Wake Up to Life:  A Pocket of Happiness

Four days 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: 11 Jan 2018 @ 4:00pm – 14 Jan 2018 @ 2:00pm

 Young people doing working meditation in the garden in a Wake-Up Retreat in 2016

Registration is available online HERE on a first-come-first-served basis.

 Nov. 15, 2017

Dear Friends,

You are warmly invited to join our Seventh Annual Wake up retreat from the 11^th to the 14^th of January 2018 with the monks and nuns of Plum Village at the Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism, at Lotus Pond Temple, Ngong Ping Village, Lantau Island.

Wake up is a movement which is made up of young friends aged from 18 to 35 who are interested in building a Healthy and Compassionate Society. In the past years, Wake up Hong Kong have organized annually retreat for young people, as well as Day of Mindfulness, Monday night activities in town, Flash Mob meditation etc. that bring about a lot of joy and happiness for building a healthy society.

In the midst of busy days, we feel safe when we know that there is money or credit card or smartphone in our pocket. However, have you ever thought of the capacity to retrieve the feeling of happiness from our pocket in our busy daily life or when we are under great stress, or in a challenging situation and strong emotions?

Can we still remain calm and peaceful, and retain the true relaxing smile on our lips when we are busy accomplishing all the daily responsibility? Yes, we could do so. It is a habit of happiness for us to cultivate especially before the storm of outside challenging situation or the strong and difficult emotions arise in us. The pocket of happiness is in our hands, yet it is a habit that we need to cultivate within ourselves, before the difficult moments of our life arrive.  Come and learn ways to remain calm and relax in the very busy life of this society, give ourselves a chance to learn and to experience it ourselves It is simple yet very practical.

Coming to this retreat you will learn the ways how to be yourselves, so you can find out answers to those questions by practicing mindfulness with the community. You can be able to generate the energy of loving-kindness, compassion, learn how to restore communication with your beloved ones and also have an opportunity to receive the Five Mindfulness Trainings: a template for self-happiness and the meaning of life. The retreat is the foundation of our togetherness as a Sangha.

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

Tentative schedule

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

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

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

Plum Village practice is designed to help us to weave the energy of mindfulness into all of our daily activities. By this way we can practice meditation throughout the whole day while eating, walking, working, sitting, or even enjoying a cup of tea together. All participants are invited to help in communal activities such as arranging the meditation halls, preparing meals, cleaning bathrooms, emptying garbage, watering plants, washing pots, cleaning the kitchen and other tasks, as part of the daily practice of mindfulness. Since the teachings emphasize the benefit of practicing with the Sangha in order to enjoy its collective energy. It is important for all participants to fully participate in all scheduled activities. Participants will be divided into Dharma sharing groups which will work together to give helping hands to the retreat.

How to register

Registration is available online HERE 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 4, 2018. Payment is not refundable for cancellation after Dec 15, 2017. 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

Wake up Team