Regulars Retreats 2010/2011 - (updated 03/09/10) Triratna: These retreats are suitable for those who are already practicing within the context of the Triratna Buddhist Community. 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 21 - 28 Dec 2011 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 28 Dec 2011 - 04 Jan 2012 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 Nagarjuna's “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 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. 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. 01 - 08 July 2011 Led by Dassini & Sinhacandra Through the practice of puja, sutra reading, study and meditation this retreat will uncover Santideva's 7th century classic Mahayana text, the Bodhicaryavatara. Taking the text as a guide to the important practice of "exchanging self and other" we will turn towards the compassionate perspective at the heart of Santideva's work. "Riding upon the horse of bodhicitta That dispels all weariness and fatigue Who could ever feel depressed While travelling from joy to joy?" 19 - 26 August 2011 Led by Suryacitta We all want to be happyso why, then, does happiness seem so elusive? It is because we are caught up with our agitated thinking. We believe the image we have of ourselves in our own minds. Trying to fulfil this image can leave us feeling discontented and dissatisfied with ourself and our life. On this retreat we will see that happiness happens not through endlessly trying to improve ourselves, not by earning more money, not by striving for status and reputation, but by "seeing" who we are beyond our self image. 14 - 21 October 2011 Led by Dhammagita "Opening into Wholeness" is a vibrant exploration and appreciation of our human body in movement and stillness, designed to reveal and dissolve our obstructions, show us who we really are and enhance wellbeing of the whole body-mind. Combining meditation, movement, poetry, music and connecting with the elements, this is a full-on week of depth and delight for all willing to let go of habitual ways of being. Dhammagita's mix of somatic practices, energy work and breathing techniques are influenced by her Shiatsu training and her training with Reginald Ray.
Yoga Intensive 09 - 16 December 2011 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. |
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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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