A Gesture of Awakening — A Retreat with Paramananda; August 22, 6pm to Aug 29, 2:30pm According to myth, the Buddha confirmed his enlightenment by making the gesture of touching the earth. We can extend this idea of “mudra” to the whole body where the posture expresses our intention and affirms our faith. In this longer retreat, we will explore how meditation can be understood and practiced in a psycho-somatic way, emphasizing our physical experience instead of our conceptual experience. Along with sitting, the retreat will include some gentle bodywork and will take place largely in silence. The retreat will also include ritual practice. Led by: Paramananda has been teaching meditation and leading retreats worldwide for over 30 years and is also a poet and author of four books on meditation: Change Your Mind, A Deeper Beauty, The Body and The Myth of Meditation. Paramananda will be supported by Paramabodhi, who is currently based at the London Buddhist Center. Paramabodhi lived and worked with Paramananda for many years, mainly in San Francisco. Image detail: Mandala of the Thirteen Buddhas (Jūsan butsu mandara) Muromachi period 1392–1573), Momoyama (1573–1615), or Edo (1615–1868) period; Japan This retreat is residential and meals/housing are included in the price. Please see the note below about donations for teachers. LINK IN THE BIO to access helpful information about attending retreats. (fb)

The Three Bodies of Belonging — A retreat with Singhashri and Vimalamoksha, July 13, 6pm to July 18, 2:30pm An intensive meditation retreat for people with at least one year of meditation experience who are familiar with the practices of silence and Buddhist ritual. This year we’re all invited to draw inspiration from the Mahayana Trikaya (“three body”) teaching that points to who we actually are via three simultaneous dimensions of reality: Nirmanakaya: coming home to presence within this body, this world Sambhogakaya: befriending the dynamic flow of feeling and energy, and the relational dimension of being Dharmakaya: opening to the luminous, boundless dimension of awakened being We will delve into poetic themes of “coming home” and “belonging” as an emotionally engaging and relational approach to insight that allows: Respect and appreciation of core human needs – belonging, safety and dignity Holding of the tension between our ideals and our current (often messy) experience Healing the illusion of separation and the habits of dualism Learning to feel sensations of belonging at the levels of self, community, place, world and to express compassionately responsive activity Deepening of mindfulness and metta as practices capable of helping us see the true nature of reality This retreat will include meditation, movement (somatics), music, chanting and ritual, exercises and discussions, teacher input and practice reviews. There will also be periods of silence. If friendship in community is the whole of the spiritual life, here’s your chance to go deeper in your own practice in the supportive company of others. LINK IN THE BIO Singhashri Kica Gazmuri The Radical Embrace (fb)