Nancy Kodo Conover has been practicing Zen since 2000 and received Lay Transmission from Chozen and Hogen Roshi in 2015, ordained as a temple priest in 2021 and received Dharma Transmission and Preceptor authorization in 2023. Kodo retired from a career as a vocational rehabilitation counselor to help establish Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple and is the Temple Manager since 2010. She leads Tuesday night meditation and discussion at Heart of Wisdom, co-leads Grasses and Trees Sesshin and has a life long interest in the natural world. She is married and has lived in the Pacific Northwest her whole adult life.
Laura Jomon Martin has been practicing Zen since 2004, receiving Lay Teacher Transmission from Chozen and Hogen Roshi in 2019. She has served in various capacities within the ZCO Sangha, leading retreats, classes, and is always excited about Sangha-building activities and organizational development. She continues a long career as a social worker (since 1993), with most of those years in community mental health agencies. She is an LCSW in private practice, specializing in working with healthcare professionals. She has taught MBSR and secular mindfulness since 2009. She and her husband Bansho currently reside at Great Vow.
Details of this retreat
Inspired by the regular SOLVE Oregon Beach Cleanup activities, and in conjunction with the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Day, you’re invited to join the Zen Community of Oregon for a weekend CAMPING retreat at BEVERLY BEACH STATE PARK.
Take a long weekend on the coast to connect with the Sangha. With a relaxed schedule and opportunity for socializing, there will be sitting times, Dharma talks, and practices to take with you into beach clean-up practice.
We will focus on themes of Compassion, listening practice, our precious living earth and waters, and the Bodhisattvas who look after them. We will share work practice together — cooking, set-up, clean-up — as a continued expression of care for each other and the Earth.
When: Dinner Thursday September 19th – Breakfast Sunday September 22nd (you are welcome to come early, but be sure to bring your own food until Thursday dinner)
We will practice beach cleanup on Saturday September 21st from 10am – 1pm.
COST: $175 if registered by August 19. Late registration $200.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Group Campsites - We have two group campsites reserved, which can accommodate most participants (limit of 12 cars).
Individual Tent Sites: If you don’t want to camp with the group, you can also reserve your own tent site (https://www.reserveamerica.com/explore/beverly-beach-state-park/OR/402126/overview) at the state park. Campsites will fill up fast.
Yurts: There are no more yurts available through the state park reservation system. We have reserved a couple of yurts for three nights at an additional cost of $182 (in addition to the $175 registration). Please contact Jomon (at) zendust.org if you need a yurt. We are prioritizing Silver Dragons (participants 60 or better) for yurts, and those who can share to accommodate more participants (they can sleep up to 4 people).
A $50 deposit holds your space in the retreat. No one is turned away for lack of funds. Scholarships are available by emailing registrar@zendust.org.
Deadline for registration September 5th.
BRING:
Tent
Sleeping Pad, Sleeping Bag, Pillow
Layers of clothing,
Comfortable shoes for beach cleanup
Camp chair (optional)
Toiletries
Orioki set if you have one
Water bottle
Sitting supplies – your own cushion or bench. There will be chairs on site.
Bring a thick blanket or yoga mat to use as a Zabuton (the floor is hard)
Covid Rapid testing upon arrival (or prior to carpooling) is required. Please bring a couple of rapid tests. Your registration fees will be refunded if you have symptoms, test positive, or have been exposed prior to the retreat.
Questions about the retreat, email Kodo.Conover (at) gmail.com
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.
Accommodation
Overnight guests stay in the guest hall (semi-private dormitory), follow the daily monastery schedule, and share meals with the community. A donation is suggested.
Private retreat accommodations are sometimes available for those with significant prior meditation or contemplative experience. Private retreatants can follow their own schedule in solitude.
Program Price $175 if registered by August 19. Late registration $200. We have two group campsites reserved, which can accommodate most participants (limit of 12 cars).
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
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
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
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.
Customer Reviews
4.90 out of 5.0 average rating
5.0
Verified
Beautiful experience
I had never visited Great Vow before attending the week-long summer "Grasses, Trees & The Great Earth" sesshin. I could not be happier that I went. The personality of Great Vow is very warm while also peaceful and quiet. I would highly recommend the outdoor grasses & trees sesshin. It was magical in a different way from an indoor zendo sesshin. We sat in a great big circle and Kisei and Kodo were wonderful as our teachers.
