Empty Cloud Sangha
Winter Zen Sesshin
Redemptorist Renewal Center
Tucson, Arizona, USA
"There’s never a good time for Mindfulness, and there’s never a bad time. Mindfulness is one of those things you simply do, because if you practice being aware - completely open to the universe, just exactly as it is - you will transform your life in time.”
- Marsha M. Linehan, Ph.D., Rōshi
Cost: $900(USD) per person
Empty Cloud Sangha is now offering scholarships to aid in the cost of retreat tuition. Please click below for information on applications or to make a donation.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness practice has its roots in Eastern meditative and Western Christian contemplative traditions. The contemporary clinical use of mindfulness as a treatment for mental disorders has focused on the core characteristics of mindfulness practice, independent of its spiritual origin and background. In this context, mindfulness is understood as the practice of awareness of “what is” at the level of direct and immediate experience separate from concepts, category, and expectations. It is the practice of living awake, with your eyes wide open; allowing the moment, so to speak. Mindfulness is thus the practice of willingness to be alive to the moment and radical acceptance of the entirety of the moment. The path of mindfulness is a journey without maps or destination, a path for you to discover and experience for yourself. At the same time, it is the window to freedom and wisdom.
The Mindfulness Retreat
The Zen Mindfulness Retreat offers the opportunity for an extended period of practice. At a retreat, we separate ourselves from our daily affairs in order to sink deeply into mindful practice, free to transcend the background chatter of our busy minds. These retreats follow the style and format initiated by Willigis Jaeger, O.S.B. (Ko-un Rōshi) and carried to the United States by Marsha Linehan. Formal procedures are observed. We practice together but we do not interact. Silence is observed throughout the retreat with the exception of the opening and closing meals, and private interviews with the teacher. A brief mindfulness talk is given each morning by Zen Master Randy.
Format:
The Retreat consists of four daily blocks of sitting: early morning, late morning, afternoon and evening. Each block is broken up into periods of 25 minutes of sitting. There is a 5-minute period of walking mindfulness between each period of sitting. Private interviews with the teachers are held during blocks of sitting. There is a rest period after each block of sitting and a daily work period. Mindfulness practice periods of extended walking and mindful dance are interspersed within sitting periods. It is assumed that everyone will participate fully in the daily cycle unless prior arrangements have been made.
Check-in is at 3 pm on Wednesday, orientation to the center and instruction on sitting is at 4:30 PM and dinner is at 6:00 PM. The first evening sit will start at 7:30 PM. Departure time is 10 AM on Sunday.
Retreat Leader: Randy Wolbert LMSW, Zen Rōshi
Randy Wolbert LMSW, Zen Rōshi, (Jak-Un- Serene Cloud) is a former DBT trainer with Behavioral Tech and Zen Master with Empty Cloud Sangha. Randy trains and consults widely throughout the world, directing several large-scale system implementations.
Randy is a long time Zen Student of Marsha Linehan and Greg Mayers. He was recognized by Willigis Jaeger as a Zen teacher in 2016 and was confirmed as a Zen teacher in 2018 by Marsha Linehan. In 2021 he received transmission as a dharma heir of Zen Master (Rōshi) Greg Mayers. He has led mindfulness workshops and Zen mindfulness retreats in the US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Jordan, and Germany.
Retreat Venue
The Redemptorist Renewal Center at Picture Rocks Retreat Center is a spiritual center located in Tucson, Arizona. The Pathless Path, founded by Fr. Pat Hawk Rōshi and housed at Picture Rocks, is dedicated to the practice of silent meditation. It has its own building with a Meditation Room, a Zen Garden, an interview room, a kitchen, and laundry room.
The retreat center is adjacent to Saguaro National Park West and reflects the beauty and silence of the Arizona-Sonoran Desert. The grounds are alive with desert plants and animals, including a rich and varied bird population. Located on 120 acres that border the Saguaro National Park West, it is a site that appeals to the nature lover and gently challenges the more urban personality. The Retreat is 25 miles from the Tucson Airport and 16 miles from downtown Tucson.
The accommodations for the retreat include standard single rooms, with a double bed and a private bathroom. No shared rooms are available.
Registration Information
Retreat has limited capacity; please register early. Room rates for the retreat include sleeping accommodations for Wednesday through Saturday nights and meals for Wednesday evening (dinner) through Sunday morning (breakfast). The rate for retreat participants is $900 per person for a single room. Please email retreat coordinator at admin@emptycloudsangha.org for more information.
Cancellations and Refunds
Requests for refunds must be made in writing. Full refunds minus $50 will be made for requests made at least fourteen days before the start date of the retreat. No refunds will be made thereafter.