City Weekthun: Opening our Hearts

December 26th—January 1st (2017)

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  • $200 Program Price
  • $250 Patron Price
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All practioners are invited to join in this week of spacious mind with a focus on the Four Limitless Qualities: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. A city weekthun is a unique opportunity to deepen one's meditation practice without going far from home. New and experienced meditators are welcome.

The practice of sitting meditation slows our torrent of thoughts and distractions and uncovers the stable, clear and potent quality of our mind. Adapted from the month-long Shambhala dathun, the city weekthun is an opportunity for us to connect deeply with meditation while relating it directly with our regular life.  For the duration of the program, participants are encouraged to participate in a media "fast" to increase the power of the retreat experience.

The program will consist predominantly of sitting and walking meditation practice, shamatha yoga and also talks/readings related to the Four Limitless Qualities. Meditation Instruction and practices for working with loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity will be offered.

The program is offered from December 26 to January 1 inclusive from 9am-6pm daily with a 1-hour contemplative lunch break..  We plan to offer lunch to those attending most of the retreat.  Partial attendees are responsible for their own lunch and are requested to bring their own lunch in order to attend the contemplative lunch practice.

Complete participation in the program will count as meeting the weekthun requirement for advanced programs, such as Enlightened Society Assembly & Shambhala Guide Training.  It will also count as one week towards completion of the dathun requirement.

Partial attendance is possible.  The minimum attendance is for a half-day which means arriving by 8:45am or 12:45pm so you can meet with someone for orientation and still enter the retreat promptly at 9 am or 1 pm.  We will contact all registrants to confirm the days you will attend.

Several of the days of the weekthun will be in functional talking or in noble silence; there will be a sign on the front door indicating this. Please help support the practitioners by respecting the boundaries around talking.

Vajrayana practitioners may use a portion of the retreat for ngondro, werma and Scorpion Seal group practice requirements, using the small shrine room.

Our Generosity Policy

Offering whatever you are able to offer toward the cost of the program is generosity.

In order to make our programs accessible to everyone, we have a “pay what you can afford” policy. If the program price is an obstacle for you, please decide what works for you and offer whatever you can.

For those who can offer more than the program price, we have a “patron price”.

Your generosity in offering the patron price helps cover the costs for others who are not able to pay the full price.

Programs without a price are free. For those programs with a price listed, please do not let price be an obstacle. Visit our generosity policy page.

When available as an option, your generosity in offering the patron price helps cover the costs for others who are not able to pay the full price. Any amount offered above the Program Price is considered a charitable donation to the centre, and will be included in a tax receipt issued by email in February of the following year.

For programs that have a register button, it is helpful for us if you can indicate your intention to attend by registering ahead of time. In order to prevent duplicate entries in the Shambhala Database, all registrations are reviewed before you will receive a confirmation email.

Our Refund Policy:  For convenience you can pay online using a credit card via PayPal. If we cancel the program for any reason, we will give you a full refund. We understand that sometimes after you have pre-paid, you might be unable to attend.  We will be happy to refund your payment if you request it at least 24 hours before the program starts.  Due to the difference in PayPal charges for purchases and refunds, we charge a nominal amount of $5 for a refund.