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Thread: Retreat in United States

  1. #1

    Retreat in United States

    Hi everybody,

    I will be travelling for the very first time to the States in the Spring or late Summer of 2014 to lead a long and intensive retreat of five or six days. This retreat could take place on the East or West coast and should be organized with the following directions in mind:

    The entire retreat should be available on internet and people shoud be able to follow and join from anywhere in the world ( apart from North Korea, unfortunately).

    The whole thing should be organized in a way it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to take part, some of our members and priests have financial issues and it should not stop them from coming.

    I won t take a penny for this and will pay for my plane ticket. The retreat in Bruxelles was a real eye opener: I am going to ask two people to step forward and be in charge of the organization of this event so everything can run smoothly.

    Please, could you think about it and I would appreciate if people in the coming retreat at Yugen's place talk about this and come up with clear possibilities.

    I would expect people who say they are going to turn up to effectively turn up. So please don't take this lightly and if you want to come, you come.

    That' s all really.

    Take care


    Gassho


    Taigu
    Last edited by Taigu; 03-22-2013 at 01:35 PM.

  2. #2
    Hello Taigu,

    thank you for sharing your plans with us this way. I will most definitely attend and will do my best to support the organisation of this event, although my gut feeling tells me that one needs two "natives" to find the proper location etc.

    All the best and gassho,

    Hans Chudo Mongen

  3. #3
    Hi Taigu.
    This is great. I will do everything to be there.
    Gassho
    Myozan

  4. #4
    Yugen
    Guest
    Taigu,
    I will definitely attend this retreat. I also would like to help volunteer to help organize this retreat, and work with my brothers and colleagues in doing so.
    Deep bows
    Yugen
    Last edited by Yugen; 03-22-2013 at 01:46 PM.

  5. #5
    Thank you, Yugen, for offering your help.
    I totally trust you.
    This is great news.

    Gassho

    Taigu

  6. #6
    Mp
    Guest
    This is wonderful Taigu and I will try my best to make it as well. Very exciting.

    Gassho
    Shingen

  7. #7
    Taigu,

    Wonderful! I will do my best to be there, but as you said finances can be tight. You have given us plenty of time to plan though, so if I can swing it I will.

    And, Yugen, if you need any help from a fellow "local" just let me know.

    Gassho,
    Dosho

  8. #8
    Yugen
    Guest
    Taigu,
    It is difficult for me to gracefully accept such a deep compliment - I will just bow and say "Thank you." I am grateful to have the opportunity to share this practice with you. I will do whatever I can.

    Dosho, it would be great to work with you on this. The primary issue to decide all together will be location.....

    Deep bows
    Yugen

    Quote Originally Posted by Taigu View Post
    Thank you, Yugen, for offering your help.
    I totally trust you.
    This is great news.

    Gassho

    Taigu

  9. #9
    Yugen
    Guest
    Dosho,
    If we have to drive to wherever the retreat is in my rickety Subaru, or we have to hitchhike in our robes, we are going to make it!

    Deep bows
    Yugen

    Quote Originally Posted by Dosho View Post
    Taigu,

    Wonderful! I will do my best to be there, but as you said finances can be tight. You have given us plenty of time to plan though, so if I can swing it I will.

    And, Yugen, if you need any help from a fellow "local" just let me know.

    Gassho,
    Dosho

  10. #10
    Hi Taigu!

    Thank you for this nice notice. I will do the best I can to attend.

    I think I have a good amount of time to deal with all the legal and monetary stuff for this pilgrimage.

    Gassho,

    Kyonin
    Hondō Kyōnin
    奔道 協忍

  11. #11
    Treeleaf Engineer Seimyo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Yuba City, California, USA
    What an amazing opportunity. I would very much like to make this.

    Thank you Taigu.

    Gassho.
    Seimyo

    明 Seimyō (Christhatischris)

  12. #12
    This retreat could take place on the East or West coast
    Dear all,
    I've looked at some prices of flights. Just to say that for those in Europe it is about half as cheap to travel to the eastern USA. It costs about double to go to the west coast.

    That said, in Japan, Taigu is much closer to the West coast. And we have quite a few sangha members in the western United States.

    I don't mind either way...

    Gassho
    Myozan

  13. #13
    This time around financially I can handle West or East and will be attending.
    I will refrain from jumping in as a second organizer as I am not state side and so forth but offer any help I can to those organizing however I can with what ever I can.

    Gassho
    Shohei

  14. #14
    Taigu,

    I will be attending this retreat and I can also try to help with its organization.

    Gassho,

    Daido

  15. #15
    Wherever it is, I will be there.
    Gassho
    Myozan

  16. #16
    Treeleaf Engineer Seimyo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Yuba City, California, USA
    I think if we look at the distribution of users, the East Coast and Midwest have the highest density.

    treeleaf-distro.jpg

    明 Seimyō (Christhatischris)

  17. #17
    Treeleaf Unsui Shugen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Redding California USA
    I am very interested in attending.

