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Vipassana, Brahma Vihara & Concentration Guidance Available....
ONE-MONTH SPRING HERMITAGE
April 12 - May 10, 2015

The Columbine Inn  
in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico 
(April 12-26 or April 26-May 10 Options)

Guiding Teacher:
Marcia Rose

A unique opportunity for experienced Dharma practitioners to enter a supportive space of solitude & silence for intensive,independent meditation practice.

    The guiding teacher will offer support to Hermitage yogis through regular Dharma talks and private interviews. Individual daily practice schedule is flexible. In consultation with the teacher, students decide upon a course of practice that may be directed specifically towards Vipassana/Insight, Brahma Vihara, or Samatha /Concentration practice... or some combination of the three.
Marcia Rose is the founding and guiding teacher of The Mountain Hermitage. She has been studying and practicing Buddhist teachings and meditation with Asian and Western teachers since 1970, primarily in the Theravada-Vipassana  tradition. Her own teaching reflects a clear influence from the Burmese Mahasi Vipassana and Pa-Auk Forest Monastery lineages with authorization from Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw to teach Samatha and Jhanas in his lineage. She has also studied and practiced in the Dzogchen Tibetan Buddhist tradition with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Marcia was resident teacher for staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, MA from 1991-1995. She has been one of the teachers for the annual three-month retreat at IMS, and currently is an occasional visiting teacher at IMS and a regular visiting teacher at The Forest Refuge in Barre, MA.  Marcia teaches Vipassana, Concentration, Brahma Vihara, and Creative Process retreats in various U.S. and international venues, and is dedicated to offering these ancient and timeless teachings in ways that make them accessible and authentic for contemporary culture.   
Sliding Scale Fees         
One Month/28 days: $2186 -  $2586 -  $2986
2 weeks/14 days: $1093 -  $1293 -  $1493
Partial Scholarships Available - Application Necessary
In this issue...
* One-Month Spring Hermitage Retreat
* Interview with Retreat Cook Surya
(Recipe included!)
* Fall Fundraising
* More 2015 Retreats
Please consider an end-of-year donation....
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    ...we always need donations to help with operating expenses & to support those who  would not be able to attend Mountain Hermitage retreats without financial help. 
THANK YOU!
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We are also deeply grateful to those who offer their dana to The Mountain Hermitage year after year through vital volunteer work that enables us to continue our retreats.


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To view photos from past Hermitage retreats by going to our website...
Our beloved retreat cook Surya reflects on cooking for Hermitage retreats...

TMH: Here we are, a snowy day before Thanksgiving 2014, speaking with Mountain Hermitage retreat cook Surya...How did you come to cook for The Mountain Hermitage?

Surya: Well, I came to cook because coming out of college I took an interest in spiritual retreats and didn't have the financial resources to pay for them. I was often able to get a work exchange position, prepping vegetables for the kitchen part-time. Over time, the cooks noticed the efficiency of my knife skills and began encouraging me to develop other culinary skills. So I started cooking more and more, and learned how to cook for larger groups with ease. I continued on in that way, and ended up living at the Lama Foundation (a residential community/retreat center in northern NM) where I did a lot of work in the kitchen. Cooking on a daily basis for the 50 or so staff encouraged me to expand my recipe repertoire, as well as to accept the challenge of making a well-balanced meal out of whatever was on hand.

 

TMH: Wow, that's a lot of people!

Surya: When we had retreats it could be as many as 200 or 250 people. After leaving Lama, I got a job cooking at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in the Bay Area of California, which was a wonderful job. I was able to immerse myself in the Dharma around the cooking edges. However, it required commuting to California from northern New Mexico, which after years became tiresome. I began to look for local cooking work. At about the same time, the previous Mountain Hermitage cook was moving on, and drafted me into cooking for their retreats. That was seven or eight years ago now, and it's been a very positive relationship.

 

TMH: Why do you cook for the Dharma? I mean, how do you see your work relating to your practice? 

Surya: I've continued cooking for the Dharma because it's right livelihood. It feels good to be supporting the practice of others in my working life. No matter what kind of state I'm in internally, feelings of happiness arise while I'm cooking... feelings of being in a love stream that is much greater than my own being. And at the same time, it's so simple... because all I have to do is chop the vegetables, stir the pot, get the meal on the table at the appropriate time. So much benefit comes from it far beyond the individual little tasks.

 

TMH: That's a wonderful way to put it.

