Date(s) - April 3, 2020 - April 5, 2020
All Day
Beyond Expectation and Anxiety
Weekend Residential Meditation Retreat
With Tergar Instructor Edwin Kelley
Metta Meditation Center
Janesville, Minnesota, USA
This event has been cancelled due to COVID-19 virus concerns. Communication will be sent to current registrants with instructions on refunds. We will soon be announcing a webpage on Tergar.org for ongoing updates and support for practitioners at this challenging time. Stay tuned!
At our core we all wish to be happy and free from suffering. Yet, we find that we cause suffering for ourselves and others by our reactions to what we encounter in our environment, in our hearts, and in our minds. In fact, when we look closely, we see that we are either drawn to, pushing away from, or simply disconnecting from our experience. This tug-of-war with life’s encounters is central to the cause of our suffering. During this weekend retreat we will examine the ways in which our mind relates to our experience. We will see how this tug-of-war is the basis of all our suffering. We will also discover how our meditation practice can help us establish a healthier relationship to the ups and downs of our life. We will learn to open our heart to all of life’s experiences and bring them onto the path.
In Mingyur Rinpoche’s tradition, spending time in solo or group retreat is highly valued as an important way to deepen our understanding and experience of practice. Whether you have never done a retreat before or are a seasoned practitioner, this program provides an excellent opportunity to taste the benefits of sustained practice.
About the Instructor:
Edwin Kelley first became interested in Buddhism in 1975 when he attended a meditation retreat near Perth, Australia. He later pursued a career as a public accountant and in 1992 went to Burma to undertake a six-month period of intensive retreat with the renowned meditation master Chanmyay Sayadaw. While practicing in Burma he ordained temporarily as a Theravada Buddhist monk. In 1994 he was hired as Director of Operations by one of America’s best known meditation retreat centers, the Insight Meditation Society (IMS), in Barre, MA. Eighteen months later he was appointed Executive Director of IMS and served in that capacity until 2003 when he resigned to pursue further long-term intensive meditation practice.
Edwin first encountered Vajrayana Buddhism in Dharamsala, India in 1993 and became a student of Mingyur Rinpoche in 1998. He has a post graduate diploma in Buddhist Studies from the University of Sunderland in the UK. He moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife Myoshin in 2009 to help establish the global Tergar Meditation Community. In addition to his work as a senior instructor, he currently serves as co-executive director for Tergar International.
Schedule:
Friday, April 3, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 4, 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 5, 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The retreat will take place in a secluded environment with the support of a community of meditators. The daily schedule will include six to eight hours of meditation per day (practiced in twenty- to thirty-minute sessions), and will incorporate periods of silence, group discussions, and presentations on the key points of meditation.
Location and Meals:
The retreat will be held at Metta Meditation Center, located on Lake Elysian in Janesville, Minnesota. The retreat center offers a secluded and peaceful refuge only seventy minutes from the Twin Cities.
Meals will be vegetarian. We will be able to provide gluten-friendly (Gluten-free products prepared in a kitchen where gluten is present) and dairy-free food. However, it’s not possible to provide a strictly vegan menu. In addition, other Individual, specific food requests will be honored if possible, but cannot be guaranteed. Menus will be posted and the cook is always available to help explain the content of the food.
Check-in and on-site registration will begin at 6:00 p.m. The opening session will be at 7:30 p.m. Please note that no evening meal will be offered on Friday so plan to eat before you arrive or bring your dinner with you.
Precepts and Silence:
While attending the retreat, all participants are expected to abide by the Five Precepts for lay practitioners, which are to abstain from the following: killing, taking that which is not given, engaging in sexual activity, telling lies, and taking recreational intoxicants. We will maintain periods of silence throughout this retreat, the length of which will vary, so there will be less silence in the beginning and end of the retreat and a period of complete silence in the middle.
Room Assignments:
There are a limited number of single rooms. If any double rooms have not been filled by the retreat start date, they may be made available as single rooms at the single-room rate. If single rooms are not available when you register and you wish to be put on a waitlist for a single room, please email us at [email protected].
Cost:
Program Fee, Meals, and Shared Double Room – $273.00
Program Fee, Meals, and Single Room – $295.00
Program Fee, Meals, and Single Cabin – $317.00 (please note: cabins must be booked through Tergar)
We strive to offer programs like this one as broadly as we can, regardless of ability to pay:
- Donations: Please consider adding an additional donation during registration or at the event to help share these teachings with as many people as possible.
- Discount for those on a limited income: Tergar offers a 20% discount (less $40) off the program price for those on a limited income, such as seniors and students. Please use the discount code: FAMM2020 when registering.
- Requests for Financial Assistance of more than 20% off the program price: If your ability to pay makes it difficult to attend this program, we will make every effort to help. Please email us at [email protected].
Payment and Cancellation Policy:
In order for us to make a commitment to the retreat center, we must receive full payment at the time of registration.
A $50 administration fee will apply to any cancellation prior to March 24. Cancellations after March 24 will be subject to full cancellation penalties.
For More Information Contact:
Tergar Meditation Community of Minneapolis/St. Paul
[email protected]
Location
Metta Meditation Center, Janesville MN, United States