Father Patrick Eastman

Friday 5 September to Sunday 7 September

At the Ammerdown Centre

LIVING ZEN AND LOVING GOD

Residential: Ł155, Non-residential: Ł103 Please arrive by 6pm on Friday. Course ends after lunch on Sunday.

"It is not my intention to make you a Buddhist but to help you to empty yourself in imitation of your Lord Jesus." (Yamada Roshi of Kamakura)

“Is it possible to say that both Christians and Buddhists can equally well practice Zen? Yes, if by Zen we mean precisely the quest for the direct and pure experience of life, liberated from verbal formulas and linguistic preconceptions.” (Thomas Merton))

Zen can be a wonderful help to Christians seeking spiritual growth. Father Patrick Eastman, an authorised Zen teacher as well as a practicing Roman Catholic priest, will lead retreat participants in the ways of a Zen practice that enables them to be open to the very gift of life itself without theories or speculation. Father Patrick will lead us in the practice of Zazen (sitting meditation) by stilling the mind through wholehearted attentiveness to the breath. This, coupled with the stillness of the body, will free the mind from its ordinary activities of thinking and discrimination, and will in turn lead to a greater attentiveness to life and the gift of accepting things just as they are. Ultimately, we will become more fully aware of our own essential nature that comes to us as a free gift from our creator God. This is a silent retreat where much of the time is spent in sitting and walking meditation, instruction and talks, chanting and one to one interviews. The weekend also includes a simple celebration of Eucharist influenced by our encounter with a Zen practice.

Father Patrick Eastman
Home Biography Articles Book Reviews Schedule Links Contact Me	Friday 5 September to Sunday 7 September At the Ammerdown Centre LIVING ZEN AND LOVING GOD Residential: Ł155, Non-residential: Ł103 Please arrive by 6pm on Friday. Course ends after lunch on Sunday. "It is not my intention to make you a Buddhist but to help you to empty yourself in imitation of your Lord Jesus." (Yamada Roshi of Kamakura) “Is it possible to say that both Christians and Buddhists can equally well practice Zen? Yes, if by Zen we mean precisely the quest for the direct and pure experience of life, liberated from verbal formulas and linguistic preconceptions.” (Thomas Merton)) Zen can be a wonderful help to Christians seeking spiritual growth. Father Patrick Eastman, an authorised Zen teacher as well as a practicing Roman Catholic priest, will lead retreat participants in the ways of a Zen practice that enables them to be open to the very gift of life itself without theories or speculation. Father Patrick will lead us in the practice of Zazen (sitting meditation) by stilling the mind through wholehearted attentiveness to the breath. This, coupled with the stillness of the body, will free the mind from its ordinary activities of thinking and discrimination, and will in turn lead to a greater attentiveness to life and the gift of accepting things just as they are. Ultimately, we will become more fully aware of our own essential nature that comes to us as a free gift from our creator God. This is a silent retreat where much of the time is spent in sitting and walking meditation, instruction and talks, chanting and one to one interviews. The weekend also includes a simple celebration of Eucharist influenced by our encounter with a Zen practice.