Thank you 🙏
4.0
Verified
Grasses, Trees, and the Great Earth Sesshin
The feature that distinguishes this sesshin from others is its focus on the natural environment and the fact that all activities take place outside. The facility has stunningly beautiful grounds which include many wildflowers, moss-covered rocks, a bamboo grove, and large blackberry bushes. It also includes walking paths through a lush forest. All this makes the outdoor venue very attractive. We had cool weather, though sitting in direct sun was very uncomfortable and even dangerous for those of us with much skin damage. To be fair, we didn't have to sit in direct sunlight for more than one hour each day, usually in two different periods. The weather is sometimes hotter during this time, which would make the experience more challenging. There are also lots of mosquitos, though the facility does provide bug spray. I suppose these are just part of practice when one signs up for an outdoor sesshin!
The buildings are comfortable, including the dorms. Many people slept outside in tents, though I was not one of them. The dorm area includes a "workout" area complete with yoga mats and various tools for massaging sore muscles. Although the shesshin is silent, everyone exhibits kindness and consideration. All meals are vegetarian with vegan options, and I thought they were all very good.
The two teachers were very good. They prepared a well thought-out and meaningful program focused on earth awareness in its various aspects. I couldn't accept the more anthropomorphic interpretations of natural beings, but the teachers seemed aware of this possibility and were not dogmatic about the subject. They made sure everyone who wanted to have a one-on-one session with a teacher could be accommodated.
Overall, I was content with the sesshin.
4.0
Verified
Thought Provoking and Inspiring Inner Critic Workshop
THE TEACHER. Adam Jogen Salzberg teaches with authenticity, kindness and knowledge, which I share with you, based on my experience of his teaching, talks and membership in the zen community in Oregon, where I live and practice. If you are a new to zen, I recommend his courses with highly. Even though I have been practicing Buddhism for more than a decade, I still have a beginner's mind, and I learn fresh ideas from every encounter with Jogen. 5/5
THE SETTING. I am asked to offer a review of the Inner Critic workshop held at Great Vow Monastery in Oregon at the end of July 2024, and led by Jogen. I find the Monastery an open and welcoming setting for beginners and long-term practitioners alike. The grounds are peaceful: filled with life, from the nesting of the blue-and-gold barn swallows (who build homes in the Monastery's eaves) to the gangly coyotes who amuse the sangha with their teenage airs and sing lullabies at night-time. 5/5
ACCOMMODATIONS. Residents keep the temple spotless: a former elementary school with sinks and toilets built for small people. Visitors are offered comfortable beds and linens. Meals are thoughtful, with great care on two fronts: creating vegetarian dishes that offer healthy and fresh proteins, grains, vegetables and fruits--many from the Monastery gardens. Allergies and special needs are taken seriously, with accommodations for vegans, folks who are gluten intolerant, and for those with common food allergies. 4/5
WHAT WOULD MAKE IT BETTER. My body is a walking storehouse of allergies--which are year-round: I am allergic to molds, mildew, grasses, dust mites--an endless list. While antihistamine pills help a great deal, the smoke and scent from the incense used constantly at the Monastery cannot be managed by a pill. I find the incense aggravates my asthma--in short, it is difficult for me to breathe in the Zendo: the inner sanctum of the Monastery. Because pieces of my lungs have been removed surgically (to make breathing easier and to remove bacteria caused by tuberculosis' cousins--micobacterium avian) I find that I do better with fresh, clean air, and that--because the incense is hazardous and annoying--I wear a mask to dilute the smoke and scent--and yet--the mask--inhibits my breathing.
In summary, I face a hobson's choice: I come to the Monastery--and that is my choice. I come to engage in a fundamentally personal interaction/exchange with the community. That said, it requires taking a risk to my health because of zen traditions beyond my control: use of incense may likely cause me harm.
5.0
Verified
I love this retreat
This visit was my second weekend retreat. We are so blessed to have a Buddhist community in Portland not to mention a beautiful zen retreat within driving distance of Portland yet far into the backroads and woods of Oregon. I leave feeling refreshed, relaxed and at peace with myself. Everyone should consider a weekend silent retreat or seminar.
5.0
Verified
A True Refuge
Extremely well run logistics orchestrated with kindness and quality allow the quiet to soothe the soul quickly. Then, the magic ensues.
Thank you for creating space that allows me to see that knowing is knowing that I do not know. And what a joy the not knowing is.
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$175.00
Program Price $175 if registered by August 19. Late registration $200. We have two group campsites reserved, which can accommodate most participants (limit of 12 cars).
Refund & Cancellation Policy
The event is 100% refundable for cancellation 60+ days before the event start date. The event is 50% refundable if cancelled 30-59 days before the start date.
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Last Chance