    Gassho
    Meido Shugen
    明道 修眼

  18. #18
    Thank you Seimyo, yes, I did think about it over the last few days and I came to the same conclusion: the East Coast woud be best.
    Yes Daido, of course, you are welcome. Actually, the people in charge of the organization can be more than two.

    Gassho

    Taigu
    Last edited by Taigu; 03-22-2013 at 11:17 PM.

  19. #19
    Oh, how I wish I was in the States so I could attend in person!

    Gassho,

    Lisa

  20. #20

  21. #21
    If the retreeat lasts six days we should end up with a weekend to alow people with a job to come and join us onthe two final days.

    Gassho


    Taigu

  22. #22
    I live in the Midwest so should you choose to do it there, I can probably offer some assistance.

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

  23. #23
    If this retreat is out of school time I will be there. Gassho to those volunteering to organise and Taigu.
    Heisoku 平 息
    Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. (Basho)

  24. #24
    I have no idea if I will be able to make it or not as I will be right smack dab in the middle of my graduate school. However, I will make every effort to attend. I will also be willing to provide whatever support I can offer. I will start saving my frequent flyer miles, just in case.
    If I'm already enlightened why the hell is this so hard?

  25. #25
    I will absolutely attend, hopefully for the whole thing, definitely for a weekend! There is plenty of time to plan, so wherever work lands, I will let them know. I would love to help organize in any way possible. Maybe the people interested in helping & organizing could do a Skype/Google+ chat? Figure out what will go into planning and registering and all that?

    I am so excited, Taigu, this is amazing news.

    Deep Gassho,
    Seizan

  26. #26
    I won't be travelling to the States this summer. It would be very good to connect with Treeleafers in person, meet Taigu. There is no replacing that. But for a few reasons it isn't going to happen.

    Maybe next time. Gassho
    Daizan

  27. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Daizan View Post
    I won't be travelling to the States this summer. It would be very good to connect with Treeleafers in person, meet Taigu. There is no replacing that. But for a few reasons it isn't going to happen.

    Maybe next time. Gassho
    Daizan
    I might point out that Taigu is talking about the summer of 2014!

    For a spontaneous Zen guy, he also believes in planning ahead!

    Gassho, J
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  28. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Jundo View Post
    I might point out that Taigu is talking about the summer of 2014!

    For a spontaneous Zen guy, he also believes in planning ahead!

    Gassho, J
    I guess my laser eye missed that one . I will plan to attend.

    Gassho. Daizan

  29. #29
    I would love to attend. Owing to the nature of my work, it takes about six months notice for me to clear an entire week on my calendar. So, I will await further details on when and where. Looking forward to it.

  30. #30
    Yugen
    Guest
    Taigu et al,

    There is a lot of positive enthusiasm for this retreat, and that is absolutely great. I notice several people have generously volunteered to help organizing. Might it be a good idea to have a "retreat group" or committee work on issues such as scheduling, location, logistics, and commitment timelines related to all these so we can make proposals and recommendations to Taigu and the group of attendees? There are lots of smart people here, and having a group of three or four be responsible for herding all the zen "cats" might be a really good idea....

    Deep bows
    Yugen

  31. #31
    Great idea Yugen. Would you, could you coordinate the group?

    Gassho


    Taigu

  32. #32
    Yugen
    Guest
    I would be happy to help coordinate. So far I have Seizan, Dosho, Daido, and myself as the "organizing group." Anyone else? Please post here or PM me.

    Deep bows
    Yugen

  33. #33
    I would be very interested in attending in person, but I honestly don't know where we will be next summer. That is close to another possible move for my husband's job. I guess I will try to put some money aside and go from there.

    It would be so wonderful to meet you all in person.

    Gassho,
    Kelly/Jinmei

  34. #34
    Count me in wherever it is and I also offer my support in organizing!

    Gassho,
    Dokan
    We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
    ~Anaïs Nin

  35. #35
    What a great idea. Thank you, Taigu & everyone involved. I don't know where I'll be at that point in time, but I'll start saving.

    Gassho,
    Shujin

  36. #36
    I wish to attend, if only for a few days, due to work/family obligations. Looking forward to more details.
    Thanks,
    Kaishin (開心, Open Heart)
    Please take this layman's words with a grain of salt.

  37. #37
    Yugen
    Guest
    Greetings all,
    It's time to organize and beginning framing options for this retreat. I'm going to PM Seizan, Daido, Dosho, and Shokai to kick things off. To start, we should discuss:

    - Timing
    - Location
    - Venue
    - Cost

    If anyone else would like to help out and join this organizing group, please let me know!

