The five-day Chan Retreat is similar in format to
the full Silent Illumination Retreat, based on the teachings of Master
Sheng-yen, and the teachings of the Western Chan Fellowship. It is
suitable for beginners, and for experienced practitioners who are
unable to commit to the full seven days. There will be an emphasis on
Silent Illumination practice, though you may prefer to work with the
breath. Practice will be supported through meditation instruction,
mindfulness in daily activity, community in silence, Dharma talks and
personal interviews, together with all of the other features of a
Maenllwyd Retreat.
Chan Convivium
April 19th - 27th 2008
Leader: John Crook
Venue: Maenllwyd
Fee: £345 (Concessions £173)
What would it be like to live together in a Chan
monastery outside intensive retreat? This longer retreat explores one
format that seems suitable for lay practitioners wanting such a taste
of the monastic life. This experiment is built around the experience of
a small group who came briefly to the Maenllwyd in 2006 for an
impromptu retreat after weather thwarted plans to visit Skokholm
Island.
We shall follow the regime of our normal silent
retreats with obligatory sittings, sermons, and services morning and
evening and certain other functions. Otherwise, during the morning and
the afternoon a time keeper will conduct sitting sessions in the Chan
hall but these will be voluntary and practitioners may chose their
activity from a range of alternatives: walking, working, yoga/tai-chi,
reading in the library, private meditation, sleeping, but without
absenting themselves from the Maenllwyd hill. These voluntary events
will remain silent. The group as a whole may undertake one or two
expeditions depending on weather.
Large Chan monasteries in China offer such a range
of activities and monks tend to specialise either in manual work,
learned study or meditation. Here we have a chance to sample these
options within a monastic style commune.
John will be the Retreat Master and give a variety
of talks on aspects of the Dharma-seeking life. During this retreats
talks will focus on the presentation of Dharma rather more than on
methods, with which participants should be familiar.
The retreat is open only to experienced
practitioners (at least four Maenllwyd retreats) capable of relatively
independent practice with few interviews.
The Liberative Path of Emotional Awareness
“A Bit of Skill You Can Carry Around With You” – Dogen
May 31st - June 6th 2008
Leader: Ken jones
Venue: Maenllwyd
Fee: £250 (concessions: £125)
On this retreat we will work with emotional
awareness and transformation as a fundamental Chan life practice. In an
atmosphere of openness and trust we shall enter deeply into whatever
may be discomfiting in our lives. Suitable for both beginners and old
timers, and of particular interest to WCF group leaders.
Hua-tou Retreat
June 21st - 28th 2008
Leader: John Crook
Venue: Maenllwyd
Fee: £295 (concessions: £148)
Seeking an awakening through direct realisation in
a few days of Chan retreat requires an intensive focus to provoke a
breaking out of conventional minding. The Hua-tou is a brief statement
or question, usually the punch line of a Koan story, used for sustained
investigation. The task of the retreat master is to help the
participant generate intense 'doubt' and s/he may make use of any
compassionate means to achieve this.
This retreat will be strict, highly focussed and
demanding. Only those with an appropriate determination are advised to
attend. It is a challenge. Open to those with at least WZR and Full
Chan 7 retreat experience.
Western Zen Retreat
July 5th - 10th 2008
Leader: Simon Child
Venue: Maenllwyd
Fee: £210 (concessions: £105)
A simple monastic regime enables the mind to face
the major paradox - Who am I? - in creative mutual questioning. People
work in turns with each member of the group in exploring this
fundamental Koan. The intensive focus drives each into a
self-presentation that is difficult to experience in other ways. The
outcome may be a profound sense of the unity of self and possibly a
direct insight into the 'ground of being', in traditional Zen
considered to be a glimpse of Enlightenment. Whether or not such an
insight happens, participants share a rich experience in new
self-knowledge and understanding others. Open equally to beginners and
established trainees.
