Meditation for a World on Fire

For many of us the world feels like it is burning. Climate crisis, political upheaval, social fragmentation, digital overwhelm, leaves us feeling anxious, angry, exhausted, or powerless.

According to Buddhist teachings we live in an age of confusion and conflict. Buddhism has long recognized that periods of confusion and upheaval are part of the human experience. Rather than seeing these times as obstacles, Buddhist teachings suggest they can become powerful opportunities to cultivate clarity and resilience.

In this weekend retreat, we'll explore how meditation and Buddhist teachings can help us meet the challenges of modern life. Together, we'll investigate how to remain engaged with the world without becoming consumed by fear, outrage, or despair.

• Meditation practices for working skillfully with fear, anger, uncertainty, and overwhelm.
• How to stay open-hearted and engaged without being swept away by aggression and conflict.
• Practical ways to bring mindfulness and awareness into everyday life, relationships, and work.
• How meditation cultivates resilience and confidence in the midst of turmoil.

The retreat will include guided meditation instruction, periods of sitting and walking meditation, teachings, discussion, and opportunities for personal reflection. Whether you are completely new to meditation or have an established practice, you'll find practical tools for navigating difficult times with greater steadiness and insight.

This program is open to everyone—including complete beginners, experienced meditators, spiritual seekers, skeptics, and the simply curious. You don't need to be a Buddhist to come. You don't even have to want to become a Buddhist. You just need to show up!

Participants will leave with meditation techniques that can be applied in daily life, a deeper understanding of how Buddhist wisdom relates to contemporary challenges, and greater confidence in meeting uncertainty with awareness, compassion, and resilience.

Buddhist teachings say that in the darkest age, the dharma shines most brightly. Join us for a weekend of exploration, practice, and discovery, and find out why.

• How can meditation help when the world feels overwhelming?
  Meditation isn't about turning away from difficult circumstances or detaching from what is happening in the world. Instead, it can help us recognize fear, anger, and anxiety without being completely consumed by them. This strengthens our ability to remain engaged with the world while meeting difficult circumstances.
  
• Will we talk about current political or social issues?
  The emphasis of the retreat is developing practices and perspectives for meeting contemporary challenges. Although this retreat takes place against a backdrop of political polarization, climate instability, social fragmentation, and digital overwhelm the focus is not on discussing particular political issues, but developing inner skills to address them.
  
• Is this a silent meditation retreat?
  Much of the retreat will be in silent meditation. But there will be times when the director gives talks and when participants can converse.
  
• What makes this different from a mindfulness or meditation workshop?
  This retreat introduces meditation within the broader context of Buddhist wisdom and contemplative practice. Along with learning how to meditate, you'll explore questions about awareness, suffering, compassion, and how to engage with a challenging world without losing your sense of connection and possibility.

Please plan to arrive between 2:00pm and 6:00pm Friday afternoon. Dinner is served at 6:30pm.

The program begins at 7:30pm on Friday.

The Program ends at 12:30pm on Sunday.

Approximately two weeks before the start date of a program we confirm that we have sufficient numbers to hold the event. On the rare occasion when enrollment is too low, we may need to cancel a program. If this happens, we will notify all registered participants as soon as possible and provide a full refund of the program and accommodation fees paid to us. The center is not responsible for airfare or other travel expenses incurred. For this reason we recommend purchasing refundable travel tickets or travel insurance whenever possible.

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