Dragon Bell Temple practices within the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition. These retreats will follow a sesshin (intensive meditation retreat) schedule, typical of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC), to which Dragon Bell belongs. The majority of time will be spent focused on seated meditation (zazen).
Places will be allocated on a first come-first served basis. The May retreat will be limited to 13 people and 11 people for the December retreat. The deadline for booking is two weeks before the start date. If you need to cancel your place, please let Willard know as soon as possible.
It will only possible to join for the whole of a retreat. You must be aged 18 or over to attend.
We welcome people new to our practice and, these retreats won’t be of an introductory nature, so please read the following carefully:
You will at least need to have had some guidance with ‘just sitting practice’, (aka, zazen / shikantaza). Ideally (though not essential to your attendance), you will also have had some previous retreat experience, preferably in the Soto Zen tradition, and at least be a little familiar with typical forms and the spirit of practice.
If you have any questions about attending your first sesshin, please get in touch, details are below.
Once you’ve requested a place, you will either be on the confirmed list or on the waiting list. Further information and a questionnaire will be sent to you by email.
We will be preparing, cooking and cleaning up after our meals, this will be our only working meditation. We’ll share the duties between us. There will be periods scheduled for unstructured individual time each day. To help maintain a reflective focus, the retreat will be held in silence.
Rev. Willard Lee will be leading and offering teaching on these retreats .
The charity, Dragon Bell Temple (reg. Charity number 1142973) is covering the costs of running these retreats, there is no charge for attending. If you wish to make a voluntary donation to help cover the costs of your stay and to support Dragon Bell Temple, an alms bowl for cash and bank details for electronic payments will be available at the retreat.
To book
Contact Willard by phone or email:
Mob: 07342 200 782
Tel: 01392 305751
Email: dbtemple@pm.me
If you have any questions, please get in touch.