Walking Mountain Pilgrimage Sesshin with Bells Mountain

A retreat with Bells Mountain Dharma Center

(exact location TBD)

August 29 – September 12

If you do not understand the mountains walking, you do not understand your own walking. ~Dogen Zenji

Seen through the pilgrim’s eyes, there is no gate to the temple. Traveling together as a community of spiritual practitioners, we will meet each place as sacred and each step as an act of reverence through meditation and prayer. Throughout this pilgrimage-retreat, we will explore what it means to renew our right relationship with the natural world.

This two-week experience includes a backpacking pilgrimage during the first week, followed by a week-long outdoor Zen sesshin*.

During the walking portion, the daily rhythm will include hiking, meditation, chanting/singing, meals, and yoga, with most of each day held in silence and space for community building as well.

For the Zen sesshin, we will establish a base camp, enter full Noble Silence, and follow a structured retreat schedule. Each day will include around eight hours of seated meditation, chanting/singing, meals, a period of meditative movement, and guided hiking, with optional trail running. One night hike and some solo meditation may also be part of the program.

This is a physically demanding retreat and requires prior backpacking experience as well as experience with week-long meditation retreats. Participants should be comfortable walking 5–10 miles per day while carrying a week’s worth of food and gear, along with additional shared equipment. A required packing list will be provided, and all food is included in the retreat fee.

*Sesshin is an intensive silent meditation retreat that can be physically, emotionally, and psychologically challenging, and is generally not recommended for beginning meditators. If you have not previously attended sesshin, or an equivalent week-long meditation retreat, we recommend joining one of our silent weekend retreats first. For more information about what to expect during sesshin, click here. If you are a beginner and feel ready for a full sesshin, please contact us for a conversation with one of the teachers before signing up.