Sydney Zen Centre Spring sesshin (retreat of 7 days) will be led by Gillian Coote, roshi

“Over the silent peaceful days, breath by breath, as the ochre cliffs, eucalyptus forests, brilliant starry skies and the songs of frogs, crickets and birds advance and confirm the self, birds and trees and stars and we ourselves come forth in perfect harmony.” Our founding teacher, Robert Aitken, Dawn Cloud, 1917-2017.

Sesshin is an invitation to leave the tumbling, noisy, incessant world behind. At Kodoji, in the valley of beauty and wilderness, practising in deep silence and letting go of ideas and preoccupations creates opportunities to wake up moment by moment – to come home to the lyrebird’s song, the starry heavens and the vastness of this universe. To come home to your true self.

Sitting quietly
doing nothing,
Spring comes,
the grass grows by itself.
– Basho

Traditional sesshin offers countless opportunities for practice – zazen, kinin, walking meditation in the bush, dokusan, teisho, sutras and samu (or work practice). Old timers and new students are most welcome. As traditional Zen sesshin involves seven or eight hours a day of zazen – sitting meditation – it is not suitable for people without previous meditation experience.

Venue – 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. There is limited indoor accommodation; it is generally expected that sesshin students will pitch their own tents.

Contact: Jill Steverson jillsteverson@gmail.com