ZEN GIFTS TO CHRISTIANS  

Friday 21 May to up to Thursday 27 May 

Please arrive by 6pm on Friday.  Course finishes with breakfast on Thursday morning, or earlier as suits.

This Zen Sesshin (retreat) will be a wonderful help to Christians seeking spiritual growth. It will be led by Fr. Kennedy SJ Roshi  and Fr. Patrick Eastman Sensei. Together they will help us develop a deeper contemplative prayer life through the practice of Zazen (silent sitting). This is the practice of stilling the mind through attentiveness to the breath which, coupled with the stillness of the body, frees the mind from its ordinary mental activities. When practised attentively, it offers an ever-deepening insight into the oneness of life just as it is.

This is a silent retreat where much of the time is spent in sitting Zazen and Kin-Hin (walking meditation), instruction and talks, chanting and Daisan (one to one interviews). The days start with Zazen at 7am. There will be a simple celebration of Eucharist each day in the spirit of our encounter with Zen practice.

Participants can opt to come for the weekend only or stay longer, up until Thursday morning. The cost will be adjusted according to the length of stay. 

Those who have never practiced Zen before are welcome to attend. There will be an introduction for them at the beginning of the retreat.

Father Robert Kennedy is a Jesuit priest who teaches theology at St. Peter's College, Jersey City, and is a Zen Master (Roshi) in the White Plum Asangha. He studied with the great Yamada Roshi in Kamakura, Japan, with Maezumi Roshi in Los Angeles and with Glassman Roshi in New York. He is the author of ‘Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit’ and ‘Zen Gifts to Christians’.

Father Patrick Eastman is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Tulsa (USA) who now serves as the Parish Priest of Tetbury. He leads The Wild Goose Sangha, a Zen group based in Cirencester, and is a Zen teacher (Sensei) in the White Plum Asangha. He has studied with Dr. Ruben Habito Roshi, Abbot Daido Loori Roshi and Fr Robert Kennedy SJ Roshi.

Costs:

AWAKENING TO THE REAL – a Zen weekend

 Friday 5 November to Sunday 7 November   

Please arrive by 6pm on Friday.  Course ends with lunch on Sunday.

Zen can be a wonderful help to Christians seeking spiritual growth. As the great Japanese Zen teacher Yamada Roshi remarked when he began taking Christians as Students: “It is not my intention to make you a Buddhist but to help you to empty yourself in imitation of your Lord Jesus.”

Fr Patrick Eastman Sensei will lead retreat participants in the ways of a Zen practice that enables them to be open to the very gift of life itself without theories or speculation. Fr Patrick will lead us in the practice of Zazen (silent sitting), thereby helping us to still the mind through an attentiveness to our breath. This, coupled with the stillness of the body, will free the mind from its ordinary activities, and will in turn lead to a greater attentiveness to the very gift of life and the gift of accepting things just as they are. Ultimately, we will awaken to all that is essentially real, and become more fully aware of our own essential nature that comes to us as a free gift from our creator God.

This is a silent retreat where each day starts at 7.00am and where much of the time is spent in sitting Zazen and Kin-Hin (walking meditation), instruction and talks, chanting and Daisan (one to one interviews). The weekend also includes a simple celebration of Eucharist in the spirit of our encounter with a Zen practice.

Father Patrick Eastman is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Tulsa (USA) who now serves as the Parish Priest of Tetbury. He leads The Wild Goose Sangha ,www.wildgoosesangha.org.uk a Zen group based in Cirencester, and is a Zen teacher (Sensei) in the White Plum Asangha. He has studied with Dr. Ruben Habito Roshi, Abbot Daido Loori Roshi and Fr Robert Kennedy SJ Roshi.