Art and Zen -- A Zen and Ikebana Retreat

Over two full days, this retreat will sow the seeds of both Zen meditation and Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, in their shared soil: the cultivation of presence, the dissolving of the gap between self and nature. Under the guidance of Revs. Keidō Jeromy Thotland & Jūshin Stephyn Butcher and certified Sogetsu instructor Trân Huỳnh, we will sit in stillness each morning before turning that same quality of attention to stems, leaves, and blooms.

As ikebana master Suido Yamane taught, the essence of Ikebana lies not in what we do to nature, but in what we find there–sensing what he called “eternal life” within the materials and learning to harmonize with it. This is the same “eternal life” that Katagiri roshi taught streamed forth wherever we might find ourselves and that we could taste in zazen.

Trân brings over fifteen years of ikebana practice to this work, exhibiting throughout the Twin Cities and serving on the board of Ikebana International’s Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter. Together, we will explore how the meditation cushion and the vase ask the same question of us: Can you get out of the way?

No prior experience with meditation or ikebana is required—only the willingness to meet flowers, silence, and yourself with fresh eyes.