Category: Announcements
-
2025 Stillpoint Retreat: Registration Open
Registration for the 2025 Stillpoint Retreat is now officially open! The retreat will take place at Villa Maria Education & Spirituality Center from Thursday, November 20 through Sunday, November 23, 2025. This year’s retreat will be led by Kevin Dole and Jay Hersey, focusing on readings from The Dhammapada and Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu…
-
Coming Soon: New Back Patio!
The back patio at Stillpoint has been in a state of disrepair due to a tree growing up and breaking up the concrete. The Stillpoint Board reviewed and approved a proposal for breaking up the existing concrete, removing the broken concrete, fixing drainage issues, and creating a new concrete slab. Be on the lookout for…
-
Upcoming Garden Work Day at Stillpoint
Stillpoint will be hosting an outdoor Garden Work Day on Sunday, May 4 from 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM. This event will take place directly after Sunday practice and brunch. Please wear weather appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and work gloves.
-
2025 Stillpoint Retreat Information/Survey
This year’s Stillpoint Retreat is November 20-23, 2025, at the Villa Marie Education and Spirituality Center in Northwest Pennsylvania. Villa Maria is a popular venue for groups seeking an overnight contemplative environment, so availability for weekend retreats is limited. November 20-23, 2025 was the best date available for fall 2025 retreats, and it is the…
-
Report on the 2023 Retreat
The 2023 retreat was a resounding success! 31 attendees from around the region made their way to the Villa Maria Spirituality and Education Center to attend one last retreat with Shohaku Okumuru. We were especially honored that he was able to make the journey. He’s stepped down as the Abbot of Sanshin Zen Community and…
-
Shakuhachi Performance
Join us in the Stillpoint meditation hall on Sunday, August 20th at 4:00pm for a live performance of shakuhachi music with internationally renowned Grandmaster (and Pittsburgh resident) Cornelius Boots. Shakuhachi is an ancient form of Japanese bamboo flute that is closely associated with Zen Buddhism. The traditional Zen devotional repertoire (or “honkyoku”) shares the program…
-
Painting Work Party
On Saturday, August 5th at 10:30am, we’ll be having a work party to improve the Stillpoint building exterior. We’ll be scraping the peeling paint from the foundation on the front of the building and repainting that area, and also working on restoring and refinishing the wooden ramp on the side of the building. Anyone who…
-
Fall 2023 Retreat
We are pleased to announce that Shohaku Okumura Roshi has generously offered to conduct another Fall Retreat in Western Pennsylvania at the Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center. Stillpoint is honored to sponsor Okumura Roshi at Villa Maria on October 12-15, 2023. Okumura Roshi and Stillpoint have conducted many fall retreats at Villa Maria, but our…
stillpoint 