed attitude adjustment. Further reflections to follow.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

mmm\u2026. post retreat bliss. I am just returning from two nights in the mountains of northern Idaho where I embarked on my first ever Soto Zen retreat. The retreat was led by Rev. Master Zensho of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, founded by Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett (1924-1996).It was an incredibly well-needed retreat. I was certainly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nLife: (1 of 3) Zen and the art of Retreat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"mmm.... post retreat bliss.I am just returning from two nights in the mountains of northern Idaho where I embarked on my first ever Soto Zen retreat. 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