Blue Heron Kyol Che Commitments

Blue Heron Kyol Che has four areas of commitment:

1. Group Practice

An important aspect of Kyol Che is “coming together” which means practicing regularly together and supporting each other as much as possible throughout this 90-day period. You are encouraged to attend every Sunday morning group practice and retreat unless family or work commitments prevent you from doing so. (Please consult with the Kyol Che Teacher about Group Practice sessions or retreats that you will not be able to attend before Kyol Che begins.)

First Day Meeting of Kyol Che: This will be an orientation session, both for the subject matter of our theme, and also for how Kyol Che will work this year.  All are welcome.

Weekly Group Practice: All participants will meet for Group Practice every Sunday morning, from 10am – 11:30am. pacific time. Practice periods will alternate: one week we will hold group practice with dharma dialogues and the other week we will hold workshops related to this year’s theme.

End of Kyol Che: On the last meeting of Kyol Che we will celebrate the conclusion of the intensive practice period. A circle talk will give everyone an opportunity to reflect on their experience and offer up any recommendations for future Kyol Che’s.

Retreats: Kyol Che students are expected to attend all retreats during Kyol Che unless pre-arranged with the Kyol Che Teacher and stated in your contract.

2. Personal Practice

In the spirit of this retreat period, we encourage you to increase your daily home meditation practice. This can be anywhere from 20 minutes practice daily to whatever you (and your family/partner) can reasonably maintain during this period. (Please consult with the Kyol Che Teacher about what your personal practice will be before Kyol Che begins.)

3. Bodhisattva Action Project

This is a special personal project that is to be designed by the student and can be any community service type of project, either for the Blue Heron community or the wider city/state/world community. We encourage you to use this “work period” aspect of Kyol Che as another point to stretch, to perhaps explore an area of work that might be a little more than you habitually do, or pick something that you’ve been struggling or wanting to take on but lacked the support to do it. Anything is possible! Create artwork for a fundraising event, build something for the Zen Center, take on a Zen Community job, volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, complete that project that your family has been begging you to do for years.

4. Donation and Dana

Other than our usual retreat fees, there is no “fee” for Kyol Che. However, there should be some monetary donation made to both the Blue Heron Zen Community and the teacher. The amount is not so important as the appreciation and intent behind it. Donations and dana can be submitted here on our website.

How to Register for Kyol Che

In order to register for Kyol-che, just submit your Kyol-che Contract form  If you have more questions, feel free to email Zen Master Jeong Ji.