An intensive Zen meditation retreat
with Frank De Waele Roshi.
Twenty hours of scheduled meditation, practice and teaching.
From 4pm Thursday afternoon, November 4
through 1pm Sunday November 7
[times are Central European Time (CET) , UTC plus 1 hour].
Zen Sangha offers a three day sesshin in English from Thursday afternoon November 4th to Sunday November 7th.
Sesshin literally means ‘gathering the heart/mind’.
One can participate ‘live’ in the zendo of Ghent or online on Zoom.
‘Riding the dragon’
During the retreat we will focus on the meaning and functioning of koan practice. A koan is a contemplative Zen question which can evoke your own non-conceptual wisdom. In the teachings (teisho) during this retreat, Frank Roshi will clarify various aspects of koan study through concrete instructions and examples. Among other things, he will discuss the specific meditative use of koan during and outside of meditation, as well as what it means to ‘present a koan’. There will be the opportunity for koan interview (dokusan), i.e. a short personal exchange with the teacher around one’s koan practice.
This koan retreat is both for students working with koan, as well as for beginners who want to start with this unique Zen insight-embodiment practice.
For this retreat we will meet each other in the zendo in Ghent OR online via Zoom four times a day .
The sesshin is set up around six practices: sitting (zazen) and walking meditation (kinhin), work practice (samu), liturgy, teaching (teisho) and a personal interview with the teacher (dokusan).
The participants follow the program according to their own possibilities, but register for at least two days.
The retreat will be in silence.
Start of the retreat
Thursday November 4th at 4pm – welcome and coffee from 3pm on
End of the retreat
Sunday November 7th at 1pm
Participation fee
– in the zendo: 130 euro
– on zoom: 90 euro
Lodging is not included in the fee, which does includes a small amount for our solidarity fund, which supports those with limited income.
Schedule of the day
Zen meditation starts at dawn and is followed by breakfast. After the work meditation, there is again zazen, followed by a Zen talk. After lunch, a retreat day has two more periods of zazen. There are also a sutra liturgy and supper.
7am opening of the day & zen meditation (zazen)
7.40am walking meditation (kinhin)
7.50am zazen
8.20am kinhin
8.30am zazen
9am breakfast & dishes
10.15am meeting & work practice (samu)
11.45am zazen
12.15am zen teaching (teisho)
1.20am lunch & dishes
4pm zazen
4.30pm kinhin
4.40pm zazen
5.10pm kinhin
5.20pm zazen
5.50pm sutra chanting
6.20pm dinner & dishes
8pm zazen
8.30pm kinhin
8.40pm zazen
9.10pm four vows & closing of the day
The schedule is subject to change.
Frank De Waele Roshi, a qualified Zen teacher in the White Plum Soto Zen tradition of the late Taizan Maezumi Roshi, is a Dharma successor of both Catherine Genno Pagès Roshi and Bernie Glassman Roshi. Frank Roshi lives in Ghent (Belgium) at the Zen Sangha zendo. He works fulltime as a Zen teacher in residence offering training to his lay practice community. He has led international retreats in Germany, France, Finland, Poland and Italy.
PARTICIPATION IN THE ZENDO
Address
Zen Sangha zendo Ghent
Elyzeese Velden 10B
9000 Gent – Belgium
Find directions to the zendo in Ghent at the bottom of this page.
PRACTICAL
People new to the practice are very welcome! All newcomers will receive personal introductory instruction.
All meals are vegetarian, but not vegan. If requested we can provide lactose-free and gluten-free food. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate other dietary requirements.
You find the links to the sutras and the verses at the bottom of this page.
Registration
To register, please use the online registration form here.
After registering, make your payment to the Zen Sangha bank account.
Please indicate clearly ‘koan sesshin November 2021’ and your OWN name.
Only upon receiving your payment is your registration valid, which will be confirmed by mail.
Bank account Zen Sangha
IBAN number: BE81 8901 5424 8724
BIC code: VDSPBE91
For questions or more information, please contact registratie@zensangha.be
Lodging
Some of our sangha members offer lodging for participants at their homes at 10 euro anight (shower included), to be payed directly to the host. You can request such a lodging place in your registration mail. This offer is limited though and cannot be guaranteed.
Ghent also has plenty of youth hostels, small hotels, B&Bs and even a camping with cabins. See:
Link to the HostelWorld site. ” ”
Link to the “bedandbreakfast-gent” site”
Link to “booking.com””
Link to the Blaarmeersen Camping site
One can also stay at Het Rustpunt, the Carmelite monastery nearby in the Burgstraat 46 – 9000 GHENT (fifteen minutes walk). You need to make your own reservation online: www.rustpunt.net
Bring along
Loose, dark(black) and warm clothing for zazen, slippers and possibly your own bench or sitting cushion (zafu).
Sleeping bag for those staying at the home of a sangha member.
ONLINE PARTICIPATION
Everyone is welcome. The virtual retreat is open and accessible to all practitioners and friends of the Zen Sangha, regardless of their experience with meditation, Buddhism or Zen.
This will be our twenty first online Zen retreat and former participants have expressed the sense of intimacy and resonance of our digital format. The consistent schedule of the sesshin creates a deep, quiet container for meditation, nourishing awareness throughout the day. We connect ‘beyond the internet’ and support each other in whole-hearted online practice.
If you are new to Zoom, please do not let technology be a barrier. We have sangha members ready to support registered participants with technology questions, concerns, and issues before and during the sesshin.
Feel free to reach out at registratie@zensangha.be
How to participate?
For this retreat we use the simple and user-friendly Zoom. There is no need to register with Zoom.
If you are registered for the online sesshin, we will mail you the correct Zoom link for the retreat on Wednesday November 3rd.
Click on the link a few minutes before the session and you’re with us!
Sign up now and join!.
Please note
On a tablet or smartphone, however, an app must be downloaded:
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id546505307
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.zoom.videomeetings
If you click on the link of the meeting above, the Zoom App will start automatically. After filling in your name you can join the meeting.
Registration for online retreat
To register, please use the online registration form here.
After registering, make your payment to the Zen Sangha bank account.
Please indicate clearly ‘online koan sesshin November 2021’ and your OWN name.
Only upon receiving your payment is your registration valid, which will be confirmed by mail.
We will mail you the correct Zoom link for the retreat on Wednesday November 3rd.
Bank account Zen Sangha
IBAN number: BE81 8901 5424 8724
BIC code: VDSPBE91
For questions or more information, please contact registratie@zensangha.be
Liturgical texts
Click on the title to open these pdf
HOW TO GET TO THE ZENDO?
DRIVING DIRECTIONS
For directions, go to www.maps.google.com (fill in: Elyzeese Velden 10 B, Gent, Belgium).
You cannot park your car in the Elyzeese Velden, but in the side streets you can (e.g. Alois Joosstraat or Gulden Vliesstraat).
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TRAIN & TRAM
The main train station in Ghent is called Gent Sint-Pieters train station. From there take tram 1 (every seven minutes) to stop Witte Kaproenenplein. The ride takes about sixteen minutes.
The stop Witte Kaproenenplein is in the Gebroeders De Smetstraat. Walk back town inwards just a few metres to the corner of Witte Kaproenenplein and the Alois Joosstraat. Follow the Alois Joosstraat until you get to the Gulden Vliesstraat. Take a right and continue up to the canal Gent-Brugge and the Elyzeese Velden. The zendo is on the Elyzeese Velden at 10 B: enter through a big gate into a courtyard and the zendo building.
For more information, please contact us by email info@zensangha.be
