Cultivating Mindfulness in Education

A Mindfulness Retreat for Educators, School Counselors,
Community Youth Leaders, and Human Resource Professionals

August 13-17,2014

With the PlumVillage Monastics

at the Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism- Lotus PondTemple, Ngong Ping Village, LantauIsland, HK

“You cannot transmit wisdom and insight to another person. The seed is already there.
A good teacher touches the seed, allowing it to sprout and to grow.”
-  Thich Nhat Hanh

June 25, 2014

Dear friends,

You are invited to attend a mindfulness retreat for professionals working in the educational and human resource fields. Human relationship and communication play an important role in these fields. It would be very helpful if we could relate to others in a joyful and pleasant way. Students will be more confident and eager to do homework when being encouraged by teachers. School counselors will be more calm and understanding when they are able to listen and to look deeply to the student’s difficulties. Community youth leaders are more likely to be considered as pals to the young people, when they are able to blend-in and to be with the young people, understanding their needs and concerns. In order to be in touch with others, we need to be in touch with ourselves first. We need to be able to cultivate the peace and happiness inside and around us, to be aware of the pain and the suffering which make us sad and anxious and to transform them into peace and happiness. To
cultivate our well-being, we need to have some guidelines for living a healthy and compassionate life. Being able to do this ourselves, then it is possible to bring well-being to others, in all aspects of life.

In this retreat, we will study the teachings and practices of mindfulness as taught by the Buddha in the Discourse on Full Awareness of Breathing (anapanasati sutta) and the Discourse on the Four Establishment of Mindfulness (satipatthana sutta). We will see how these ancient teachings are even more relevant in our modern life.     We will practice mindful breathing, mindful walking, and pleasant smiling. We will go back to the present moment, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Lotus Pond Temple and the surrounding area. We will enjoy the presence of our friends and fellow
 
practitioners, who also take the time off from the busy daily routines to slow down, to enjoy a walk, to just be there for the present moment, for the preciousness of life

This retreat is part of the 1-year Mindfulness Teachers Training Program, being conducted by AIAB    
from August 2014 to July 2015. The teachings and practices covered in this retreat serves as    
foundation for further in-depth studies and practices of the 1-year training program later on.    

The tentative schedule is as follows:

The retreat will be conducted in English with Cantonese and Mandarin translation.

Accommodation and cost:  Accommodation for this retreat is limited to dormitory.  Participants will be housed in dormitories (bunk beds) at Lotus Pond Temple and Bamboo Forest Monastery.  Pillows, bed-linens, and blankets will be provided for those staying in the dormitories.

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.  Besides helping with the retreat, working meditation is a good way to apply mindfulness into daily activities, since most of the things we do are activities that we usually do at home.

How to register: There are only 60 spaces available. Online registration can be made 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, your registration will be placed on a waiting list. For means  of  payment,  please  refer  to  the  email  you  received  after  registering.    If  you  do  not immediately receive an email stating your registration was successful, please notify us at the email mentioned below.

Closing date for registration:  August 5th, 2014. Payment is not refundable for cancellation after July
15th, 2014, minus a 20% cancellation fee.  For enquiries, please contact us by e-mail:
retreats@pvfhk.org or by phone from 14:30 – 17:00 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, at
2985-5033 or 2985-5281.
 
Looking forward to seeing you at the retreat!

A lotus to you,
A Buddha to be.

Retreat Staff of the Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism