Retreats, Workshops, and Classes
Westcoast Dharma Society offers nonresidential meditation retreats, workshops, and classes, led by visiting and local Dharma teachers. Occasional residential retreats are also offered.
See Retreat Schedule if you are looking for a detailed schedule of retreats, classes, and workshops through 2014.
Upcoming Events ...
June 21 - 23: "The Joy of Living Level 1: Calming the Mind": Meditation Workshop Retreat with Myoshin Kelley
June 21, Fri, 7:15pm - 9:00pm
June 22, Sat, 9:00am - 5:00pm
June 23, Sun, 9:00am - 4:00pm
UBC Asian Centre,
1871 West Mall,
UBC Campus, Vancouver
Note: Westcoast Dharma Society is deeply fortunate to include Myoshin Kelley into our schedule. Her bio is available on the WDS Teachers webpage here. This workshop will be geared to those with a Vipassana background. Myoshin, as the former resident teacher at the Forest Refuge Vipassana long-term practice center, brings seasoned wisdom from the Theravada Vipassana tradition of practice. She is also a long time student of Mingyur Rinpoche and is now a senior instructor in the Tergar Meditation Community where she offers programs around the world.
In this "Joy of Living Level 1: Calming the Mind" meditation workshop we will learn how cultivating awareness can help create a peaceful mind and joyful heart. The practice of meditation enables us to transform all experiences, even difficult emotions and painful thoughts, into sources of joy. Over the course of this weekend, we will explore the landscape of our experience with mindful awareness, learning how to use the body, sensory experiences, thoughts, emotions, and even awareness itself as supports for meditation.
"The Joy of Living" program is a path of meditation practice that enables us to discover a lasting contentment that is not subject to the fluctuating conditions of the external world, and to nurture the qualities of wisdom and compassion that naturally manifest from awareness itself. The Joy of Living program has three levels: Calming the Mind, Opening the Heart, and Awakening Wisdom.
The schedule for this weekend workshop includes DVD teachings by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, presentations on the key points of meditation practice by Tergar instructor Myoshin Kelley, as well as guided meditations and discussion. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a rising star among the new generation of Tibetan Buddhist masters. With a rare ability to present the ancient wisdom of Tibet in a fresh, engaging manner, Rinpoche’s profound teachings and playful sense of humor have endeared him to students around the world. This weekend's teachings are highlights from Rinpoche's book The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness.
This workshop retreat is suitable for people of all faiths, as well as both beginning and experienced meditators.
For a registration flyer, click here. For a retreat poster, click here.
More Information | Register On-line for this weekend workshop retreat
There are a limited number of spots available for Friday evening partial retreat attendance. You can now pre-register for $12 online to be assured of a spot. Friday evening registration will also be available at the door for $15, as space permits. There are no refunds for cancellations from the pre-registered Friday spots. Reduced fee assistance is available for anyone who needs it.
Six-day Residential Vipassana Meditation Retreat with Michele McDonald and Linda McDonald
Note: This retreat is now full. To be placed on a waitlist, please send in a registration. Your deposit cheque will not be cashed until we can guarantee you a spot. Often there are cancellations closer to retreat time.
Thursday, August 15 - Wednesday, August 21
Sea to Sky Retreat Centre
East side of Daisy Lake
Whistler, BC
 
For detailed information about this retreat and about the Sea to Sky Retreat Centre, please click here. The retreat is open to both new and experienced meditators.
Registration for this retreat is by mail only. To register, click here for the pdf registration form.
The retreat is co-sponsored by Westcoast Dharma Society and Vipassana Metta Vancouver.
August 23 - 25: Vipassana Meditation Retreat with Michele McDonald
August 23, Fri, 7:15pm - 9:00pm
August 24, Sat, 9:00am - 5:00pm
August 25, Sun, 9:00am - 4:00pm
UBC Asian Centre,
1871 West Mall,
UBC Campus, Vancouver, BC
Vipassana or insight meditation is a simple and direct practice: the moment-to-moment investigation of the mind-body process through calm, open and precise awareness. Learning to observe our experience from a place of spacious stillness enables us to relate to life with a balance of wisdom and compassion. This experience fosters clarity and penetrating insight into the nature of who we are and increased peace in our daily lives. As insight deepens, wisdom and compassion arise.
This silent nonresidential meditation retreat is suitable for meditators of all levels of experience. There will be systematic instructions in both sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talks, and opportunities for discussions with the teacher.