Surya: In all the places I've cooked with the Dharma, the cooks are supported to participate in the retreat. This has given me a continual access to the Dharma, to many teachers, and the opportunity to really explore what it means for all beings to have happiness and for all beings to be peaceful. My own personal prayer is for all beings to be well nurtured. One level of all that is the food and the nurturance that comes through the food. Another level is in serving as part of the support container for deeper practice to manifest.

 

TMH: The container of the retreat?

Surya: Yes, of the retreat. So, my practice is supported by both having the teachings available and having people to feed... so I can engage in "may all beings be well nurtured" in a physical and very practical way.

 

TMH: The last question I have for you is... What do you appreciate about The Mountain Hermitage?

Surya: There's so much I appreciate about The Mountain Hermitage... from the quality of the teachers that come here to the sincerity of the practitioners that it attracts. The retreats are intentionally kept fairly small. This gives people a lot of access to the teachers, which results in a depth of practice that is inspiring. I appreciate the maturity of the retreatants in their practice, in their inner relationships with the kitchen, their willingness to show up and do their yogi jobs. I also really appreciate the long retreats.

 

TMH: The month long?

Surya: The month long, the two and a half weeks, the longer retreats... these allow me as the cook to attain a stable pacing during the course of the retreat.

 

TMH: And sink deeper into your own practice, I would think.

Surya: Into my own practice, into the silent environment, into that aspect where you just show up and get on the cushion each day. I just show up and cook lunch each day. This brings a regularity and a rhythm to it.

 

TMH: Thank you so much Surya for this discussion... and also for letting us include one of your fabulous recipes! 

 

Mango Coconut Chutney

1 lb frozen mango chunks, thawed and cut into 1/2" x 1/4" pieces

8 oz dried sweetened cranberries 

1 c shredded coconut

1 jalapeno finely diced

1/2 c orange juice

1/2 c lime juice

1/2 t salt

1/8 t-1/4 t cayenne (to taste)

2 t black or brown mustard seeds, dry roasted

1/4 c fresh cilantro, minced

 

In a medium bowl, toss together mango, cranberries, coconut and jalapeno. In a separate container, combine orange and lime juices with salt and cayenne. Pour this liquid over the fruit and let marinate for 1/2 hour. Add mustard seeds and cilantro just before serving. Enjoy!

More 2015 retreats...                                     (just click on retreat to go to website page)
June 27 - July 3, 2015  FINDING FREEDOM THROUGH INSIGHT MEDITATION with Brian Lesage
Insight meditation is a simple and direct practice based on moment-to-moment awareness, a technique that opens the heart and clears the mind. This will be an opportunity to practice continuous mindfulness in silence throughout the day - in sitting and walking meditation.

August 16 - 25, 2015  MANIFESTING SPIRITUAL ASPIRATION BY DEEPENING  PRACTICE: People Of Color Retreat For Experienced Students with Gina Sharpe  & Larry Yang
This retreat for Communities of Color will be the first such retreat of 10 days' duration for experienced students. We will deepen practice to live with integrity, kindness, attention and true service in our vulnerable world.

September 18-20, 2015 HEALING ECOLOGY - A BUDDHIST RESPONSE TO THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY: A Weekend with Buddhist Teacher & Environmental Activist David Loy at San Geronimo Lodge
Does Buddhism provide any special insight into the ecological crisis? Do its teachings imply a different way of understanding the biosphere, and our relationship to it, which can really help us at this critical time in history, when we are doing so much to destroy it?

November 13 - 20, 2015 LISTENING, CONTEMPLATION &  MEDITATION: Study Retreat on The Art & Practice of Loving with Ven. Dhammadinna & Tenzin Jesse
This retreat will combine the practice and study of metta, or loving friendliness meditation. The Tenzin Jesse cropped close Buddha taught metta meditation to quell fear and anger, to promote harmonious  relationships, and to purify the mind in concentration. The benefits of this practice touch every aspect of our lives.
For more information on all these retreats, you can contact us....
Limited scholarship support available for all of our retreats. Application Necessary.
Extensive information on the website: www.mountainhermitage.org

May our practice serve towards the welfare, the happiness & the awakening of all beings.
"First, let us reflect on our own work and the effort of those who brought us this food. Tuan lotus reflection
Second, let us be aware of the quality of our deeds as we receive this meal.
Third, what is most essential is the practice of mindfulness, which helps us
transcend greed, anger, and delusion.
Fourth, we appreciate this food, which sustains the good health of our body and mind.
Fifth, in order to continue to practice for all beings, we accept this offering."

Five Reflections chanted at meals at Dai Bosatu Zendo in New York State - from the book "Three Bowls" by Seppo Ed Farrey