Teaching a nature retreat amidst softly chirping birds and cooling rain, Jack, Pema Chödrön, and Ajahn Sumedho illuminate joyful insights of monastic life.
“Mostly what draws people to monastic life in the healthiest and best sense is its joy.” – Jack Kornfield
In this special outdoor retreat, Jack, Pema Chödrön, and Ajahn Sumedho explore:
- Chanting the powerful seed syllable mantra, “Ah”
- Joys and misconceptions of monastic life in modern times
- Why someone would take vows and become a monk or nun
- Kabir’s poetry, being human, and walking the spiritual path
- Sexuality and celibacy in spiritual communities
- Relating to both ultimate and relative reality
- Dealing with the body in physically taxing situations
- Working with injustice, inequality, and hierarchy within monasteries and spiritual institutions
- The nature of change and how our present creates our future
- Open-heartedness and open-mindedness
- Living the Dharma every second of our existence
- Letting our issues be our teachers
- A surprise Q&A appearance from Heart Wisdom family, Brother David Steindl-Rast, along with Ajahn Sundara, and Sister Columba
“Quite clearly the future is the result of how we work with our minds now. To the degree that we open our hearts and minds to the present moment, that creates our future.” – Pema Chödrön
“I like to reflect that the Buddha only taught two things: suffering and the end of suffering.” – Ajahn Sumedho
