Links to Retreat Schedules:
Overnight Retreats | One-Days | PZI Registration


ABOUT PZI RETREATS

The purpose of our practice is to alleviate suffering and develop kindness through supporting each person's unique awakening. We've found that this awakening is available every day, in many ways. We look for ways to integrate meditation with the whole of life, and this approach is reflected in our offering of different yet complementary types of meditation retreats and programs. We currently offer two main types of meditation retreats: Sesshin and One-Day Retreats. These are described below.


SESSHIN:

One type of overnight retreat we offer is sesshin, which means 'to touch the heart-mind.' It is a time when we deepen and refresh ourselves through spiritual practice. In sesshin we do meditation in silence to free ourselves from the hindrances and difficulties we might be carrying about from day to day. The sesshin environment is structured to enable participants to go deep into meditation, and this meditation practice is further supported through instruction and private interviews with teachers. PZI holds three or four sesshin a year at St. Dorothy's Rest, a retreat center in the redwood forest of west Sonoma County.

A Sesshin Includes:
Sitting and walking meditation
Private individual work with a teacher
Talks on spiritual matters
Public question-and-answer sessions and group conversations
Chanting (except in Bare Bones sesshin)
Moving Meditation
Work practice to maintain the sesshin, usually about an hour a day
Vegetarian food
Breaks
Occasionally sesshin will also include:
Ceremonies to mark community events

A typical sesshin daily schedule* looks something like this:
4:30 am
Wake Up
5:00 am
Tea
5:05 am
Meditation**

7:00 am
Breakfast
7:30 am
Work Practice/Break
9:00 am
Meditation Practice**
12:00 noon
Lunch
12:30 pm
Work Practice/Break
2:00 pm
Tea
2:05 pm
Meditation Practice**
5:00 pm
Dinner
5:30 pm
Work Practice/Break
7:00 pm
Meditation Practice**
7:30 pm
Evening Talk
9:00 pm
Closing

*The first day of sesshin begins at about 7:00pm. The final day ends mid-afternoon.

**The periods marked as Meditation Practice may include individual work with teachers, outdoor walking meditation, singing/chanting, reading, yoga or other activities that support the meditative work done in sesshin.

We encourage participation in every activity, though no activities are compulsory. Attending the whole sesshin is the best way to get the most out of it. People who can't sit on the floor on cushions can sit on chairs. We do our best to make sesshin available to everyone who wants to do it, including people with special physical needs.

PZI sesshin are overnight events, lasting at least 3 days. It is helpful to have some meditation experience before attending a sesshin. If meditation is new to you, you might want to start with a One-Day Retreat or Koan Seminar.

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ONE-DAY RETREATS & KOAN SEMINARS:

Regular One-Day Retreats are organized much like a day of a sesshin. They are a great opportunity to enjoy deep meditation and to experience support for our practice. They run from 9:00am to about 4:30 or 5:00pm. The day includes meditation, private interviews with a teacher and a dharma talk. Please bring your own lunch or be prepared to purchase it unless otherwise noted on the schedule.

Integrative One-Day Retreats vary in structure, but in some way integrate meditation with another discipline that helps bring Zen practice into our lives in new ways.

Koan Seminars are another form of day-long meditation retreat. These gatherings offer an opportunity to get involved with the ancient and intriguing art form known as koans, in the company of others who are doing the same thing. Koan seminars include time for meditation and also for group interaction, led by an experienced koan teacher. This year PZI is doing a koan seminar series organized around the seasons of the year. These meetings run from 10:00am to 3:00pm and lunch is provided.
Click for more on Koan Seminars.

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