Regulars Retreats 2010 - (updated 30/07/10) FWBO: These retreats are suitable for those who are already practicing within the context of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO). Previous experience of the mindfulness of breathing, metta bhavana meditations and 7-fold puja will be assumed. MED: These retreats will be conducted mostly in silence and will normally have between 5 and 7 hours a day of sitting meditation.
Led by Tejananda If we let go of thoughts of past, present and future, what do we discover? Simple Being, the timeless moment, the clear, sky-like nature of Awareness itself. Combining body awareness and just sitting with insightful ways of exploring our direct experience, this practice allows our hearts and minds to open to the unsuspected and limitless depths of Awareness, beyond thought. Silent practice will be supported by devotion, faith and aspiration. Suitable for those with at least one year of regular meditation practice. Men's winter retreat In 2009 the men's winter retreat will centre on the famous Karaniya Metta Sutta. This is a pithy teaching from the Buddha on how to live with kindness, honesty and vision. Here is an opportunity to study its meaning, learn to sing it in the original Pali and have plenty of time to practice it in meditation and action. Wolf at the Door Creative Writing Retreat - Writing as Awakening Clowning and Insight Led by Jayachitta & Suryacitta Just sitting is one of the simplest and most direct forms of meditation. We relax into the natural spaciousness of mind, welcoming who we are right now. The clown too opens to the way things are, free from judgement and expectations. She/he nurtures a sense of wonder at the world, including ourselves with all our contradictions and imperfections. Suryacitta and Jayacitta will lead this retreat with meditation instructions, devotion, bodywork, costumes and red noses. Women’s Winter Retreat This popular retreat for regulars is held over an especially reflective time of year. It offers an opportunity to look back over the previous year and to anticipate the next - with meditation, discussion, dharma study and a big ritual on New Year’s Eve. Suitable for friends and mitras who wish to deepen their Buddhist practice and who have been on at least one week-long retreat with the FWBO. Led by Parami & Vajrasara. Families retreat These popular retreats allow Buddhist families to enjoy the benefits of practicing with others. Adults and children can have an enjoyable and enriching time exploring the Dharma both together and separately. Total Immersion Led by Paramananda & Dhiramati An intensive retreat following the popular total immersion format. Two weeks of silence and Meditation – a chance to take a deep dive into your experience, to savour it and explore its true nature. Dhiramati will enliven and invigorate the retreat with yoga (optional) and ritual. Paramananda has been teaching meditation for over twenty years in Britain and the USA. He is the author of "Change your Mind", a very popular book on meditation. Reflecting on Emptiness Led by Pasada Much is said on the topic of emptiness, but this is a wisdom that goes beyond words. On this retreat the emphasis will be on reflection set in a context of meditative awareness. We will be drawing on the Heart Sutra and excerpts form Nagargunas “Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way” elucidated by Pasada's long experience of reflection practice, to help us investigate both ultimate and conventional reality.
Spirit of Devotion Led by Mahasukha & Jutika Calling all devotees of the path of beauty: Join us in a joyful, tribal and meditative week celebrating beauty and the imagination imbued with a spirit of devotion. With soulful singing (African and sacred) , mantra, music, meditation, ritual and community. Plus dancing and drumming and space for artistic and musical sharing and offerings. Bring body and soul, voice, drum, instrument, songs, poetry and photos of inspirational figures and ancestors. "Let the beauty be what we do" Rumi The Powers of the Mind (for Order Members) Led by Dhammarati & Vajrasara The theme will be the Order's System of Meditation, with its five stages (integration, positive emotion, spiritual death, spiritual rebirth & formless practice) and will explore how these link with the 5 Spiritual Faculties or Powers of the Mind. There will also be time to reflect on kalyana mitrata as a key aspect of the system of training. The week will focus on meditation – with ritual, silence, some discussion & group meditation reviews. Nonviolent Communication™ with Focusing & Meditation The aim of this retreat is to explore NVC practice alongside meditation and Focusing, and to let our dharma practice deepen in a context of empathy and presence. Open to anyone who has done at least one years' practice of NVC (with a minimum of 6 days formal training) and has at least one years' experience of Buddhist meditation. Led by Vajrasara and Locana, experienced retreat leaders and NVC and Focusing trainers. Living with Kindness Led by Smritiratna To meditate in metta bhavana is to illuminate your current human relationships with the warm light of mindfulness. You have the space there to fully experience all your feelings about someone ... and then to wish them well. Inspired by the Buddha's Karaniyametta Sutta, here on retreat, we'll have a chance to resolve some inner conflicts then return to the world refreshed. Satipatthana Sutta Led by Vajradevi Through meditation and various awareness practices we will work with key aspects of the Satipatthana Sutta including how to be mindful in a relaxed and natural way. We will be looking at how continuity of mindfulness, through simple presence and intelligent awareness, can touch and transform our experience, developing steadiness of mind and heart, and insight into the nature of all things. The Taste of Wisdom Led by Varadakini Wisdom has a taste, as close to us as our own saliva. Though we may not notice it, reality never leaves us and its presence can be directly, intimately, mysteriously felt, if we love it enough and if we dare. It comes to each of us in varied ways, yet it reveals the same ungraspable truths. Through silence, meditation, guided instructions, and listening to texts, we will court wondrous wisdom. Yoga Intensive Led by Padmadarshini & Christine Howitt Yoga is essentially an awareness practice. It has the potential to help us to reinhabit our bodies, to listen to our bodies` wisdom and to meet ourselves as we are with kindness and sensitivity. On this retreat we will explore some of the key principles that underpin the practice: how to access the primal rhythm of the breath to support movement, how to access the support of the ground through the giving of weight and exploring the relationship between stability / containment and opening/flexibility. We will have periods of collective silence during the week to support going deeper. Open to those with a regular yoga practice who have previously attended a week long yoga and meditation retreat. Men's Winter Retreat 22 - 29 December 2010 Led by Smritiratna Our theme this year, is 'Living with Awareness'. Our approach will be one of “kindly awareness”. We will draw inspiration from the Buddha's discourse on mindfulness and have the space here to fully experience our inner feelings and appreciate the stillness of mid winter, before the new year begins. |
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DHANAKOSA Buddhist Retreat Centre, Balquhidder, Lochearnhead, FK19 8PQ, Scotland. TeL: 01877 384 213. info@dhanakosa.com |
The Dhanakosa Trust Scottish Charity No. SCO32776 |
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