What is a “Weekthun?” (Dec 26-Jan 1) – A Special Invitation from Acharya Emily Bower

I am looking forward to leading the weeklong retreat this holiday season. In this retreat, our main practice will be showing up for each session and following our teachers’ instructions for meditation. Our secondary practice will be contemplating kindness and the possibilities that arise when we acknowledge basic goodness—of ourselves, of each other, and of the people in our lives. Weekthun is a powerful opportunity in which to discover the depth of this word “society” and how participating actively as a member of society affects every aspect of our life.

Rather than being a group of individuals practicing meditation together, we will practice as a community of meditators. Our week’s community will be based on agreeing to attend fully (whether for the whole week or for a day or two) and to abide by the guidelines of retreat.

What does it mean to you to be kind to yourself? Kindness and mutual respect are the guiding principles of our retreat society, which, in essence, comes down to caring for ourselves and for each other (by showing up, by being quiet during quiet times, by sitting during the sitting times, by sharing meals in silence, and by working together to support the container of our retreat).

Regarding the theme of kindness, we will contemplate kindness and our personal habits of being kind to ourselves. We will take the Sakyong’s invitation to “examine our motivation.” What does it mean to you to be kind to yourself?

Please come to our weeklong retreat at the Eagle Rock Shambhala Center. We’ll be exploring these themes, both personally and as a society, within a traditional retreat schedule. (If you cannot attend the whole week, one-day registration is an option, but day-only participants must attend the whole day.)

TO LEARN MORE OR REGISTER