Melbourne Zen Group

Dear friends,

A reminder about the coming Spring walking sesshin (Saturday 2nd – Friday 8th October 2010) with Subhana Barzaghi.  To take advantage of the the early bird fee, you’d need to apply this week before 1st August.

As the name indicates, while involving a different form, it is first and foremost a sesshin.  The daily schedule involves at least four hours of sitting practice (two in the morning and two in the evening) with opportunities for dokusan, and about 4 to 5 hours of walking practice.  Although the walking sesshin entails the obvious rigours of being without the comfort and security of having a roof over our heads, and being vulnerable to the elements, there is also the support of the sangha spirit that is remarked by many participants of such sesshins.

The challenges and rewards of taking part in a walking sesshin find apt expression in the following poem by Gary Snyder, who pioneered this form of practice:

Wide enough to keep you looking
Open enough to keep you moving
Dry enough to keep you honest
Prickly enough to make you tough
Green enough to go on living
Old enough to give you dreams

—Gary Snyder, “Earth Verse,” in Mountains and Rivers Without End.

(Follow this link for details.)

Saturday 2nd – Friday 8th October 2010

In the spirit of going on pilgrimage since ancient times, either to visit wise teachers, famous temples or sacred mountains, we take up the practice of rambling through the bush and wandering along meandering trails unburdened.

Please join us for 6 days of camping, sitting and walking in the company of fellow travellers under the guidance of Subhana Barzaghi Roshi along the Great Ocean Walk in the Otways.  Contact: Peter or Colin (See application form for details.)

Download an application form