Calendar
Great Vow Zen Monastery Zendo
Online Zendo Schedule:
Wednesday – Saturday (Connect via Zoom link below)
5:30 am – 6:50 am – Zazen
6:50 am – Morning Service
Monastery Sunday Public Program, Clatskanie, Oregon
10AM-12:15PM – in person and online.
Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple
Sunday Mornings: 9:30AM to 11:30AM
Led by Zen Teacher Larry Fuho Trussell
Meditation, Dharma talk, and chanting service. During sitting, Fuho offers sanzen, one-on-one meetings about Zen practice.
In Person and Online.
Zoom link for Sunday Morning (must be logged into Zoom)
Sunday Evenings: 7PM to 9:00PM
Led by Hogen Bays, Roshi
Meditation and teachings on Buddhist sutras and spiritual practice.
In Person and Online.
Zoom link for Sunday Evening (must be logged in to Zoom)
Monday Evenings: 6PM to 7:30PM. 
Led by Amy Kisei, Sensei
Guided + silent meditation practice that includes the themes of embodiment, compassion and awareness practices. Dharma talk begins at 6:45P, followed by discussion. Drop in anytime!
Online Only.
Zoom link for Monday Evening
Tuesday Evenings: 7:00PM to 9:00PM
Led by Zen Teacher Nancy Kodo Conover
Meditation, a short talk and group discussion about how Buddhist teachings apply to our life today.
In Person and Online.
Zoom link for Tuesday Evening (must be logged into Zoom)
Wednesday Evenings: 7PM to 8:30PM
Led by Jogen Sensei
Silent and guided meditation including calm-abiding, emptiness practice and/or loving-kindness followed by dharma talk. In person and Online. New Zoom link:
Zoom link for Wednesday Evening
Thursday Evenings: 7:00PM to 8:30P
Led by Shonin Ashton and Gensho Welsh
Meditation and Dharma talk with a focus on foundational Buddhist teachings and practices.
In Person and Online.
Zoom link for Thursday Evening (must be logged in to Zoom)
Friday Mornings: 11:00AM to 12:30PM 
Led by Doug Onkatsu Kagel
Begins with chanting service, seated and walking meditation, and meditation instruction in the zendo. Open zendo – drop in.
In Person and Online.
Zoom link for Friday Morning (you must be logged into your Zoom account)
Friday Evenings: 7:00PM to 8:00PM
Led by Zen Teacher Patrick Bansho Green
Guided meditation on metta (loving-kindness).
Online only.
Zoom link for Friday Evening
Other Ongoing Events
Morning Meditation with Trillium House Residents
Monday – Friday, 6:10am – 7am PT
Online. Zoom link.
LGBTQIA+ Dharma Group
Meets monthly on the 1st Saturday, 7pm-830pm PT.
In Person and Online.
For more information and the Zoom link: Send an email.
EcoSattvas – Zen practice and action on climate
Meets monthly on the 2nd Monday, 7pm-830pm PT.
Online. Zoom link for meeting. For more information email.
The Work of Byron Katie – facilitated by Linda Cho-on Frischmeyer
1st & 3rd Monday each Month: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
2nd and 4th Saturdays each Month: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Whether you are new to The Work of Byron Katie and want to ‘try it on,’ or are familiar, even experienced, and want to do The Work in a small group setting, this opportunity is for you. We explore a belief common to many (all?!) of us each time we meet.
Online only. Zoom link for The Work. Meditation Retreats, Sesshin, Workshops
Please do not attend in person if you feel sick or you live with someone who feels ill.