For a registration flyer, click here. For a retreat poster, click here.
More Information | Register On-line for this weekend retreat
There are a limited number of spots available for Friday evening partial retreat attendance. You can now pre-register for $12 online to be assured of a spot. Friday evening registration will also be available at the door for $15, as space permits. There are no refunds for cancellations from the pre-registered Friday spots. Reduced fee assistance is available for anyone who needs it.
September 20 - 22: "Lighting up the Neural Circuits of Love, Happiness, and Wisdom" Vipassana Workshop/Retreat with Dr. Rick Hanson
September 20, Fri, 7:15pm - 9:00pm
September 21, Sat, 9:00am - 5:00pm
September 22, Sun, 9:00am - 4:00pm
UBC Asian Centre,
1871 West Mall,
UBC Campus, Vancouver, BC
The primary emphasis of this weekend workshop retreat will be on the topic of Vipassana and Neuroscience, with added teachings from Rick's latest book, set for release in October, 2013.
Integrate the latest brain science research with the ancient wisdom practice of Vipassana meditation. Discover and practice methods for improving mindfulness and concentration, calming the heart, weaving positive experiences into your brain and your self, and then bringing these new strengths into your relationships with both kindness and assertiveness.
Sitting and walking meditation will be included. The weekend will be suitable for all levels of meditation practitioners.
For a registration flyer, click here. For a retreat poster, click here.
More Information | Register On-line for this weekend workshop retreat
There are a limited number of spots available for Friday evening partial retreat attendance. You can now pre-register for $12 online to be assured of a spot. Friday evening registration will also be available at the door for $15, as space permits. There are no refunds for cancellations from the pre-registered Friday spots. Reduced fee assistance is available for anyone who needs it.
November 8 - 10: "Dependent Origination" workshop retreat with Sally Clough Armstrong
November 8, Fri, 7:15pm - 9:00pm
November 9, Sat, 9:00am - 5:00pm
November 10, Sun, 9:00am - 4:00pm
UBC Asian Centre,
1871 West Mall,
UBC Campus, Vancouver, BC
The Buddha considered Dependent Origination to be his most profound insight. This teaching graphically explains how we get caught in the cycle of suffering, and how it is possible to free ourselves. When we’re not aware of this process, we are blinded by our ignorance and get caught in craving again and again, looking for lasting happiness where it can’t actually be found. We create different identities that we cling to, that limit our ability to be free in the moment. When we can bring mindfulness to our experience, we can make wiser choices about how to respond, and perhaps even break the cycles of becoming altogether.
In this workshop retreat we will explore this dynamic model, and look at how it works experientially on a practical, moment-to-moment basis in our lives, using guided meditations as well as group discussions and inter-active exercises. It is suitable for meditators who have sat at least one weekend retreat or Vipassana daylong or class.
For a registration flyer, click here. For a retreat poster, click here.
More Information | Register On-line for this weekend retreat
New: Register On-line for Friday evening partial attendance
There are a limited number of spots available for Friday evening partial retreat attendance. You can now pre-register for $12 online to be assured of a spot. Friday evening registration will also be available at the door for $15, as space permits. There are no refunds for cancellations from the pre-registered Friday spots. Reduced fee assistance is available for anyone who needs it.
December 6 - 8: Vipassana Meditation Retreat with Howard Cohn
December 6, Fri, 7:15pm - 9:00pm
December 7, Sat, 9:00am - 5:00pm
December 8, Sun, 9:00am - 4:00pm
UBC Asian Centre,
1871 West Mall,
UBC Campus, Vancouver, BC
Vipassana or insight meditation is a simple and direct practice: the moment-to-moment investigation of the mind-body process through calm, open and precise awareness. Learning to observe our experience from a place of spacious stillness enables us to relate to life with a balance of wisdom and compassion. This experience fosters clarity and penetrating insight into the nature of who we are and increased peace in our daily lives. As insight deepens, wisdom and compassion arise.
This silent nonresidential meditation retreat is suitable for meditators of all levels of experience. There will be systematic instructions in both sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talks, and opportunities for discussions with the teacher.
For a registration flyer, click here. For a retreat poster, click here.
More Information | Register On-line for this weekend retreat
There are a limited number of spots available for Friday evening partial retreat attendance. You can now pre-register for $12 online to be assured of a spot. Friday evening registration will also be available at the door for $15, as space permits. There are no refunds for cancellations from the pre-registered Friday spots. Reduced fee assistance is available for anyone who needs it.
|
