Forest Refuge Schedule 2024

Please note: Arrivals and departures are not possible January 24 – 31, 2024.

In the quiet of winter morphing into the vibrancy of spring, Rebecca and Devon will share a somatic and heart centered orientation to meditation practice. By grounding ourselves in our sense world with kind hearted presence, we develop compassion and wisdom leading to the unbinding of the heart mind.

Awareness and Wisdom Retreat

The teachings for this month will explore the four foundations of mindfulness with open awareness and receptive attention, with an emphasis on recognizing the attitude of mind and cultivating the perspective of wise view. The teachings will be influenced by both teachers’ practice with Sayadaw U Tejaniya. We request that you agree to work with the instructions offered during the retreat.

Practice discussion meetings will primarily be in small groups, meeting twice a week. The teachers will offer some sign-up interviews, so there will be a chance for a private meeting if there is something you don’t feel comfortable bringing up in the group.

A minimum stay for the full month of June is required.

A lottery will be conducted for this course; applications are due by October 1, 2023

Mettā Samādhi: Lovingkindness as development and support for the Seven Factors of Awakening

Both samādhi (concentration) and mettā bhavana (lovingkindness) are essential features of our awakening journey. This retreat offers a rare opportunity to deepen mettā samādhi for onemonth, with the aim of reinforcing both the qualities of stability, harmony, and luminosity of the mind that characterize samādhi and the care and connection that characterize mettā. States of meditative absorption, known as jhāna, will also be supported within a framework of this non-grasping development of the mind.

Cultivating samādhi requires mindfulness, understanding, and balance, as it matures and serves as a factor of awakening. To this end, wisdom teachings will be offered along with mettā practice, as a foundation to sustain continuity and depth and to support the flourishing of other awakening factors. Through the practice of mettā samādhi supported by and leading to wisdom, beautiful qualities of our heart and mind are awakened both on the cushion and in daily life.

The instructions for this retreat will be structured according to teachings in Saṃyutta Nikāya 46.54.  Please read SN 46.54 prior to the retreat and consider bringing a printout for your personal reference.

Priority will be given to those applying for the full month or longer.

Participants are expected to observe the eight precepts, if they are able to do so.

Emptiness and Awareness

The teachings on emptiness have been a central theme in Buddhism since its very early days. Through talks and guided meditations, we will see how to discover the truth of emptiness in the fabric of our immediate experience, all of which is known directly in consciousness. As we inquire further, it becomes apparent that the very nature of consciousness, or awareness, is itself characterized by emptiness. As the heart of sentient life, awareness is always with us, yet we may not have learned how to use it as a focus in meditation. As we deepen our connection to this mysterious capacity for knowing, it becomes a powerful gateway to inner freedom and liberation.

The teachers will offer regular meditation instructions, talks about the teachings, and individual meetings. Collecting and unifying the mind is a powerful support for exploring these themes, so there will be instructions for concentration practice in the first half of the retreat. Participants are expected to follow the sequence of instructions as they are given.

 A minimum stay for the full month of September is required. Participants must have previously attended one or more of Guy & Sally’s Emptiness & Awareness Retreats, and fulfill the Forest Refuge retreat prerequisites. Please document this when you apply.

Applications are due by January 14, 2024.  All applications will be reviewed for pre-requisites and you will be notified of your application’s status by January 31, 2024.