THE POWER OF PRESENCE: A METTA RETREAT

THE POWER OF PRESENCE: A METTA RETREAT

The power of mindful awareness unbinds the heart from suffering. Its gentle penetrating focus sees through the fear and turbulence that cloud the mind's natural sensitivity, wise understanding, and love.

This retreat will explore the interplay between the cultivation of mindfulness and the wholehearted attitude and concentrative power of metta, or love. It will also include the Buddha's teachings and practices related to the cultivation of compassion, joy, and equanimity. Experiencing how these practices work together increases our ability to work with change in ways that support the process of awakening and deep transformation.

The daily schedule will include instructions and guidance in the practice, sitting and walking meditation, working meditation, an optional afternoon discussion group, private meetings with the teacher to discuss one's experience of the practice, and an evening dharma talk. With the exception of individual or group meetings with the teacher, the retreat will be held in Noble Silence.

Both newcomers and those who are experienced in the practice of Vipassana (Insight Meditation) are welcome to attend this retreat. All can expect to leave the retreat with practical understanding of ways to apply the practice in daily life.

DaeJa Napier teaches Vipassana with an emphasis on the cultivation of the four Brahma Viharas: lovingkindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. She has been practicing and studying in various Buddhist traditions since 1974. Her root teacher is the late Zen Master Seung Sahn. Her practice continues to be enriched through intensive practice under the guidance of Asian and Western teachers including Sayadaw U Pandita, Pa Auk Sayadaw and Joseph Goldstein. DaeJa has dedicated her life to exploring the traditional pathways to awakening and their application in daily life. Her conveyance of the Buddhist teachings and related practices reflect the more than 40 years spent raising five children while maintaining a formal practice. She currently lives in semi-refuge in Ashland, Oregon.