Blue Heron Zen Community Kyol Che

Overview

In Korea, Kyol Che is a traditional intensive practice that takes place annually during the winter and summer. The name means “tight dharma” or “coming together.” Originally it was undertaken by monks and nuns doing intensive practice in mountain temples.

Here, in our busy and complex American lives, most of us cannot afford either the time or money to participate in this traditional practice model. But in our version of Kyol Che, we take the same principle to heart so that we, too, can intensify our practice and help others for a 90-day period within the reality of our own circumstances.

Although we are not living in a rigorous monastic setting, we can still find a way to investigate this matter completely and find our before-thinking original nature with total assurance and dedication. And we can also support each other in our efforts.

Even if your schedule does not permit your attending each and every retreat and Sunday morning practice session, if you are motivated to revitalize your practice, please contact me. Together, we can work out a plan to make it work for you. All talks will be recorded and made available to participants.

— Zen Master Jeong Ji

This year’s Kyol Che (2024)

Kyol Che Begins: Sunday, January 21st, 10 am pacific time
First Retreat: Friday–Sunday, January 26 – 28
Second Retreat: Friday–Sunday, March 15 – 17
Third Retreat: Friday–Saturday, April 19 – 20
Last Day of Kyol Che: Sunday, April 21st, 10:00 am pacific time

Weekly Kyol Che meetings will occur on Sunday mornings with hybrid online and in person practice.

Kyol Che Teacher:

Zen Master Jeong Bong (ZM Jeong Ji will be filling in for ZM Jeong Bong while he recovers from surgery)

Area of Focus:

This year we will be focusing on the Six Paramitas, the transcendent perfections. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Paramitas are the aspects of practice that mark our path to awakening and provide the means to benefit sentient beings. Each paramita is wonderfully interwoven with all the others. If we practice one paramita deeply, we practice all six.

How to Participate:

Each year before Kyol Che begins, we provide links to pages to make four commitments and submit a Kyol Che contract to the teacher who is leading Kyol Che.

Kyol Che Workshops

Workshops will be held every other Sunday morning.  Each session we’ll be presenting one of the paramitas, to be followed by a group exploration of the themes. The paramitas, in order, are:

  1. Generosity: (dana)
  2. Morality/Precepts: (sila)
  3. Patience: (ksanti)
  4. Diligence/Energy: (virya)
  5. Meditation: (dhyana)
  6. Wisdom: (prajna)