2024 Fall Retreat
The Koan of Your Life:
Living Encounters and Awakening Now
The Zen path describes itself with a fourfold phrase:
A distinct transmission beyond collected teachings,
Not established on words and language.
Directly pointing to the heartmind,
Encounter original nature and enact awake awareness—Be Buddha!
The path to wakefulness and liberation is relational—relating to oneself, with one another, with teachers. And with the objects, circumstances, and actions of everyday living. We can bring forth inherent freedom in each moment, relating and responding to life as it is, with natural wisdom and spontaneous compassion. Giving ourselves fully in this way, we can encounter, recognize, enact, and reveal what Zen calls our “original nature.”
The Zen tradition has handed down to us scraps of story which serve as encouraging evidence that this kind of relational awakening and living is possible. These enlightening stories are poetic distillations that reveal—and can offer to us—moments of liberating realization. Teachers present these encounter dialogues as skillful means to tease and invite the mind and heart to loosen the grip on habitual hindrances. Engaging these stories helps us meet life with free- flowing immediacy. But first they help us see where we are stuck in our conditioned answers to life. And where we are stuck is precisely where we encounter and realize freedom.
In this retreat, we’ll meet four of these stories and the fourfold phrase of Zen above. We’ll plunge into this way of relating through zazen and other Zen forms of moving, living, and loving together. We’ll enact it through silence and through dharma teaching, discussion, and activity.
Please join us as we encounter it together.
10-12 October, 2024
St. Paul, MN & Online
8 AM - 5 PM CST Daily
A Detailed Retreat Schedule Will be Released Shortly
Our Teacher - Flint Sparks
Flint Sparks (Jigen Kōshin Rōshi) is a Zen teacher and former psychologist dedicated to assisting people in the unending path of growing up and waking up. An experienced therapist and a master teacher, Flint's teachings bridge the fields of traditional Buddhist practice and the psychology of awakening. Flint lives on the island of Molokai in Hawaii and in recent years has has extended his work into the contemplative arts, especially photography. In whatever capacity, his vow is to help soften barriers to love and serve as a clear and caring resource on the path of freedom from unnecessary suffering.
Flint is a senior teacher at Appamada in Austin, Texas and is the Guiding Teacher for Open Door Zen Community in Madison, Wisconsin, Just This consortium of Sanghas across the UK, and Awakening Together Zen Community in Minneapolis, MN.
For more information, visit flintsparks.org
Join us in person - at:
Carondelet Center (Space is limited to 35 in-person attendees)
1890 Randolph Ave, St Paul, MN 55105
Or
Join us online (via Zoom).
Cost
Cost
ATZC is committed to accessibility and economic inclusivity, so please pay what you can based on your circumstances.
The cost for the retreat is:
$360 - In Person
$150 - Online/Virtual
Other - Chosen Amount (Pay what you can)
This can be either a reduced amount or an amount greater than the suggested cost if your situation allows you to pay a higher amount.
Paying a higher amount supports the attendance of others who may not have the financial means to pay the full amount.
Please read the ATZC cancellation policies for information about refunds and cancellations.
Registration Deadlines
In-person registration will close at 5 PM on October 6th or when capacity (35 people) is reached
Virtual registration will close at 5 PM on October 8th