September 2024 | |
| 9/22 - 9/29 | 2nd Wilderness Backpacking Sesshin: a weeklong meditation retreat |
October 2024 | |
| 10/10 - 10/20 | October Sesshin – The Ancient Way |
November 2024 | |
| 11/11 - 11/17 | November Sesshin – Gratitude |
December 2024 | |
| 12/1 - 12/8 | December Sesshin – Rohatsu |
February 2025 | |
| 2/3 - 2/9 | Pari-Nirvana Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat exploring Life, Death & the Unknown |
March 2025 | |
| 3/14 - 3/23 | March Sesshin – Deep Listening |
May 2025 | |
| 5/12 - 5/18 | May Sesshin – The Light of our Ancestors |
June 2025 | |
| 6/9 - 6/15 | June Sesshin – Loving Kindness |
July 2025 | |
| 7/21 - 7/27 | July Sesshin – Summer Breeze |
August 2025 | |
| 8/11 - 8/17 | Grasses, Trees, and the Great Earth Sesshin |
September 2024 | |
| 9/19 - 9/22 | Oceans of Compassion: A Retreat In Service To The Earth |
| 9/29 | Home Hermitage – A Day Long Retreat Online |
October 2024 | |
| 10/26 | Autumn Zazenkai: A One Day Meditation Retreat |
November 2024 | |
| 11/1 - 11/3 | Loving Kindness Weekend Meditation Retreat |
December 2024 | |
| 12/13 - 12/15 | Beginner’s Mind Weekend Meditation Retreat |
November 2024 | |
| 11/2 | Doing The Work of Byron Katie |
October 2024 | |
| 10/8 - 12/15 | Autumn Ango – Fall Residency |
Retreat Cabin Application
Open Dates
Great Vow Zen Monastery
The monastery retreat cabin rests on the edge of our 23 acres of forest. Though, just a short walk to the monastery buildings, it has a feeling of a forest hermitage. Equipped with running water, electricity, a small kitchenette with electric stovetop and small refrigerator and a compost toilet it is an ideal location for doing short solo retreat practice. You will have access to our forest trail system, beautiful meadows and gardens, as well as the privacy for solo meditation and dharma study. The intention of the retreat hut is to provide practice support for those looking to deepen…
Oceans of Compassion: A Retreat In Service To The Earth
With Kodo Conover and Laura Jomon Martin
September 19 - 22, 2024
Offsite: Beverly Beach State Park
In conjunction with SOLVE’s Oregon Beach Cleanup activities, you’re invited to join the Zen Community of Oregon for a weekend CAMPING/MEDITATION retreat at BEVERLY BEACH STATE PARK. Take a weekend on the coast to connect with the Sangha. With a relaxed schedule and opportunity for socializing, there will be sitting times, Dharma talks, and practices to take with you into the clean-up.
Jizo Ceremony for Children Who Have Died
With Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi
September 21, 2024
Great Vow Zen Monastery
The loss of a child often opens a well of profound grief. No matter how the child dies, suddenly or slowly, whether through illness, accident, miscarriage, abortion, or suicide, our sorrow is deep and may be long-lasting.
2nd Wilderness Backpacking Sesshin: a weeklong meditation retreat
With Danney Soten Lynch and Sara Shinei Monial
September 22 - 29, 2024
Mt. Hood Wilderness (Wy'east)
This retreat will be held in the Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon. Previous meditation retreat and backpacking experience is highly recommended. Immerse yourself in the silent wisdom of the forest, mountains, and sky. Allow these wild places to awaken within you and inform how you experience and embody this life.
Annual Dinner
September 28, 2024
Saint Andrew Catholic Church
Once a year we gather for a dinner celebration to reflect on what we've accomplished and intentions for the year ahead.
Home Hermitage – A Day Long Retreat Online
With Jogen Salzberg, Sensei
September 29, 2024
Online
We will spend a day meditating in the intimate aloneness that embraces all beings. Doing sustained zazen in our own dwelling place and its wild domesticity invites the desired integration of the everyday and the sacred. […]
16 Bodhisattva Precepts Classes – Online
With Amy Kisei, Sensei
October 6 - November 10, 2024
Online
The beginning and end of our practice is ethical living; acting, speaking and thinking in ways that support the greatest wellbeing and awakening for all beings. Everyone is welcome to attend these classes, whether you have already formally taken the precepts, are considering taking the precepts, or you are simply curious about the ethical guidelines that rest at the foundation of Zen practice.
Five Buddhist Precepts for Ethical Living: Online Class Series
With Laura Jomon Martin
October 8 - November 12, 2024
Online
These one hour online 5 Precepts classes will happen every Wednesday for six weeks. We all want to live a compassionate life. The precepts give us a framework for what it means to live an ethical life. More then a set of rules to follow, the precepts are deep inquiries into the actual living of our lives with attention and love. The format is an introductory talk followed by class discussion. Participants will be encouraged to do a short writing on each precept and practice with the precept during the week. There are also some supplemental readings.
