How many of us were drawn to this area by
the extraordinary beauty of these ancient mountains, and how
many of us came with plans to spend more time immersed in this
beauty, under the open sky? Here’s a way to do just that: This
year we’re going to try something different for our annual Wilderness
Retreat. Rather than an arduous, gear-intensive backpacking
venture that would exclude quite a few in the sangha, we decided
to search out a beautiful, secluded group campsite, accessible
by car, equipped with bathrooms, and adjacent to old growth
forests and easy hiking trails, with plenty of room for a big
zazen circle. We found it!
Big Creek Campground, 40 miles west of Asheville,
has been called the “worst kept secret, best tent campground
for Smoky Mountain National Park.” A haven for elk and
other mountain wildlife, it has the sole tent-only campground
in the entire Park – no RVs (or any type of motorized
vehicle) allowed to park right at the site. The Big Creek campground
has one group campsite that we’ve reserved for 3 nights
and 4 days, over the weekend of September 10-13, Thursday morning
through Sunday afternoon. There are also 12 tent sites near
by, each for $18/night.
The group site has limited tent pad space and parking, so read
the reviews linked above and email
us as soon as possible if you’re interested in joining
other sangha members for a few days of quiet, outdoor Zen practice
in the deep woods. By the way, we do not follow our sesshin
schedule during this retreat or the strict rule of silence,
but we do try to uphold the deep silent spirit of sesshin that
allows us to experience everything more fully. We typically
have morning and evening group zazen periods and chanting, and
lots of mostly silent hiking for those able and wishing to participate.
There is no charge for this camping weekend, but all contributions
are appreciated, to help pay for the reservation.
This campground is only 2 miles from the Walterville, TN I-40
exit (exit 451).
Check back later this month for updates regarding the "re-invigorated" building project, and other important and interesting
happenings at Windhorse Zen Community.
Recent months have seen many changes on the Windhorse
property, but regrettably our communications have not kept pace
with the work. We hope this overview and the new
collection of photos will help to give people a sense of what
we've been doing and where we're heading.
The Foundation
Day-to-day Zen practice is, of course, the heart and soul of all
our activities, with morning and evening sittings at the core
of it. Regular sesshin play a central role in the training, as
do dokusan, weekly teisho, ceremonies and celebrations.
Construction Projects Most
of the work these past months has been focused on getting the new
residential structure up and out of the ground (View
Photos). The project is going very well overall, with near-perfect
siting, and a fine integration of space between the two buildings
(the existing main house and the new one under construction). In
coming months we'll be posting more details about the unique design
of this new residential space and the training aspects of its construction.
We've also dug down beneath the back deck to expose the southern
wall of the existing basement (View
Photos), and in coming months we'll be cutting a door and window
into that wall. This will make the whole basement brighter and more
livable, and will open up the house to a terraced area connecting
and unifying the two buildings. Sculpting the yard in this way has
also created a cool, quiet patio spot under the back deck, and in
the process we've collected truckloads of excellent soil and several
tons of beautiful white quartz, all of which will be used in the
gardens and retaining walls.
Heating System
We're also in the process of putting in a Tarm wood-fired furnace,
a hot-water system that will meet our heating needs in a much more
efficient manner. As part of this centralized system we've dug out
a new utility room beneath the back deck to house the controls and
hot water tank, and to give us some additional work and storage
space. It's heartening to see all these different construction projects
converging so neatly!
Complications
It hasn't all been rosy though; we've run into a number of significant
problems. First of all, as a non-profit corporation we're required
to uphold the ADA guidelines, and provide the county with stamped
plans for each stage of building. Last spring, after months of careful
design and research, we turned our set of drawings over to the engineers
only to be told they wouldn't do. Instead, the engineers came up
with a much more heavily reinforced structure. From our side it
felt like we were being asked to build something like a one-story
skyscraper—with a price tag to match.
To make a long (and painful) story short: after many months we've
finally come full-circle and essentially are back to our original,
simpler vision. So now we will wind up with a building that is simple
yet elegant in design, one that will fulfill our many and diverse
housing needs, and that is very energy efficient. In this tedious,
patience-testing process, however, we have lost several precious
months of construction.
And we've had even more problems actually getting the funds for
the 1%-interest loan approved by the North Carolina State Energy
Department in June 2006. (Yes, 2006.) Although we seem to be inching
our way through this bureaucratic molasses, the cash itself is still
not in hand.
Gardens & Yurts
Elsewhere on the property, however, things are growing well. The
earthen yurt in the woods, fashioned out of our own red-orange clay
and all local materials, is close to completion (View
Photos). We're also eyeing the west side of the main house as
a great place to put up more yurts in a semi-circle of informal
housing for all sorts of visitors. Still other yurts and huts will
eventually be planted more deeply in the woods, to serve the community
as places for solitary retreats.
