September 12 – 17; 5 days with Heather Martin

Vipassana

Insight or Vipassana meditation is the simple practice of observing one’s direct experience in this very moment, with a gently relaxed, open and careful awareness. By learning to be present with this attitude, we are able to access our natural qualities of a spacious, calm, clear mind, and a kind and peaceful heart. As we develop this way, we respond to the inevitable joys and sorrows of life with increasing sensitivity, stability and love. Metta or Loving Kindness meditation cultivates connecting with and caring for ourselves and others. It is true friendliness. We can deliberately nurture our heart’s natural capacity for peacefulness and kindness, acceptance and forgiveness. These practices intertwine and are mutually supportive.

This retreat will take place in Noble Silence, and the format will include: specific training in both Vipassana/Insight and Metta/Loving Kindness meditation; daily Dharma talks; periods for questions and answers; and opportunities for discussion with the teacher. It is suitable for both beginning and experienced students of meditation.

Heather Martin has practiced meditation since 1972, finding the dhamma in 1981 by studying with S. N. Goenka for 8 years. Since then she has been influenced by both Burmese and Thai streams of the Theravada tradition, having studied with many of the senior western teachers, and more recently by Tibetan Dzogchen with Tsoknyi Rinpoche. She is training with Jack Kornfield and leads retreats in Canada and the US. She worked for 20 years as a midwife, continues to prepare parents for Childbirth, and lives on Saltspring Island, B.C.

Retreat cost: $300 plus dana offering.  Register Here

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September 19 – 26; 7 days with Jason Siff

Vipassana - Recollective Awareness

This retreat offers ways to become more aware of meditative experience, to increase discernment and investigation, and to examine the various conceptual frameworks people bring to meditation practice. Participants may meditate in whatever way they are accustomed to, or they may try out a gentle permissive approach to meditation, or do a bit of both. The emphasis of Jason's way of teaching meditation is not so much on what people decide to do in meditation but on what they experience in meditation. Writing and talking about one's meditation sittings is thus a requirement for anyone attending this retreat. There will be daily group interviews where participants will talk about their sittings, as well as the option for private individual interviews. Through the course of the week-long retreat Jason will give talks on the meditative process, as well as discuss Buddhist philosophy and psychology in light of people's meditation experiences and interests.

Jason Siff was a Theravada Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka in the late 80's, where he practiced Vipassana and studied Pali. He taught meditation at a few meditation centers in Sri Lanka before leaving the Buddhist Order and returning to the States in 1990. He has developed his own approach to awareness meditation practice, which he calls "Recollective Awareness," and in 1996 he co-founded the Skillful Meditation Project in Los Angeles. He teaches at various Vipassana Sanghas in the States and in Australia, and has taught at the Esalen Institute and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. His article on "Understanding the Meditative Process" was published by Insight Journal in Spring, 2005. You can visit his website for more information: www.skillfulmeditation.org

Retreat cost: $420 plus dana offering.  Register Here

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September 26 - October 3; 7 days with Venerable Thubten Chodron

Purifying the Mind: Retreat on Vajrasattva, with teachings on Compassion

All of us have made mistakes in our lives for which we feel regret. Purification meditation is a skillful way to release past resentment and guilt and to set in motion positive changes in the future. Vajrasattva is a Buddhist deity whose specialty is such purification. Compassion for ourselves and others is essential for purification and forgiveness, so Ven. Chodron will teach "108 Verses in Praise of Compassion" during the retreat.

This retreat is suitable for people who have some background in Buddhism, and is most appropriate for people who have experience in Tibetan Buddhist practice. The retreat will consist of visualization and analytic meditation, teachings, and discussion. It is held in silence, but there is time for questions and sharing.

Venerable Thubten Chodron teaches Buddhist meditation and philosophy worldwide. She ordained as a nun in the Tibetan tradition in 1977 and has studied extensively with H.H. the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and other Tibetan lamas. Ven. Chodron was resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore (1987-88) and at Dharma Friendship Foundation in Seattle (1992-2002). Since then she has established Sravasti Abbey in eastern Washington State, where she now resides and teaches. Her books include Working with Anger; Buddhism for Beginners; Taming the Mind; and Open Heart, Clear Mind. She is known for her clear, humorous teaching style and her skill in presenting Buddhism in ways that are meaningful and easily understood.

Retreat cost: $420 plus dana offering.  Register Here

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