Autumn Ango – Fall Residency
With Hogen and Chozen Roshi
October 8 - December 15, 2024
Great Vow Zen Monastery
This Dharma is abundantly present in each human being, but if we do not practice it, it does not manifest itself, and if we do not experience it, it cannot be realized. - Dogen Zenji In communion with our ancestors who set aside time each year for deep retreat, the Monastery offers this Autumn Ango. Ango is a celebration of stillness and quiet contemplation, upheld with the support of community and teachers. Ango can be translated to mean peaceful dwelling. During this practice period our daily schedule takes on a tone of a light retreat which includes more zazen (about…
October Sesshin – The Ancient Way
With Hogen Bays, Roshi, Patrick Bansho Green and Darah Shonin Ashton
October 10 - 20, 2024
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online
There is something very special about the magic of autumn and the kicking off of the fall ango practice period that makes this sesshin so powerful. What a great gift it is to be able to sit together in silence. This is our longest sesshin of the year. The extra days enable us drop down into the bare bones essentials of our lives. We have this rare opportunity to turn towards the practice/awakening that is our true nature, and to celebrate quietly together in the container of sesshin. Day after day plunge into the waters of mystery and exploration. Turn…
Five Buddhist Precepts for Ethical Living – in person
With Kodo Conover
October 25 - November 29, 2024
Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple
These one hour online 5 Precepts classes will happen every Wednesday for six weeks. We all want to live a compassionate life. The precepts give us a framework for what it means to live an ethical life. More then a set of rules to follow, the precepts are deep inquiries into the actual living of our lives with attention and love. The format is an introductory talk followed by class discussion. Participants will be encouraged to do a short writing on each precept and practice with the precept during the week. There are also some supplemental readings.
Autumn Zazenkai: A One Day Meditation Retreat
With Ed Gensho Welsh
October 26, 2024
Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple
A Zazenkai is a day of Zen practice in the city. Join us for a silent day of meditation (seated and walking), chanting, mindful eating, temple care-taking, and a dharma talk. We close the day with a ceremony to renewing our intention to live an ethical life.
Loving Kindness Weekend Meditation Retreat
November 1 - 3, 2024
Great Vow Zen Monastery
With wonderment on our side, and in relationship with all that is, we recognize the inherent compassion that springs forth from deep and sustained presence. Held in a container of zen forms and the soft silence of a monastery nestling into winter, we will explore the nature of being anything at all! This exploration will take place within the practices of zazen, chanting, formal meals and work practice Much of the day will be spent in the meditation hall practicing seated meditation together. Beginners welcome. 🙂
Doing The Work of Byron Katie
November 2, 2024
Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple
“Of all the diseases, all the ailments that afflict humanity, there is one common denominator: the conditioned mind. Our unconditioned minds are deeply interconnected." --Chakung Jigme Wangdrak "The Work is about internal cause and effect. It is not about the external world.” – Byron Katie This one-day in-person workshop at Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple provides newcomers and those familiar with this form of meditation opportunities for: Learning about The Work of Byron Katie Identifying our beliefs Doing The Work (meditation) Learning to facilitate another; listening and being present Q & A Lunch is included. Registering in advance helps us…
November Sesshin – Gratitude
With Patrick Bansho Green and Sara Shinei Monial
November 11 - 17, 2024
Great Vow Zen Monastery
With gratitude for our beloved sangha near and far, the Monastery joyfully offers another sesshin. This sesshin has no set price. All are welcome to attend, and donations from the heart are welcome. During this week of practice, we will eat only the offerings brought to us specifically for this retreat. So food donations, while always welcome, are particularly helpful! Bring food that you like to eat, bring food that will challenge our kitchen team and cook. The head cook (tenzo) will need to dive into creativity and allow the surprises of each donation manifest our meals. We will…
ZCO Board meeting November 2024
November 24, 2024
Heart of Wisdom (in person) and Online (Zoom)
Board meetings are open and members of the community are invited to attend. Board meetings are a place to find out what’s happening and how ZCO functions. Typical topics include finances, reports on goings on at the monastery and temple, committee reports, and the community's strategic plans. Meetings are held via Zoom.
