Enjoying the Spring Breeze

A Mindfulness Retreat for Young People with the Plum Village Monastics

at the Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism - Lotus Pond Temple,

Ngong Ping Village, Lantau Island, HK

Date and time: 08/01/2015 @ 4:00pm - 11/1/2015 @ 2:00pm

November 5, 2014

Dear friends,

You are invited to attend The Fourth Annual "Wake Up" Retreat, for friends between the ages of 18-35 years old. Wake up is a movement made up of friends interested in building a Healthy and Compassionate Society. The retreat is focused on cultivating our Mindfulness and Joy for Life. Mindfulness is the simple  recognition of what is going on within and around us. When we have a path, a  clear direction that nourishes our mind of love and gives meaning to our life, we can walk as a free person.

In this Retreat, we will learn how to live a more awakened life by practice sitting  meditation, walking meditation, eating meditation and have discussions groups as  well as exercises together. These practices can help us live in Mindfulness. As a young person, they help us to gain clarity into the future on what to and how to  do it in order for us to be at peace with ourselves, to love and understand others,  and to have true communication with family and friends. We can be a stable source for reconciliation to take place within our family and in difficult situations. Practicing with a group of people is helpful because the collective energy of mindfulness and concentration is more powerful and grounded. You do not need to be Buddhist in order to learn mindfulness. The training in mindfulness brings relaxation to the body and mind. Having to meet life's demands creates much stress and disease within our being, we need to learn the art of relaxation. This even includes joyfully playing games, singing song, hiking with no intention of winning or proving our self, we can simply be our self...free and happy. Enjoying the Spring Breeze Retreat is a chance to heal and to nourish our tender hearts, so we can play an active role in making our society a better place, starting with ourself.

The retreat will be conducted in English with Cantonese translation.

The tentative schedule is as follows: 

Accommodation and cost: Accommodation for this retreat is limited to dormitory-room.  Participants will be housed in dormitories (bunk beds) at Lotus Pond Temple and Hop Tak Tong temple. Pillows, bed-linens, and blankets will be provided.

The cost per person is listed below (in HK Dollars).

 *Please write us at retreats@pvfhk.org if you are in need of a scholarship.

Working Meditation: Because the retreat is held in the monastery, all the preparation and cooking will be done by the monastics and some volunteers. During the retreat, we need help from participants in preparation works like: setting up the meditation hall and dining hall, washing up after meals... Participants will be grouped into Dharma discussion groups and will work together in the same groups to help with the retreat.

How to register: Registration is available online at the Plum Village Hong Kong Website at http://www.pvfhk.org on a first-come-first-served basis. Registrations are not final until we receive your payment. Please make payment within one week after you register. If payment is not received within one week, our registration will be placed on a waiting list. For means of payment, details will be sent along with the confirmation email to those who completed online registration.

Closing date for registration: Jan 2, 2015. Payment is not refundable for cancellation after Dec 15, 2014. For enquiries, please contact us by e-mail: retreats@pvfhk.org or by phone from 14:30 – 17:00 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday): 2985-5033 (English), 2985-5281(Chinese).

We are looking forward to seeing you at the retreat!

A lotus to you,

A Buddha to be

For the Wake-Up Retreat,

Br. Phap Chuwng & Sr. Trang Nghiem

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