    Deep bows
    Yugen

  38. #38
    Taigu and Yugen, the monastery I am visiting this weekend is located in Andover New Jersey. It's about an hour and a half drive from New York City and there is bus service available. They do occasionally open their doors to other traditions, groups/Sanghas. They only ask that the general rules of the monastery are followed at all times. They have dormitories, large meditation halls, class rooms, a kitchen and cafeteria, etc...I can't promise anything, but they might be open to allowing us to use their facilities for this retreat. I can ask if you wish, but I am sure they would like to hear from the "teacher" before making a decision. Please let me know and I can give you the contact information.

  39. #39
    It seems like the preference is to have this event on the coasts, but I thought I would throw out a Midwestern option for consideration: Ryumonji is in NE Iowa, is incredibly beautiful, and is (I think) the only traditionally constructed Japanese style zen monastery in North America (not important but interesting for sure). Shoken Winecoff, a dharma heir of Katagiri roshi & the Abbott, is a wonderful, warm, and open person. They might be open to hosting the sesshin. The Ryumonji website is http://www.ryumonji.org/

  40. #40
    I'm about in the same position as Jinmei. My life is still rather unstable, and I don't know what to expect about that time. However, I would very much like to attend, and will do what I can to help, starting with this advice:

    DON'T come to Arizona. It's not that I don't want you here, it's just that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. And anyway I would love an excuse to be elsewhere.

    I will start planning and gathering resources as they come.

    Gassho,
    Julia
    "The Girl Dragon Demon", the random Buddhist name generator calls me....you have been warned.

    Feed your good wolf.

  41. #41
    Yugen
    Guest
    Chuck:
    Thank you so much for the suggestion. We have a few options that Sangha colleagues have contributed - I think the best thing to do is put them in the committee's "inbox" and shuffle them around and explore the options. It may be that we make inquiries of several locations and see what works.... if you would provide the contact information to me I will make sure there is follow up. Thank you!

    Julia:
    We will do our best to satisfy your desire for a change of locale! I would imagine late spring/summer would also be quite warm. I really hope you can attend.

    Gassho
    Yugen

  42. #42
    I know it isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but any thoughts on Vegas? I organized an event a couple of years ago that involved people from all over the country. It just ended up being the economically feasible option. The casinos and the airlines all offer deals on flights, and all the hotels do really good group rates. Not to mention most from California, the Southwest or the Mountain West could drive. And the flight from New York looks to only be around a hundred dollars. I've played a lot a shows and done some events there over the years, and it's always been very easy to get things off the ground. Though I imagine Vegas isn't what Julia (or probably anyone) was thinking of...

    All the hotels are equipped for conferences and most offer full packages which include catering/an event organizer. It's a city built for events.

    That being said, I know Salt Lake and Austin are Delta/AirFrance hubs (meaning cheaper flights) with affordable hotels. Those are the places that come to mind when I think of an affordable place to hold a gathering that involves people from all over.

    I'll just say, I'm not a big fan of Vegas. Still. It IS cheap.

  43. #43
    I'd be interested in helping as I can as well Yugen!

    Gassho,

    Dokan
    We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
    ~Anaïs Nin

  44. #44
    A monastery or campground in a state park may be the way to go if this will be a sleep-by-your-zafu, formal-oryoki-eating retreat. If this will be a sleep-in-a-bed, informal-dinner retreat, then the options change. Either way, I'll try my best to go.
    -Untei

  45. #45
    Yugen
    Guest
    Dokan,
    I apologize for my inadvertent omission! I remember your kind offer of help - you are very welcome and your offer is gratefully accepted!

    Deep bows
    Yugen

  46. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by murasaki View Post
    what I can to help, starting with this advice:

    DON'T come to Arizona. It's not that I don't want you here, it's just that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. And anyway I would love an excuse to be elsewhere.

    Julia
    I didn't stay long in arizona because if the electrc went off I would have roasted.
    there is a Kwan um zen center in vegas that might have accomodations.

  47. #47

  48. #48

  49. #49
    I believe an east coast locale would be best, since it is more geographically centered for the majority of our membership. West coasters can come a few times zones east while Europeans would come a few time zones west. I really do think it makes the most sense.

    Gassho,
    Dosho

  50. #50
    Dosho,

    Hofstra University is a really beautiful college in New York on Long Island, and they often loan out their dorms to different groups in the summer. It's a train ride from JFK airport, and only an hour by train into Manhattan. The campus is actually an arboretum, so it's quite pretty. There's also the Long Island Zen center not far from it as well. It would help alleviate the travel time and expense (meaning from the airport to the retreat), and it would eliminate the biggest problem with New York which is the cost of hotels. I'm an alumni, so I could call and ask if there is an interest.

    Gassho,
    Mc.

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