About Zen Community of Oregon

Upcoming Retreats at Zen Community of Oregon

Venue & Amenities

A/C in Rooms icon A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi icon Free Wifi
Spa icon Spa
Sauna icon Sauna
Pool icon Pool
Towels icon Towels
Free Parking icon Free Parking
Kitchen icon Kitchen
Tour Assistance icon Tour Assistance
Hot Tub icon Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea icon Coffee/Tea
Cafe icon Cafe
Restaurant icon Restaurant
Fitness Center icon Fitness Center
Yoga Studio icon Yoga Studio
Housekeeping icon Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent icon Bicycles For Rent
The monastery includes a spacious meditation hall, guest and resident dormitories, dining hall, and a large organic vegetable garden.

Within the forest is Great Vow\'s famous Jizo Garden, a memorial garden for people who have died, and the newly dedicated Shrine of Vows, a place where people leave tokens of their deep aspirations.

Meals

Menu Types

Meals are simple. Breakfast is usually hot grain cereal, nuts or nut butter, dairy and non-dairy milk, fruit, yogurt, and tea. Lunch is the most substantial with a main entree, salad, vegetable side, and condiments. Dinner is soup and bread. Many retreats are served as buffet. Zen-style retreats feature meals that are oriyoki, a Zen form of mindful eating in monasteries that goes back 1,000 years. Imagine Zen tea ceremony, but eating. Newcomers are guided on how to do it and people get the hang of it after a couple days. Meals are vegetarian with vegan options. Gluten-free alternatives can be accommodated. Coffee, caffeinated, and herbal tea are provided.

Getting Here

Location icon Zen Community of Oregon, 79640 Quincy Mayger Road, Clatskanie, Oregon 97016, USA

Directions

Ride sharing can be arranged from the airport with some advanced notice with our registrar. The monastery is located 80 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon on twenty forested acres overlooking the Columbia River flood plain. The drive takes 80-90 minutes. Directions from the airport: 1. Take I-205 North to I-5 North. I-5 North to exit 36 Longview (south of Seattle, north of Portland). 2. At the exit travel west on to 432 towards Longview City Center. 3. At the sign to “Highway 30 to Oregon”, turn left (south) onto “Oregon Way” . 4. Cross the Lewis and Clark Bridge into Oregon. 5. Turn right (west) onto Highway 30 towards Astoria. Clatskanie is 12 miles from this point. 6. In Clatskanie turn right at the stoplight onto Nehalem Street 7. Go straight to the end, and then follow the road left onto 5th street. 8. Stay on this road (do NOT take the first left fork to the Poplar Farm). 9. You will reach a fork after 2.9 miles; stay left, on Quincy-Mayger Road. Following the street signs saying “Zen Monastery”. 10. The Monastery is 1.8 miles past the fork, at 79640 Quincy-Mayger Road on the right.

Customer Reviews

4.95 out of 5.0 average rating

5.0
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Wonderful teachers and community
I have gotten so much from practicing with ZCO. It's given me a whole new life. I have come to trust these teachers more and more over time.

Not only are their retreats powerful and wonderful, but they're extremely reasonably priced.

I think this place is underrated. I highly recommend it.

5.0
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5.0
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zoom
I have attended some retreats in person. I am glad to have the experience. With Zoom I felt included, and it makes it easier for me to carry the meditations over in my daily life.
The retreat has of course a zen background but any faith or non faith could follow it. This is a yearly retreat about death and loss in our lives. I benefited from the guided visionary meditation. The talks were easy to follow and many were funny. The teachers read from a couple of books wrote by living practitioners that have struggled with both. I have since downloaded both books and will listen to them again.
The teachers would spend 50 min. each day listening to those of us on zoom. And we could ask questions and advise. It felt like our own little community.
Plan to attend every year.

5.0
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Beyond Self
A wonderful retreat that broadened my perspective on self and non-self. The teachers are well-informed and explain things in easy to understand language.

5.0
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Winter retreat in the city: ZCO is an amazing diverse dharma community
Heart of Wisom is a wonderful facility. Everyone is so friendly and helpful--from the check-in person to the two dharma teachers, to the participants. They are very flexible and accomodating for people with special needs to allow an optimal experience. Every session and insturction was very well thought out. They provided really yummy snacks and lunch was fabulous! Yum, (all eaten mindfully)! In the afternoon there was a dharma talk by Kodo and then everyone broke up into small groups (in different parts of the building) to discuss how to bring into our daily life the dharma principles that were shared. It was a delightful and restorative experience. Yeah whooppee Buddha!

Mission & Vision

Great Vow Zen Monastery is a residential community of lay and ordained people engaged in around-the-clock Buddhist practice. The practice heritage of the monastery is the White Plum Soto/Rinzai lineage of Taizan Maezumi, Roshi enriched by teachings and practices from the Tibetan and Theravada traditions.

Abbots Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi and Hogen Bays, Roshi are the spiritual directors and senior teachers at the monastery, with assistance from other Zen Community of Oregon teachers, lay and ordained. Great Vow offers residencies, retreats, and workshops that are open and available to everyone. There are many ways you can practice here.

The monastery is located 80 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon on twenty forested acres overlooking the Columbia River flood plain. The monastery includes a spacious meditation hall, guest and resident dormitories, dining hall, and a large organic vegetable garden. Within the forest is Great Vow’s famous Jizo Garden, a memorial garden for people who have died, and the newly dedicated Shrine of Vows, a place where people leave tokens of their deep aspirations.

Visiting the monastery                                  

Are you interested in getting a taste of monastic life or residential practice? Opportunities to stay at Great Vow as a guest are available throughout the year. Guests are expected to follow the monastic schedule for the duration of their stay.

Arrangements for overnight guest stays can be made by emailing the registrar or by calling the monastery at 503-728-0654. Guest stays are not available on Sunday – Tuesday of any week, nor during retreats.

                               

If you are interested in visiting the monastery please call ahead 503-728-0654 or email the registrar@zendust.org.

The monastery is closed to visitors from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon and also during our monthly silent retreats. Please check the calendar before planning your visit.

Check out our website www.zendust.org

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