Meditation empowers us to use any situation or experience, even difficult emotions and pain, as a gateway to joy and inner peace. In this four-day retreat on the second program in the Joy of Living series, we explore ways in which meditation can be used to create an open and joyful heart.
Overview
Program type: Meditation Retreat (residential)
Topic: Opening the heart with meditation
Dates: 8-11 November 2023
Language: English
Facilitators: Mai-Linh and Mark (see below)
Requirements:
Participants must meet at least one of these three prerequisites:
Either you have previously completed the ‘Calming the Mind: Joy of Living Level 1’ and have met the practice requirements (50 hours of formal meditation based on the teachings in Level 1);
Or you have practiced meditation regularly for at least three years with a teacher of mindfulness meditation;
Or you have practiced for less than three years but have done residential retreats based on mindfulness practice and continued to practice regularly.
Description
Meditation empowers us to use any situation or experience, even difficult emotions and pain, as a gateway to joy and inner peace. In this second retreat in the Joy of Living series, we explore ways in which meditation can be used to create an open and joyful heart. Over these five days, we will explore how meditating on love, compassion, joy and equanimity can open our hearts to the world around us relax the self-centered tendencies that lead to anxiety, dissatisfaction, and suffering.
Cultivating loving-kindness and compassion helps us to see the basic goodness that all beings share. By relating to others in an open-hearted way, we bring peace to the mind and develop a sense of confidence and purpose. This, in turn, naturally brings harmony to our relationships and enables us to work with challenging situations more effectively.
In this retreat, we will examine:
How our tendency to fixate on ourselves creates anxiety and suffering
How positive mental states like love and compassion erode the causes of dissatisfaction
How these positive mental states can be cultivated through meditation
How ordinary experiences, and even ‘negative’ factors like difficult emotions and physical pain, can be transformed into sources of empathy and compassion using the practice of meditation
Note that, as this is a meditation retreat, accordingly we will be turning our attention inward for the duration of the retreat. Most of the retreat will be held in silence except for the teachings and discussions about meditation practice. To maintain an environment supportive of the retreat experience, everyone will remain on our beautiful forested campus for the duration of the programme, and we will be unplugging from the world of mobiles and internet, so please let your loved ones and colleagues know that you will be completely unplugged and won’t be in touch for these five days.
Who is this retreat for?
The Opening the Heart retreat is suitable for anyone with at least a bit of mindfulness meditation experience, from beginners to long-term practitioners. Registration is open to those who have previously attended Calming the Mind: Joy of Living Level 1 and have met the practice requirements (fifty hours of formal meditation based on the teachings in Level 1), and also to those who have not attended these workshops but who have practiced meditation regularly for at least three years under the guidance of a meditation teacher, as well as those who have practiced for less than three years but have done residential retreats based on mindfulness practice and continued to practice regularly.
What to expect:
Balanced programme: A combination of practice, instruction, group discussions, and quiet time for reflection.
Natural simplicity: Rustic accommodations in natural earthen buildings in a beautiful forest setting.
Mind and body awareness: To support the body during the retreat, there will be times for mindful movement such as stretching and simple yoga sequences as well as walking meditation in the beautiful Dharmalaya campus.
Healthy food: Natural and mostly organic, purely vegetarian meals (100% plant-based, vegan).
Digital detox: There will be no use of mobile phones or internet during the retreat.
Yogic lifestyle: Clean and simple ashram-style lifestyle in which everyone contributes to the group experience by helping with washing dishes, etc.
Schedule
Start and end dates and times
The retreat will begin at 10:00am on the first day. All participants should plan to arrive between 9:00 and 9:30am .
As this is a traditional ‘closed’ retreat, all participants will stay on the Dharmalaya campus for the entire duration of the retreat.
The retreat will conclude at 3:30pm on the last day.
Daily schedule: What will the flow of the days be like?
The daily schedule for this retreat includes video teachings by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, short presentations on the key points of the meditation practices by Mai-Linh and Mark, discussions to clarify the teachings and the practices, and plenty of time for meditation practice.
Although the day-to-day schedule may vary a bit, the schedule for a typical day during this program would more or less as follows:
6:30 Wake
7:00 Morning movement and practice session
8:00 BREAKFAST
9:00 Morning teachings and practice sessions
12:30 LUNCH
2:00 Afternoon teachings and practice sessions
5:00 Personal time
6:00 DINNER
7:00 Evening meditation session
8:00 Personal practice time
10:00 Lights out
About your facilitators
In addition to being a cofounder of Dharmalaya Institute, Mai-Linh leads Joy of Living retreats and workshops for Mingyur Rinpoche’s organization, Tergar International.
Cost
Recognizing that our participants come from diverse backgrounds, we are providing a sliding scale with three tiers, to make it possible for everyone to donate according to their means. Total fees for the retreat (including shared accommodation, three healthy meals daily, and tea) are as follows:
Subsidized rate
(For low-income participants who can’t afford the standard rate)
Rs 5,000
For transparency: This subsidized rate is approximately 33% below our break-even rate, which means it is not enough to cover the Institute’s costs in providing the programme, though that shortfall might be covered by participants who choose to pay the ‘Supporter rate’ to the right.
Standard rate
(For most participants)
Rs 7,500
For transparency: This standard rate is essentially a break-even rate, just enough to cover the Institute’s total average monthly costs in providing this service-learning opportunity.
Supporter rate
(For those who can afford to help subsidize lower-income participants)
Rs 10,000
For transparency: This supporter rate is approximately 33% above the break-even rate, and 100% of that surplus will be used to support lower-income applicants to participate at the subsidized rate. We thank you sincerely for your generosity in choosing this rate if you can.
We do not want cost to be a barrier to anyone’s participation, so if you have exceptional financial hardship and cannot afford even the lowest subsidized rate, you can contact us to let us know your situation and your needs and we will be happy to discuss work-study scholarship options (subject to limited availability).
A very limited number of private rooms are available at extra cost. Please contact us for details.
In addition to the base fee, there will be an opportunity to offer dana (an optional, voluntary donation of support), as per tradition. Dana can be offered to Dharmalaya Institute and/or to Mingyur Rinpoche’s monastery in Nepal, Tergar Ösel Ling.
Application, registration & deposit
STEP 1 — APPLY: Submit the application form here on our website and wait for our reply. We may email you to ask follow-up questions if necessary.
STEP 2 — DEPOSIT: Once we process your application, then at that time we will send you more detailed information about the programme and how to prepare for your time at Dharmalaya Institute. You will then have one week from the date of acceptance to make your nonrefundable deposit to hold your place in the programme. The minimum deposit is 50%, but it is also possible to prepay in full.
If you have any questions after reading all the material here on our website, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to address your questions.
We look forward to connecting with you!