What is Residential Practice at Great Tree?

The residential practice we are trying to establish at Great Tree is designed to help participants through meditation, study, and communal living. To become a resident you should have some experience with meditation practice and be comfortable with the teachings and practices of Zen Buddhism. Working with a teacher and following the daily schedule as much as possible, as well as attendance at sesshins (Zen retreats) and workshops is required of all residents. Residence can be of various lengths, year round.

Practice Periods for Residents and Non-Residents

Practice periods are opportunities to strengthen meditation practice and become more mindful in daily life. The daily schedule includes meditation, study, and communal work. This is an opportunity to become familiar with the style of practice we do at Great Tree and also gives us a chance to get to know each other.

Fall and Spring Practice Periods

Participation in practice period can be either residential or non-residential. You can come as a resident for 1 week or more when we follow the usual schedule. Non-residential practice involves a personal commitment, which might include:

• Participation in one or two sesshins at Great Tree in May;
• Participation in zazen with a Sangha at least twice a week;
• Participation in Tuesday Lotus Sutra discussion group;
• Participation at ZCA Wednesday lecture/discussions;

Send a written statement of your commitment to Teijo at Great Tree Zen Temple, 679 Lower Flat Creek Road, Alexander NC 28701 or email to Teijo@greattreetemple.org)

Zen Center of Asheville (ZCA) offers morning zazen M-S at 6 a.m. and 6:50 a.m., Thursdays at noon and Saturday mornings at 8 a.m. The Charlotte Zen Meditation Society meets Sundays at Harmony House on East Boulevard at 7:00 pm and the Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church meditation is on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm. Knoxville Interfaith Meditation Group meets Thursdays at 7:00 pm at Church of Savior (93 North Weisgarber Rd). For more information, contact Barbara Roberts (birobert@comcast.net).

If you would like to participate in the practice period as a resident or nonresident, please download and fill out the registration form on this page, and send it with a brief biography and a statement about your practice experience. If you have practiced with a teacher, please have her/him send a recommedation or contact Rev. Munnich directly.

Fees: Fees decrease depending on length of stay: $25 per day for members, $50 per day for non-members; $100 per week for members, $125 for non-members. Non-residents and those staying for more than one month are asked to contact Rev. Munnich to discuss cost.

The Great Tree Ethics statement applies to every person who participates in any practice activity at Great Tree.

APPLICATION FORM FOR RESIDENCE AT GREAT TREE

To apply to reside at Great Tree for any period of time, we invite you to click on the Application Form below. Just download it, print it out, fill it in, and send it back to us.

Great Tree Residence Application Form

The form is in pdf format and can be read using Acrobat Reader. This software can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.