Boundless Way Coming & Going Three Week Intensive Retreat

Coming and Going Sesshin 2020

Three-week Residential and Non-Residential

Open House Meditation Retreat

January 3 – 24, 2020

Boundless Way Temple, Worcester, MA

www.worcesterzen.org

Please join us at our annual open house Zen retreat at Boundless Way Temple.We will be open every day from 6 am to 9 pm during this sesshin.Here are all the ways that you can take part:

Join our residential practice by staying at the Temple overnight for one or more nights. Advance registration is required for residential practice. Details and the link for online application are below.

Attend the opening ceremony on January 3rd at 7:30 PM

Visit the Temple for any or all of the practice periods below:

6:00 AM – 8:00 AM Early morning practice period

Includes dokusan (individual meetings with a teacher or senior student)

- 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM Late morning practice period:
  - Includes sutra service, teisho (dharma talk by a teacher or senior student) and dharma dialogue
- 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM Afternoon practice period
  - Includes dokusan
- 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Evening practice period
  - Includes teisho and dokusan

Donations for any part of a practice period will be gratefully received in the collection bowl in the front hallway. The suggested donation is $5 – $50/day.

Attend the Shuso Hossen ceremony for Esther Sorgenfrei Blom on January 23rd at 7:30 PM

David Dae An Rynick, Roshi and Melissa Myozen Blacker, Roshi will be the primary teachers for this retreat. Other Boundless Way Teachers and senior students will also be offering dharma talks and dokusan throughout the retreat period.

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Sangha Friends,

Applications are now being accepted for the Boundless Way Temple 2020 Coming and Going Sesshin, a three-week open house meditation retreat, which can be either or both residential and non-residential. The Coming and Going Sesshin begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 3, and ends on Friday, January 24th at noon.

Opportunities will be available for residency at the Temple as well as participation in any part of the daily practice periods. Each day, Boundless Way teachers, dharma holders and senior dharma teachers will offer practice interviews (dokusan), and there will be dharma talks (teisho) from Boundless Way teachers, senior dharma teachers and dharma teachers, followed by dharma dialogues. [Dharma dialogues may be recorded and posted, and participants can request that the recording be paused during their own questions and comments.] There will also be opportunities for work practice (samu). All activities will be held at the Boundless Way Temple at 1030 Pleasant Street in Worcester.

If you would like to join us for some or all of the daily practice periods, the suggested donation is $5 – $50/day. Donations for any part of a daily practice period will be gratefully received in the collection bowl in the front hallway.

For those interested in residency at the temple, the cost is outlined below. Meals and lodging are provided with your residential practice registration.

The fee schedule and cancellation policy are as follows:

$103 per night for stays of 6 or fewer nights

$82 per night if total stay is 7 nights or more (nights need not be consecutive)

$72 per night for entire retreat

Payment in full is required at the time of registration.

If you cancel at least 24 hours before your scheduled arrival, 100% of your fee will be refunded.

We realize that there are extenuating circumstances that might prevent you from attending the Coming and Going Sesshin. If such circumstances arise and you learn that you cannot attend, please notify the registrar as soon as possible.

Financial assistance to attend the residential practice portion of the Coming and Going Sesshin is available, so please do not let money be the reason you can’t attend. Because providing these opportunities does involve costs for food, rent, utilities, and to support our teachers’ time, we do ask that everyone make a contribution in some amount. We encourage you to pay what you can truly afford, and know that your contribution of whatever amount is welcome. To request financial assistance, please contact the registrar at [email protected].

Important notes:

Your place will be secured after both a completed application and your payment have been received. Verbal requests for reservations are not accepted.
We offer easy-to-use online registration. This application is a streamlined and secure process. You may mail your check to the Boundless Way Temple Treasurer or use PayPal to pay the registration fee. The link to this online form is below.
There are two options for payment – PayPal and personal check. If you choose PayPal, after completing and submitting the application form go to the bottom of the form page. There is a PayPal button which will bring up the payment screen. You do not need to be a member of PayPal to use this payment method. Alternatively, you may choose to send your payment to the address below.
Boundless Way Zen now offers a Retreat Assistance Fund. Regardless of whether you can join us for some or all of the Coming and Going Sesshin, you may contribute to this fund. The Retreat Assistance Fund helps defray the costs for those who have requested financial aid. Donations to this fund can be made by check or via PayPal. The payer may make a donation without registering for the Coming and Going Sesshin or, for those registering, add any amount to the base fee as a donation to the Retreat Assistance Fund. Please note, if you are registering for the Coming and Going Sesshin, any amount donated over the registration fee will go to the Retreat Assistance Fund unless you indicate otherwise. If you are not registering for the Coming and Going Sesshin, any amount donated via PayPal or check will go to the Retreat Assistance Fund. If you choose to donate by check, please note “Retreat Assistance Fund” on the memo line for your check.

The online registration form is at: http://worcesterzen.org/cags/registration.

If paying by check, please make your check payable to “Boundless Way Temple” and mail your check to:

Treasurer, Boundless Way Temple

1030 Pleasant Street

Worcester, MA 01602

Please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

We hope to see you there!

Esther Sorgenfrei Blom, Shuso

Alan Richardson, Assistant Shuso – [email protected]

Jenny Smith, Registrar – [email protected]