Week-Long Retreats Throughout the year we offer 7-day retreats that focus on the fundamentals of Buddhism, Buddhist scriptures and sutras and aspects and questions arising out of contemporary practice. Week-long retreats offer periods of seated meditation, working meditation, ceremonies and chanting, silent meals and time for quiet reflection and individual practice.
Week-llong retreats are open to those who have formally taken the Buddhist Precepts and to those who have attended retreats at Shasta Abbey or at a temple of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives.
The remaining week-long retreat in 2010 is The Platform Sutra Retreat from August 15 through the 22. The PlatformSutra is one of the central sutras in the Zen tradition. It is the only Chinese text that bears the designation "sutra". It presents the life and work of Great Master Hui-neng, the Sixth Chinese Ancestor in our Ancestral Line. His teaching has direct relevance for us in our practice today: our task is simply to recognize our own True Nature, and to accept and cherish our own Buddhahood. Working with several translations, particularly Red Pine's The Platform Sutra: The Zen Teaching of Hui-neng (2006), Rev. Master Daishin Yalon will explore its teaching and its meaning for our contemporary practice. Rev. Master Daishin will also offer evening Dharma discussions, as well as private religious counseling for each participant. Please fill out the Retreat Application Form if you have never attended a retreat at Shasta Abbey.
Please check the calendar or contact the Guestmaster with any questions you have about future seven-day retreats.