Walking the Boundless Way

During this silent retreat, we will practice within the Boundless Way Zen Temple tradition, moving fluidly between silence and dialogue, stillness and movement, to awaken to the possibility of being fully human. Together, we will meet our lives with compassion and wisdom, cultivating a basic friendliness toward ourselves and others, and discovering a place to rest even in the midst of this world on fire.

Group practice periods will consist of sitting meditation, walking meditation, movement practices, chanting, and individual meetings with a teacher. The schedule will differ on arrival and departure days. The program will be held in noble silence.

During this retreat we will be practicing in Noble Silence. When the whole group enters into Noble Silence we offer each other and ourselves the gift of being with our experience as it is.  This practice supports the mind in settling. Noble Silence includes no unnecessary talking, including social courtesy like saying “good morning” or “excuse me”, no reading or writing unless a teacher specifically encourages you to do so, and no tech use. We will have periods when talking is allowed as part of practice:  when you meet with a teacher in private, and during group discussions after talks.  You will be invited to keep your phone in your room turned off. Upon being accepted to this retreat, you will receive emergency phone numbers that we ask you to share with your loved ones so that you will not need to be monitoring your own messages. A retreat manager (tanto) will be present throughout the entirety of the retreat to support the group. If at any point during the retreat you are feeling ill, are injured, or are in distress please speak with the retreat manager.