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Buddhism & the Twelve Steps Online Retreat

September 29, 2020 @ 7:00 pm - October 4, 2020 @ 11:00 am

For information and to register for this retreat, contact Greg Pergament: wakanmonk@aol.com

This year, the annual Buddhism and 12 Step retreat usually held at Vajrapani Institute will be offered in a live, online format from Tuesday, September 29 – Sunday October 4, 2020, Pacifc Daylight Time zone. The retreat begins with an introduction on Tuesday evening, and finishes with closing on Sunday morning.

Teachers: Kevin Griffin, Walt Opie, Greg Pergament, and Ann Bolger Peruzzi.

Cost: $100. Scholarships available. Teachers are supported by Dana (donations) at the end of the retreat.

Doing a self-retreat at home is not a radical or new idea; many practitioners do solo retreats in this manner. What’s nice about this arrangement is we are offering a structured context where you have the support of a recovery community and teachers.

The content and flow of the retreat will be similar to past Buddhism and 12 Step retreats:

  • Instruction in mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness/compassion practice
  • periods of sitting and walking meditation,
  • Qigong (Chi Kung),
  • Q and A sessions,
  • group interviews with teachers,
  • Dharma talks,
  • 12-Step-style meeting at the end of each day.

There are a few advantages of a personal retreat in your own home:

  • you are not in a busy environment with a lot of people to navigate around in the dorms, at meal time, and in the meditation hall.
  • you are meditating in your own space, which can make the process more peaceful and easeful.
  • you don’t have to figure out ride shares, or get in a car or on an airplane.
  • being at home gives you the opportunity to truly incorporate your retreat experience into your everyday life.

We understand not everyone has the same home environment, or life circumstance that would enable them to enter fully into the retreat. While our intention is to offer an immersive and participatory retreat experience, that may not be practical, and so you will be able to choose the kind of experience you can commit to.

To this end, another benefit of retreating at home is that if you are parenting, caregiving, working, or volunteering, this could be a unique opportunity to incorporate mindful awareness into your daily life. Depending on your living situation you can enter into noble silence, or if that’s not possible for you, you are invited to bring mindfulness into speaking and listening, and all your activities and notice, “This is what it’s like to live a mindful life full time.”

As part of the immersive nature of this retreat, and to maximize your experience, we strongly recommend you avoid (renounce, refrain from) entertainment, social activity, and news consumption, including on the internet. If you have to work, or communicate with loved ones you care for, the invitation is to do so mindfully. In terms of how you respond to work emails and phone calls, it’s important to know that as meditation deepens, our heart and mind can become open and quite tender, so we need to be mindful of self-care and protect ourselves in this regard. In addition, we suggest doing some grocery shopping, meal planning and/or prep for the retreat days to minimize interruptions. In your self-retreat at home – “Keep It Simple” – as much as possible.

 

Details

Start:
September 29, 2020 @ 7:00 pm
End:
October 4, 2020 @ 11:00 am