Greetings!
We're very happy to announce that this year's summer meditation immersion retreat will be led by two of our favorite meditation teachers: Tejananda and Viveka. |
| The Heart Sutra: Going Beyond Limiting Beliefs | |
|
This is a wonderful opportunity to spend 8 days practicing with others in silence and beautiful natural surroundings.
The retreat is not so much about studying the Heart Sutra as understanding how to put it into practice. There will be succinct practical introductions to each section of the sutra, but our main practice will be about opening to the very heart of awakening, the union of transcendental wisdom and great compassion - the bodhicitta itself.
See below for full information about the topic.
|
| Where, When and Who should go | |
|
Jikoji is about 1 hour 30 minutes South of San Francisco. If you need or can offer a ride please let us know on your registration form.
The retreat starts Saturday June 16 at 7pm and ends Sunday June 24 at 2pm and you are strongly encouraged to stay for the whole time if you can, but there is also the option to leave Monday 18 at 5pm if you need to.
The retreat is open to anyone with meditation experience who would like to deepen their practice. If you would like to attend this retreat but do not have meditation experience please come to one of our Introductory Classes, or send us an email to discuss options. More information about retreats
|
| Schedule | |
|
The schedule will be based around meditation practice, with periods of instruction and reflection, free time (when you can take advantage of the beautiful trails around Jikoji, or just relax), work periods (mainly food preparation and cleaning), and healthy vegan meals. The retreat will be mostly in silence. Sample retreat schedule.
|
 Cost and Registration | |
Registration deadline with $100 deposit: Sunday June 3. Please make sure you choose the correct leaving date when you register. To register follow the links on our website or go here. Cost: sliding scale $670 to $530 (full retreat), $250 to $185 (to Monday) (+ optional dana for the teachers). Please pay what you can afford within the sliding scale. Paying the higher end of the range helps others who need a lower rate.
|
More information from Tejananda
| |
|
Dharma practice is ultimately about realizing wisdom and fully awakening to how things really are. Yet, according to the Heart Sutra, there is no wisdom, nor any 'things' to have a real nature in the first place! Paradox such as this suggests that words and concepts have their limitations as well as their uses.
The wisdom to which the Heart Sutra is pointing is one that transcends all dichotomies. But as 'Heart' in the title and the place of the Bodhisattva of Compassion as the speaker of the sutra may suggest, this is about far more than abstract knowledge. In fact, it has nothing to do with abstract knowledge at all. Wisdom is inseparably one with compassion and their union is bodhicitta, the 'awakening heart'.
On this retreat we're going to explore both the wisdom and the compassion implications of the Heart Sutra. First we'll cultivate quietness and positivity of mind and heart. Then we'll reflect on the paradoxes and mysteries of the Heart Sutra's teaching on the emptiness of all phenomena and how this gives rise to the awakening heart.
This retreat is not so much about studying the Heart Sutra as understanding how to put it into practice. We'll give succinct practical introductions to the various sections of the sutra, and together we'll chant it and do rituals around it. But above all, our practice will be about opening us to the very heart of awakening, the union of transcendental wisdom and great compassion - the bodhicitta itself.
|
