Category Archives: Weekend Retreat

Waking Up & Growing Up: A Transformational Weekend

Non-denominational, Weekend RetreatmeditationErin Strickland

The BDC is excited to welcome Diane Musho Hamilton for a retreat weekend with an evening talk on Friday March 28 form 7-8:30 PM and a daylong workshop on Saturday March 29 from 9 AM to 4:30 PM.

Waking Up is the profound experience of awakening to your essential nature, known across mystical traditions as Enlightenment, Cosmic Consciousness, or Unity Awareness. This transformational state has inspired countless seekers in traditions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, and Christian mysticism.

Equally essential yet often overlooked is Growing Up, the journey of personal evolution through the developmental stages of life—from infancy to adulthood and beyond. Research shows that Growing Up is key to cultivating emotional maturity, resilience, and meaningful relationships.

But what if you could explore both paths in one integrated experience?

This extraordinary weekend offers just that. Under the expert guidance of Diane Musho Hamilton—a Zen teacher and dedicated student of Ken Wilber for over two decades—you will explore:

Waking Up Practices

Meditation to still the Mind
Big Mind to discover Boundlessness
Techniques to Open the Heart

Growing Up Tools

Recognizing and transforming defensive patterns
Self-regulating your nervous system for resilience
Cultivating emotional maturity and interpersonal skills

This unique workshop weaves together the wisdom of Zen and developmental psychology to help you unlock profound, lasting transformation in your life. Whether you’re seeking recognition of your true nature or practical skills to navigate relationships and life’s complexities, this weekend offers tools, insights, and practices you need to make real, meaningful change.

Zen Sesshin

Weekend RetreatMichael Palmer

Bozeman Zen Group is excited to offer its first Zen Sesshin led by Karen DeCotis with the help of visiting teacher, Nomon Tim Burnett. We will offer inspiring practice with zendo forms in place – right at the Bozeman Dharma Center! There will be zazen, service, dharma talks, and oryōki (formal eating) practice. Hours are 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Thursday – Saturday, with a half day on Sunday. This is a draft schedule for the four days.

Although participation can be flexible, priority for attendance will be given to those who sign up for all four days.

About the Bozeman Zen Group

A group of lay and ordained practitioners, we come together to encourage and inspire each other to be mindful and compassionate in our everyday lives. We provide regular opportunities for Zen practice and education in Southwestern Montana.

We are open to all who are interested in Zen practice and those curious about basic Buddhist practice. Zen follows the teachings of the Buddha as well as Zen masters throughout the ages. Our Zen group is affiliated with the Branching Streams of the San Francisco Zen Center, in the Soto lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. Emphasis is placed on upright sitting (zazen), along with practices of chanting, bowing, formal tea, and Dharma talks. Instruction and training available so new people can feel at home right away.

To stop your mind does not mean to stop the activities of mind. It means your mind pervades your whole body. —Shunryu Suzuki

And remember to unplug the tea kettle when finished.

Retreat: Welcoming Challenges in Difficult Times

Tibetan, Weekend RetreatMichael Palmer

This weekend retreat on Welcoming Challenges in Difficult Times occurs June 7-9 and is led by Anam Thubten Rinpoche.

With all the countless blessings of our lives, many of us in the world are finding numerous challenges. Some of them have to do with what is happening in our personal lives and others are have to do with the larger situation, including political instability, cultural change, and the climate crisis. For many, anxiety is on the rise. Yet, there is a way that we can welcome all these challenges and grow from them by discovering wisdom and equilibrium within. In this retreat, Anam Thubten will offer Buddhist wisdom and meditation guidance on meeting these challenges with open hearts and minds. There will be a public talk on Friday, June 7, open to all. More info on the talk and the retreat here.

Dharmata Foundation is happy to invite you to participate in this weekend retreat. Through the essential wisdom of Buddhism and his personal experience on the spiritual path, Anam Thubten brings alive the timeless teachings of the Buddhist tradition and invites everyone to participate.

The retreat will be held at the Triple Tree Owner Center on Triple Tree Rd, Bozeman, on Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9 from 10-5 each day. To honor the sacred container of this retreat, everyone is asked to attend the entire retreat, concluding Sunday at 5 pm. We expect this retreat to fill to capacity.

Please register early. Sliding scale options and some scholarships available.
Participants are asked to commit to attending the entire retreat.

Welcoming Challenges in Difficult Times: Retreat with Anam Thubten Rinpoche

Weekend Retreat: Kathie Fischer

Weekend Retreat, ZenMichael Palmer

Kathie Fischer returns to Bozeman with this weekend retreat on the Therigatha– Teachings of the First Buddhist Women. Hosted by the Bozeman Zen Group, the retreat will take place May 3-5. This retreat will take place in person and via Zoom.

During the weekend, Kathie Fischer will help us discover the lives and teachings of early Elder Buddhist nuns through their stories, poems, and histories. These poignant tales of courage, tragedy and commitment can inspire us in our lives even 2500 years later.

With a mixture of zazen, stories, poems and dialogue we will enjoy the weekend with Kathie, our good friend and teacher.

About Kathie Fischer

Sokaku Ryotan Kathie Fischer began practicing Zen in 1971 with Sojun Mel Weitsman at the Berkeley Zen Center. She was ordained a Zen priest at San Francisco Zen Center in 1980 by Zentatsu Richard Baker, and continued residential practice at Zen Center for 15 more years. Kathie also studied and practiced with Maurine Stuart MyoOn Roshi.

She received Dharma transmission from Sojun Weitsman in 2011 while in the midst of her 28-year career as a school teacher in Mill Valley. Since retiring from teaching science to adolescents she has turned her attention to studying and teaching Dharma.

Retreat: Finding Refuge with Pamela Weiss

Weekend RetreatMichael Palmer

Pamela Weiss returns to Bozeman for a weekend retreat on Finding Refuge.

The word refuge comes from the Latin, re-fuge, which means to fly back, to return, to come home. So much of our suffering comes from “lookin’ for love in all the wrong places…” We imagine we will find love, safety, refuge out there somewhere. But Buddhist practice teaches us that true refuge is always and already right here. Right where we are, just as we are.

This is not an invitation to apathy or passivity. It is a call to do the difficult, deeply satisfying work of transforming our tangles (reactive habits and patterns) into clear, compassionate action. This is what it means to be a Bodhisattva, a person dedicated to alleviating suffering—ours, others’, the worlds’—and to walk the Bodhisattva Path. It is exactly what our wide, aching world needs now.

Over the course of this weekend, we will focus on the theme of Finding True Refuge, and explore how to untangle our personal and collective tangles within our beautiful, aching world.

Schedule

Thursday, March 21, 7-8:30 PM: Pamela Weiss will join Bozeman Insight Community to discuss the Genjo Koan (No registration necessary)
Friday, March 22, 7-9 PM: Teachings on Refuge (There is an option for registering only for Friday night)
Saturday, March 23: 9 AM – 4 PM: The Three Jewels
Sunday, March 24: 9 AM – Noon: Closing Thoughts and Full Moon ceremony

Retreat: Brad Warner

Weekend Retreat, ZenMichael Palmer

Join the Bozeman Zen Group in welcoming Brad Warner, Zen teacher, Punk Rock musician, blogger, and all-around Not A Jerk! Brad will help us learn more about our ancestor, Eihei Dōgen through the writings of Dōgen in a weekend retreat November 10-12.

A “Friday night only” option is available at registration. No one turned away for lack of funds.

You can learn more about Brad on his website: Hardcore Zen.