WINTER INTENSIVE 2021
January 19-April 25
Our annual winter intensive will begin on Tuesday evening, January 19, with a Zoom entering ceremony at 7:30 pm (after meditation at 7:00), and will end with a retreat on April 22-25. Lily Myokan Perkins will be the Head Trainee of the intensive and will be installed as a Senior of the Green River Zen Center at the end of the retreat.
In addition, during the retreat, Myokan, Robert Eika Gorman and Sammo Soko Skerbec will be ordained as Zen Peacemaker priests. This is the first time we will have priest ordinations at Green River Zen and it’s made possible due to many years of effort and practice of our Head Priest, Sensei Sally Sonen Kealy, who has led the training for novice priests as well as lay people in liturgy and basic care of the zendo.
While the above three will be taking priests vows, all of us will be able to use the Intensive to examine both personal vows as well as Buddhist vows. A series of eight talks will be given on Tuesday evenings relating to the nature of vows: the vow to raise the Bodhi Mind, Bodhisattva Vows, the Vows we take to the Precepts and the Pledge of Support in which we vow to support our Sangha.
In addition, on Saturdays, February 27 and March 27, Roshi Eve and Myokan will lead two one-day workshops, from 10 am to 4 pm, on developing and articulating our personal vows. We will send out more information about that later.
The text we will be using this winter is The Vow-Powered Life by Jan Chozen Bays. This book is highly recommended but not required.
About vows, Roshi Norman Fischer wrote: “For bodhisattvas, a vow is not the same as a promise to accomplish something so that you can then go on to accomplish something else. Rather, a vow is expressive of deep intention and vision—a horizon towards which you will journey forever … [S]uch vows make sense because they express and inspire a firm commitment to a path, a way of life. We can’t ‘make’ or ‘take’ vows like this. We can only practice them.”
Please join us on January 19. Entering the Intensive is optional. If you wish to enter, please fill out the Commitment Form. Print it, fill it out, and have it by your seat on January 19. Also, have a candle and incense by you. You’ll be asked to light incense and cense your Form that evening.
It is customary that during the Intensive we practice deeper and longer than usual. Cold, snowy days are ideal for this. Covid is ideal for this, keeping us healthy, safe, and grounded even in these months of isolation. What better ways to spend them than through more sitting practice and the study of vows?
To facilitate this, we are also continuing our 108 Days of Practice that has been our tradition for many years, beginning on Sunday, January 17, and ending on Tuesday, May 4. The entering ceremony for the 108 Days of Practice will take place on Saturday morning, January 16, led by Petriana Dantika Monize. Please click here to read more about this long-time practice.
January 19-April 25
Our annual winter intensive will begin on Tuesday evening, January 19, with a Zoom entering ceremony at 7:30 pm (after meditation at 7:00), and will end with a retreat on April 22-25. Lily Myokan Perkins will be the Head Trainee of the intensive and will be installed as a Senior of the Green River Zen Center at the end of the retreat.
In addition, during the retreat, Myokan, Robert Eika Gorman and Sammo Soko Skerbec will be ordained as Zen Peacemaker priests. This is the first time we will have priest ordinations at Green River Zen and it’s made possible due to many years of effort and practice of our Head Priest, Sensei Sally Sonen Kealy, who has led the training for novice priests as well as lay people in liturgy and basic care of the zendo.
While the above three will be taking priests vows, all of us will be able to use the Intensive to examine both personal vows as well as Buddhist vows. A series of eight talks will be given on Tuesday evenings relating to the nature of vows: the vow to raise the Bodhi Mind, Bodhisattva Vows, the Vows we take to the Precepts and the Pledge of Support in which we vow to support our Sangha.
In addition, on Saturdays, February 27 and March 27, Roshi Eve and Myokan will lead two one-day workshops, from 10 am to 4 pm, on developing and articulating our personal vows. We will send out more information about that later.
The text we will be using this winter is The Vow-Powered Life by Jan Chozen Bays. This book is highly recommended but not required.
About vows, Roshi Norman Fischer wrote: “For bodhisattvas, a vow is not the same as a promise to accomplish something so that you can then go on to accomplish something else. Rather, a vow is expressive of deep intention and vision—a horizon towards which you will journey forever … [S]uch vows make sense because they express and inspire a firm commitment to a path, a way of life. We can’t ‘make’ or ‘take’ vows like this. We can only practice them.”
Please join us on January 19. Entering the Intensive is optional. If you wish to enter, please fill out the Commitment Form. Print it, fill it out, and have it by your seat on January 19. Also, have a candle and incense by you. You’ll be asked to light incense and cense your Form that evening.
It is customary that during the Intensive we practice deeper and longer than usual. Cold, snowy days are ideal for this. Covid is ideal for this, keeping us healthy, safe, and grounded even in these months of isolation. What better ways to spend them than through more sitting practice and the study of vows?
To facilitate this, we are also continuing our 108 Days of Practice that has been our tradition for many years, beginning on Sunday, January 17, and ending on Tuesday, May 4. The entering ceremony for the 108 Days of Practice will take place on Saturday morning, January 16, led by Petriana Dantika Monize. Please click here to read more about this long-time practice.