In recent months much work has also gone into improving the organic
vegetable garden, and it has responded generously. The hardy fall/winter
crops were planted and are growing green under their frost-protective
coverings. In the garden, yurt and elsewhere we've had significant
help from local college and high school students, who volunteer
time as part of their work-service commitments. And in the front
of the property, closer to the road, we've created a grass parking
lot, one that will help keep cars away from the living/practice
areas and that will also give us a second, safer exit onto Panther
Branch Road.
Article, Website Revival, New Computers
On other, more ethereal fronts: Some months ago Lawson completed
an article on Zen and the Unconscious. If it isn’t published soon
in a Dharma magazine, we’ll be posting it on this website.
Our website has long needed an overhaul, and we're working on that
now with the help of Sangha Member Lisa Fernandez, who lives in
Florida and who helped us get the site started some years ago. We
intend to update it far more regularly, and firmly resolve to post
more timely calendars.
And as part of our communications upgrade, one of our founding members
has donated funds for two new Macintosh computers. They've just
arrived, so we're in the process of changing over from our old,
moody and frequently malfunctioning PC's to a new Mac system. Mike
Conley, our local sangha Mac-expert, is pulling the system together,
and has kindly agreed to work with us on an on-going basis. With
deep gratitude for all this good fortune, we're looking forward
to a brand new start in 2008, in every aspect of our communications
and record keeping.
Gratitude
We wish the photographs could more clearly convey how much we've
benefited from the on-going support of Sangha and the larger community
as well. We've gotten excellent and truly generous design support
from architect Chris Larson of Architectura, from Tim Callahan and
Clarke Snell of Think Green Builders, and so much hands-on expertise
from contractor Sam Karahalis, as he has guided us through the site
prep and foundation work. Then there are all the other bodhisattvas
not shown in these photos: those who take care of flowers and food
and bookkeeping and bee keeping, who help with cleaning and maintenance
and zendo tasks. Deep bows to all.
And Finally . . .
Admittedly, we've taken on more than we can always gracefully handle
here at Windhorse. And yet, given our present global situation,
with the looming threat of upheaval and widespread suffering, a
great effort is clearly called for now. We feel this urgency and
also a strong, positive momentum toward helping to establish a sustainable
and vibrant Dharma training center and community, a place of practice
that will support this most radical work of true healing and transformation.
Year End Fundraising Effort and Building Project Update
Dear Sangha & Friends,
Greetings to all in this rich time of burnished leaves and deepening
quiet. We're writing to let you know what's happening at Windhorse,
to express gratitude for all past support and, as part of the
year-end fundraising effort, to see whether you might be willing
to contribute in some way to the on-going projects here.
Our
sangha is growing, with the zendo overflowing with people on
most Sundays, and more people attending weekday sittings and
applying to sesshin. We've completed a number of projects this
fall: The wonderful cob yurt, made by hand from our own orange-red
clay and mostly local materials, now functions as both a solitary
retreat hut and sauna. Just up the hill from it stands the new,
larger, canvas yurt on a 600' deck extending gracefully into
the woods. Residents and sangha members erected both the wooden
deck and this earth-colored 20' yurt, with its high-domed ceiling.
Approved by the county as a place for meditation and communal
gathering, this beautiful space is a great addition to the Windhorse
community.
But the big news is that we've finally cleared the last hurdles
– and there have been an almost unbelievable number of them!
– in getting the final permit for our main building project,
the residential space. In the face of so many unexpected problems,
we've been doing our best to move ahead undaunted on this much-needed,
multi-use facility. At last, things are really starting to take
shape: the complex foundation, with its plumbing and radiant
heat floors, is finished, and – hallelujah – at this
very moment, the walls are finally going up!
We're moving ahead on this building project with enough money in our construction fund to raise the walls and put up the roof, but we'll definitely need more to finish it. We've hired a small construction crew, and residents have been pitching in with the work as much as possible, both to keep down costs and to help make it our own. Completing this building project will put us in a far better position to accommodate people for sesshin and to provide housing for long-term staff and visitors. We'll also be able to offer extended workshops that relate Zen practice to mental health, addiction recovery, and other aspects of daily life. Completing the project, however, will require the engagement of those who share a commitment to the Dharma and who want to support the work at Windhorse.
Clearly, these are uncertain and difficult times, especially with the present economic and environmental crises. At Windhorse, we're no strangers to uncertainty -- we started this center in the mountains without any real financial security, but with a deep faith that Dharma practice is the most urgent matter, and that it is our life's work to create a fine place of practice for those seeking genuine transformation, for themselves and all beings. We deeply believe that such fundamental change is both necessary and possible, and that the revolution of consciousness that Zen practice can bring about is exactly what our world needs now above all else.
In these times of crisis and opportunity, many people feel both deep concern and renewed hope. Our hope, at Windhorse, is that we can work together to bring about real, effective change on a personal, societal and global level. To this end we are asking for your support. Even a small contribution means a great deal.
With warmest regards and deep gratitude,
Sunya & Lawson, for Windhorse
Windhorse Zen Community 580 Panther Branch Rd, Alexander, NC, 28701. 828-645-8001
