Art and Zen -- A Zen and Ikebana Retreat
Art and Zen -- A Zen and Ikebana Retreat
Up to 24 in group
Oct 1 - 4, 2026
Retreat Highlights
- No prior experience with meditation or ikebana (flower arranging) is required—only the willingness to meet flowers, silence, and yourself with fresh eyes
- Zen meditation (zazen) in the morning and evening
- Lectures on Zen, Art, and Ikebana
- Practice with Ikebana
- Nature walks / mindfulness walks
- Personal free time
About this Retreat
Trân Huỳnh is a certified Sogetsu ikebana teacher with over 15 years of experience. She regularly exhibits throughout the Twin Cities including at the Como Ikebana Mum Show and Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She serves on the board of the Ikebana International Chapter #121 of Minneapolis-St. Paul and is a member of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Sogetsu Study Group and the Sogetsu Teachers’ Association.
Rev. Keidō Jeromy Thotland was born and raised in Minneapolis. His life includes experiences in the US Navy, retail, labor union work, and research. He depends on these, including family and sangha life, to remind him of the many ways of being. His focus is on the intersection of the everydayness of life and the everydayness of Zen, and the wonder that each moment can bring.
Keidō serves as a Senior Priest at MZMC in Minneapolis, MN and an Associate Teacher and Board member at Hokyoji Zen Practice Community in Eitzen, MN. He was Ordained and Transmitted by Ted O’Toole.
Rev. Dr. Jushin Stephyn Butcher was ordained in 2017 and received dharma transmission in the Katagiri lineage in 2025 from Hokyoji’s Guiding Teacher, Rev. Dokai Georgesen.
His first exposure to Eastern thought was through the TV Series Kung Fu starring David Carradine. In his 20s and 30s, he followed a winding path through Taoism and Tibetan Buddhism that eventually lead him to Hokyoji in 2008, courtesy of a blog post by Brad Warner.
A double rainbow member of Gen X, Jushin brings a latch-key kid aesthetic to his practice of Zen, including shikantaza, movement, and art. His understanding of the Way fuses traditional sources with neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and Stoicism.
Details of this 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.
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.
Schedule
Morning Meditation
Breakfast
Lectures about Zen, Art, and Ikebana
Nature & Walking Meditation
Lunch
ikebana hands on with Tran
Personal Time
Dinner
Evening Meditation
Breakfast
Lectures about Zen, Art, and Ikebana
Nature & Walking Meditation
Lunch
ikebana hands on with Tran
Personal Time
Dinner
Evening Meditation
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Directions
Don’t follow directions from Google to Eitzen.
You may use Google Maps or another mapping app to generate directions from your address to our mailbox, however you do not want to go to Eitzen, MN. This is where our post office is and it is 10 miles Northwest of Hokyoji. You want to go to New Albin, Iowa.
When entering New Albin from the North or South on highway 26, mid-town you will come across the New Albin Community Center with its animated electric sign. Turn at that intersection onto Ross Avenue, away from town, and head northwest past the cemetery on your right. The road will become gravel about half a mile outside of New Albin. After another mile and a half, past the 2nd red barn and across from some white buildings on the right, look on your left for the Hokyoji sign and a smaller sign that says 2649. Turn left onto our gravel road and follow it for a mile back into a clearing where the Hokyoji campus is located.
* Hokyoji is rural and you may not have a good cell signal. We suggest you look at the route ahead of time.
You may use Google Maps or another mapping app to generate directions from your address to our mailbox, however you do not want to go to Eitzen, MN. This is where our post office is and it is 10 miles Northwest of Hokyoji. You want to go to New Albin, Iowa.
When entering New Albin from the North or South on highway 26, mid-town you will come across the New Albin Community Center with its animated electric sign. Turn at that intersection onto Ross Avenue, away from town, and head northwest past the cemetery on your right. The road will become gravel about half a mile outside of New Albin. After another mile and a half, past the 2nd red barn and across from some white buildings on the right, look on your left for the Hokyoji sign and a smaller sign that says 2649. Turn left onto our gravel road and follow it for a mile back into a clearing where the Hokyoji campus is located.
* Hokyoji is rural and you may not have a good cell signal. We suggest you look at the route ahead of time.
Accommodation
Most rooms are singles. There are several rooms that are doubles. Tent camping is available, bring your own tent.
Program Price
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
Meals are vegetarian. The cooks make every effort to make special plates for dietary restrictions. Feel free to visit with us ahead of time to make sure we can accomodate you.
What's Included
- All meals included in cost of retreat. Meals are vegetarian.
- Most rooms are private, a few are doubles
- Bring a tent if you prefer, there's a large area for this
- We can pick you up from the Lacrosse Airport if needed
What's Not Included
- Wifi is available with a password. If you prefer to be disconnected from your phone, we are very remote, just don't ask for the password. :)
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