Winter Retreat 2018-2019: week or week-end
For those who wish to attend the entire 90 days of the Rains Retreat, please click here.
The Healing Spring Monastery is delighted to announce that our community will be observing our annual 90-day Winter Retreat from 17th November 2018 to 17th February 2019. Those who cannot attend the full 90 days are welcome to join for a shorter period: for a week or a week-end of retreat.
Practicing deeply
Opening ceremony in Plum Village
The Rains Retreat is primarily a time for the monks and nuns to come together to The Winter Retreat is primarily a time for the monastics to come together to study and deepen their practice, and during these 90 days the monastics do not leave the monastery to teach outside.
It is a time for everyone to deepen and strengthen our spiritual roots. The emphasis is on generating a powerful collective energy of mindfulness, as we live, practice and work together with a full schedule of Plum Village mindfulness practices six days a week.
Generating a Strong Collective Energy
In the Winter Retreat we will have a Day of Mindfulness on every Sundays, for a Dharma Talk and a full day of practice together. The teachings will be in French, English and Vietnamese, and there will be simultaneous English and French translation if needed.
Who is the Winter Retreat for?
We welcome everybody in Winter, both new comers and experienced practitioners alike. After every arrival day an orientation to the practice will be offered.
As we are a monastery of brothers, only men and couples will be accepted for a full week of retreat.
Practical information
- Arrival and departure days for short-term guests for the Winter Retreat 2018-2019 will be on Fridays, starting Friday November 23rd The last arrival day will be Friday February 8th. To maintain the stability of the retreat, we encourage you to join the retreat for or a full week or a week-end (leaving on Sunday evening or Monday morning).
- Please keep in mind that the opening of a new monastery is an adventure that takes time and that we will not be able to offer immediately the same conditions of comfort and organization as those of Plum Village.
How to enjoy the retreat?
Please read and practice the guidelines from the Plum Village website during the retreat. These pages will be especially useful:
- Generalities about the retreat.
- What to bring to the retreat.
- What to wear during the retreat.
- About internet and telephones.
This will help you to enjoy fully and deeply your practice, as well as to respect and contribute to the energy of our monastic practice center.
We look forward to welcoming you to join the river of practice during this wonderful retreat.