December Sesshin – Rohatsu
With Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi, Hogen Bays, Roshi and Larry Fuho Trussell
December 1 - 8, 2024
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online
The light of the Buddha's awakening has not dimmed. This very moment, alive, awake and luminous. Each year people from all over the world gather to celebrate, to sit in stillness and to be nourished by this truth. All over the world people join in the ritual of Rohatsu sesshin. This sesshin is the culmination of a year of practice and is also the culmination of our fall Ango practice period. At many centers and monasteries, this is the most valued sesshin of the year, and may be the only one that many people are able to attend. We…
Beginner’s Mind Weekend Meditation Retreat
With Laura Jomon Martin and Myoyu Haley Voekel
December 13 - 15, 2024
Great Vow Zen Monastery
The teachings and practices of Zen Buddhism empower us to live our lives wholeheartedly with openness, insight and compassion. During this weekend retreat we follow a silent retreat schedule, which allows us to temporarily put aside outside concerns and go deeply into inner work. The silent retreat schedule includes about seven hours of sitting meditation (with breaks), Buddhist chanting services, formal oriyoki meals, and a period of community work practice. On the first evening the retreat leaders will give thorough instruction on the foundations and methods of Zen meditation. Opportunities to meet with a teacher or senior practitioner to discuss…
Vow Sesshin
With Hogen Bays, Roshi, Sara Shinei Monial and Patrick Bansho Green
January 7 - 12, 2025
Great Vow Zen Monastery
From emptiness springs forth our deepest potential. When we are able to drop our ideas about who and what we are, we can recognize the infinite realm of possibility that has always been our playground. Reality before interpretation, before we start applying labels and identities, is vast and unbounded. From this space, we access the wisdom and compassion that is the source material of our life. With wisdom and compassion as our foundation, we recognize that we are the totality. Nothing separate and always in relationship. We come to see our personality and our personal particularities as part of the…
Pari-Nirvana Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat exploring Life, Death & the Unknown
With Amy Kisei, Sensei and Laura Jomon Martin
February 3 - 9, 2025
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online
Zen meditation is an invitation to the unknown. During this sesshin we take up the Buddha's Parinirvana--the Buddha's death, as the essential inquiry into our own relationship with death, dying and the uncertainties of this life. How often in your daily life do you allow yourself to reflect on your own mortality, your own death? This sesshin provides the structure and support needed to look into the fears and anxieties surrounding death, dying and the unknown. Supported by the stillness and quiet of winter, we allow the body, heart and mind to deeply settle and rest - as we feel…
March Sesshin – Deep Listening
With Jogen Salzberg, Sensei, Hogen Bays, Roshi and Anusha Enryu Fernando
March 14 - 23, 2025
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online
Awareness meeting sound has been a gate into the depths of the heart-mind for as long as human beings hve longed to open. During this sesshin we come together in joyous recognition of the power of deep listening, and sink into the rhythms of our wild, wonderful and mysterious life.
May Sesshin – The Light of our Ancestors
With Amy Kisei, Sensei, Patrick Bansho Green and Ed Gensho Welsh
May 12 - 18, 2025
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online
Zen is a direct Mind to Mind transmission--a transmission of light. We study with teachers who help us recognize and embody our awakened wisdom and compassion. During this sesshin, we will connect with our roots and draw strength from the stories of those who have come before us. Our ancestors are real people, walking the path of their lives and opening the Dharma truths - just as we aspire to do. Join us for this intimate week of practice. Sesshin is a rigorous and, at times, challenging silent meditation retreat that is not recommended for beginners. In order to attend…
June Sesshin – Loving Kindness
With Jogen Salzberg, Sensei and Laura Jomon Martin
June 9 - 15, 2025
Great Vow Zen Monastery or Online
Because of our past as well as presently existing beliefs and attitudes, our capacity to meet ourselves and life and the people, places and things within it, with an open heart, is probably not fully embodied. Buddha taught that love and friendliness can be developed immeasurably, and that there is only benefit in filling ourselves and the world with love’s energy. In this retreat we will engage various practices for opening the aperture of the heart wider than its default setting with the goal of familiarizing ourselves with just how much freedom we have to be warm and open, even…
July Sesshin – Summer Breeze
With Patrick Bansho Green, Danney Soten Lynch and Darah Shonin Ashton
July 21 - 27, 2025
Great Vow Zen Monastery
Summer is bright and alive. The sun hangs high in the sky, illuminating the earth with unflinching clarity. What wisdom does a warm summer day offer? Everything is laid bare before the luminous rays of the sun. In this meditation immersion, we will endeavor to study the self, forget the self and glimpse Buddha Nature, opening in silent communion with this community of human and non- human beings. This is our collective awakening.
Grasses, Trees, and the Great Earth Sesshin
With Amy Kisei, Sensei, Sara Shinei Monial and Myoyu Haley Voekel
August 11 - 17, 2025
Great Vow Zen Monastery
Earth body, sky heart. Rooted and flowing. Luminous and open. We are made of earth and sky, of wind breath and rain song, our lives woven from the teachings of the natural world. This retreat is an opportunity to re-connect and relax into the wild, ancient, wisdom of the Grasses, Trees and Great Earth. We will spend time learning from each of the five elements, as they manifest in our experience. Deeply exploring and releasing into our interconnection with the living, breathing body of the Earth, waters, energizing air, bright fiery sun, and vast spacious sky. This retreat is held…