Triratna Worthing and West Sussex

DAY RETREATS
for anyone who knows the Mindfulness of Breathing and the Metta Bhavana

Urban Retreat 8th to 15th October 2011
The Eight Worldly Winds
WHO? All are welcome from complete newcomers who just want to try it for a week, to experienced meditators. Invite your friends!
WHAT? The theme of this years Urban Retreat is the "eight worldly winds" (lokadhammas) that tend to blow us about emotionally if we do not recognise them:

LOSS or GAIN;
INFAMY or FAME
BLAME or PRAISE
PAIN or PLEASURE

We can tend to want to cling to the experiences in the right hand column, and avoid the ones in the left, but this isn't possible. If we are alive we are bound to experience both sides. By bringing awareness to what is happening however, we can begin to take the initiative - instead of being capsized or at least made very seasick, we can begin to use our creative response to the worldly winds to help us to sail towards greater expansiveness and freedom.
HOW? In Worthing there is a day retreat on the 8th of October and one on the 15th. Both will be led by Padmacandra and friends. On the 8th there will be a chance to reflect on the Worldly winds that tend to blow in our individual lives, and a space to set up our intentions for the week alongside others. On the 15th we will have a chance to reflect on the week, as well as dedicating the postivity generated by our practice during the week to the benefit of all beings in the world and beyond.
During the week there will also be other opportunities for practice -- such as joining our early morning meditation every weekday, checking in with a "buddy" who is also trying to practice, or booking for a 15 minute meditation review with padmacandra. On Thursday of that week, we will be having a festive Buddhist ritual with chanting.
WHERE? world wide! In worthing the venue for day retreats and other events is:The Friends Meeting House, 34 Mill Road, Worthing BN11 5DR - please park in west avenue.
Participate on-line: If you can't make the day retreats (or can't make both) you can participate online - just register here for the online retreat: urbanretreat@thebuddhistcentre.com
you can also combine online participation, with attendance at the weeks activities -for example listen to short talks online.
COST?: there will be a bowl for donations to cover the cost of room and materials
more info below - hope to see you there! (it would be helpful to know if you want to participate

How to bring mindfulness and kindness into your everyday life. Carry on your "normal life" whilst participating in an international urban retreat alongside hundreds of others around the world! The week begins with a day retreat on the 8th October and ends in a retreat morning on the 15th

* During the week we'll be teaming up with thebuddhistcentre.com and bringing you:
- An inspiring ten minute talk from a different part of the world each day
- An urban retreat practice blog with Kavyasiddhi and Vajragupta
These will be found at during the week.
* There is also the online urban retreat for those who can't make it to your Centre. This again will be found via www.theurbanretreat.org from the 8th onwards…

How An Urban Retreat Works
Urban Retreats were pioneered by the Sheffield Buddhist Centre in the UK, and have since been successfully taken up by many other Centres around the world. The idea of the International Urban Retreat is to encourage even more local communities to benefit from this great idea, but also for our global community to be on retreat together. It is another way of fostering a sense of us all belonging to a coherent and diverse, internationally united Buddhist movement.
The basic idea of an urban retreat is that is helps us learn how to practise in everyday life, to gain confidence that we can really sustain such a practice and actually change ourselves and our lives! It is about how to live an ‘ideal urban life’. It is maybe especially helpful for people who find it difficult to get away on retreat because of family or work commitments. However, even those who do go on retreat often find returning from retreat and sustaining their practice is difficult — and the urban retreat can help them learn how to do so.
For those taking part at a Triratna Centre, the week starts with a day retreat at your local Centre on Saturday 8th October. During that day you’ll be helped and encouraged to set up the conditions to take your practice deeper. To support you during the week, there will be talks, led meditations, and other resources available, locally and online. The Urban Retreat ends with another day event on 15th October with the chance to reflect on how it went, and where you want to take your practice next…
For those doing the retreat online, there will be basically the same format — two ‘day retreats’ on the 8th and 15th, and daily input in-between… but all provided online! (Register with us now) and we’ll contact you when the web version of the retreat goes live