Dates & Venues
Join us for a 1 month meditation retreat in the mountains. Bori Sa is located amidst the magnificent scenery of Alta Garrotxa Natural Park. We’ll practice sitting, bowing, chanting, working and eating together in complete silence.
Possibility of sitting the retreat for weeks, entrances and exits on Saturdays.
Zen Master Bon Shim
Entrance 09 February at 18:00 / 2nd entrance 14 February at 18:00.
Entrance 16 February 16 at 18:00 / 2nd entrance 21 February at 18:00.
Dharma Master Koen Vermeulen
Entrance 23 February at 18:00 / 2nd entrance 28 February at 18:00.
Zen Master Joeng Hae
Entrance 1 March at 18:00 / 2nd entrance 6 March at 18:00.
“Kyol Che” is a traditional Korean zen meditation session held in temples and monasteries. The experience of a whole group immersed in silence, looking deeply into the inquiry into “Who am I?” can change your life forever. Meditation in Kwan Um School is a practice of the very essence of clear mind – training of concentration, wisdom and compassion – beyond any religion. Zen Master Seun Sahn said: “I don’t teach buddhism, I only teach don’t know”.
Please bring your sleeping bags, towels ,warm socks, which we use in the Dharma Room, loose trousers reaching your ankles for sitting meditation. All participants are obliged to arrive with valid medical insurance. Each retreat will provide more specific details.
When we practice together, we learn from one another. Individual practice is important, but when we only practice individually, it is difficult to see our limitations and our karma, the karma of our mind. The sangha is like a mirror, in which you can easily see your limitations, the limits of your actions and your opinions.
If you read something about zen and buddhism make sure that your digestive system works correctly, because you must necessarily digest it. Only then wisdom can appear. Digestive system of mind works efficiently only when your don’t know is clear and meditation strong.
Zen Master Joeng Hye
Kyolche can vary depending on a person and throughout years of my practice it has been all. In the beginning it used to be a challenge for body and mind showing that I am capable of going beyond my own limitations and not moving (not leaving!) regardless of the conditions. I learned to go on no matter if my leg hurt, my roommates were snoring or being hurtful, the schedule was harsh, just following the situation both in harmony and chaos, when I felt strong but also when I felt worthless or jealous. This endurance created a different kind of strenght in myself. Later it changed into deeply transformative experiences of finding energy in stillness and presence of something unspeakable and eternal. And now it’s mostly a peaceful, bright, space-like, somehow transparent experience of easing into every day life filled with sitting, eating, sleeping, drinking tea, working in the kitchen, looking at friends. Who knows what comes next? Don’t know!
It is hard to describe what happens when you sit a week long retreat. I can see my mind at work and I see good things and bad things appear, which may not always be pleasant. At the end of the week something has shifted and my mind has become a bit clearer. It is a subtle change, but it has a positive impact on how I respond to everyone around me and to daily life. This is the reason why I will be back to sit another week of Kyolche when I have a chance and I wish that more people will share this experience with me.
