DDRC - Winter Retreat Session 2: Calming and Contemplation ***Registration opens on Sep. 26 (EST ,UTC-5)***

DATE & TIME DETAILS
Check in: Thursday, January 5^th, 2025, 4:00 - 6:00 PM (EST ,UTC-5)
End time: Wednesday, January 19^th, 2025, 1:00 PM (EST ,UTC-5)

REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS RETREAT:
• Already received basic meditation instruction
• Established a daily personal practice
• Previously attended at least one two-day retreat

SAMPLE SCHEDULE:
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Event Description
The annual Winter Retreat, also known as the Snow Retreat, is designed to provide an intensive meditation practice experience. The Winter Retreat is divided into two sessions:

Session 1, the Foundation retreat, will take place from 12/26/2023 to 01/05/2025;
Session 2, 15-day Calming and Contemplation retreat, will be held from 1/5/2025 to 01/19/2025.
Practitioners have the flexibility to attend either or both sessions of the retreat.

Abbot Guo Yuan will lead the Winter Retreat, while offering Dharma talks, guided Chan practice, and interviews.

This winter retreat's unique characteristic is the two stages method for the cultivation of a deeper practice. The first level Foundation retreat is basic practice: participants will practice adjusting the body and mind through relaxation in order to smooth the breathing. Continuing this practice one can naturally and smoothly enter the second level of this method: calming and contemplation. This will be a 15-day experience of vipassana and samadhi. Of course, it is important that a participant follows the foundation of practice step by step in any retreat.

Chan meditation is fundamentally a practice that connects the mind and body. Its purpose is to cultivate inner peace, tranquility, and a deeper sense of presence in one's daily life. Through deep meditation, participants can establish a connection with their inner selves, the serene environment of DDRC, and the interconnectedness of the universe.

 

Requirements for this retreat:
This retreat follows the traditional Chan monastery schedule, starting early in the morning and making the most efficient use of time in concentrated group practice. Participants should be mentally and physically prepared for the rigors of such a regimen. Therefore, we ask each applicant have sufficient experience as listed in the requirements before registering.

The requirements for session 2 are:

-Have previously participated in a silent retreat that is 5 days or longer.

 

Pricing
This event is priced on a sliding scale. Please consider your registration as a moment to practice generosity by paying at the highest rate that you can afford. Your generosity supports Dharma Drum Retreat Center, staff, your fellow practitioners, and our continued efforts to help people to learn and grow. Any amount paid above the Base rate is a tax-deductible donation to DDRC. Please contact us if you need the tax receipt.

No one will be turned away for lack of funds.


SLIDING SCALE
Base – $450.00
Sustainer – $600.00
Benefactor – $810.00


Chartered Shuttle
We are happy to offer a chartered shuttle service from Manhattan Penn Station to our center, provided we have enough interested participants. The fee for the shuttle service is $75 for one way and $150 for a round trip per person.

The shuttle will depart from Manhattan Penn Station at 2:00 pm on the start day of the retreat, taking you directly to our center. On the end day of the retreat, the return shuttle will depart from our center at 1:30 pm, heading back to Manhattan Penn Station.

If you wish to avail of the shuttle service, please remember to check the item during registration.

Teacher
Abbot Guo Yuan
Guo Yuan Fashi, one of Chan Master Sheng Yen's Dharma heirs, is a Buddhist monk trained in Chan Buddhism. In 1985 he first encountered Master Sheng Yen's teachings while attending a seven-day retreat in New York. He then decided to become a disciple before finally leaving his job in Toronto, Canada, to become a monk in the Chan tradition. He was ordained in 1987 in Taiwan. For over twenty years, he accompanied and became translator to Master Sheng Yen in various Chan meditation retreats in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and Mexico.

He studied Theravada Buddhism for a year in Thailand in 1991. Upon returning from Thailand, Guo Yuan Fashi was elected abbot of both the Chan Meditation Center (CMC) in Queens and the Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC) in Pine Bush, New York. His responsibilities included attending interfaith services, teaching meditation, and giving lectures on Buddhism. In 2006 he became the director of the International Chan Retreat Center in Dharma Drum Mountain, Taiwan. In 2016 he returned to Pine Bush to become once again the abbot of DDRC. Fluent in Mandarin, Vietnamese, and English, he leads Chan retreat in many countries around the world.

REGISTRATION OPENS: SEP 26, 2024 (EST ,UTC-5)

CONTACT
Email us about program
[email protected]


The event may be subject to change. Please visit Dharma Drum Retreat Center's website for the latest information and registration.