Retreats

Auckland sangha retreat

Opening up to the boundless

A long weekend retreat at Bella Rakha, Oratia, West Auckland.

Developing spiritually involves overcoming the narrow confines of the self, as well as an opening up to something greater - to what lies beyond. Sangharakshita refers to these aspects as Spiritual Death and Spiritual Rebirth. Using the central myth of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara, we will be explore how these can manifest in our practice and our life.

Suvarnadhi and Sujiva will lead what will be a brilliant opportunity to gather together as regulars of the Auckland Buddhist Centre, and deepen our practice without having to travel far.

The retreat is open to those who have been coming along regularly to our Monday night intro programme and/or Sangha Night, as well as mitras and Order members of course! It's a chance to take what we've talked about and put it into practice in a more intensive way for a few days. It's also a chance to get to know each better as a community of practitioners at the ABC. The Buddha did, after all, say friendship is the whole of the spiritual life!

If this will be your first retreat, you can expect a programme that looks something like this:

7am - double period of meditation
9am - breakfast
10.30am - morning Dharma session (for example, a talk and small group discussion)
1pm - lunch
Free time in the afternoon
4pm - practice or discussion
6pm - dinner
8pm - ritual and / or meditation

We also share cooking and wash-up duties, so you can expect a short period of working alongside others in a small group each day helping to prepare a meal or do the dishes. The retreat begins with dinner at 6.30pm on the Friday.

When

Cost