Seeing Freedom In The Coming And Going of Life

It has been said that the next Buddha will be the sangha.  Sangha, which means community, can be thought of as the coming together and falling apart of every aspect of life.  This coming together and falling apart is one of Buddha’s central teaching on the “Three Characteristics of Existence”.   These three universal characteristics — impermanence, dissatisfaction and not-self — can be thought of as the infrastructure of life.  Through meditation practice we can acquaint ourselves with their truth and strengthen our awareness of their presence in the whole of our experience.  This nonresidential weekend retreat is about learning to relax into the natural flow of the Three Characteristics to more directly experience the freedom of Dharma.

The weekend is appropriate for both new and experienced meditators and will include meditation (with instructions), walking/reflective periods, and Dhamma talks.

Tuere Sala is a retired prosecuting attorney who has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 25 years.  She has been an active member and volunteer at Seattle Insight since 2001.  In 2009, she was appointed to be a Local Dharma Leader and has often supported SIMS in unconventional ways such as answering the many letters SIMS receives from practitioners in prison; offering beginning classes at Angeline Women’s shelter and Jubilee House, a women’s transitional house; and facilitating workshops using nonviolent communication (NVC) to support a mindfulness practice.

Tuere believes that urban meditation is the foundation for today’s practitioner’s path to liberation.  She is inspired by bringing the Dharma to nontraditional places and is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, past trauma and difficulties sitting still.  Her teachings reflect an approach to Dharma that is both easy to follow and understand – making it accessible to everyone.

Tuere has completed extensive trainings including: the 2 Year Spirit Rock/IMS Community Dharma Leader Program; a 1 Year Focusing for Complex Trauma Course which incorporates mindfulness principles with somatic listening and a 1 Year Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training Course (MMFT) which incorporates mindfulness principles within the high stress work environments of first responders.  She has sat 300+ days of meditation retreat (including residential, non-residential and day-longs) and has a long history of assisting others in establishing and maintaining a daily practice.

Balanced Clear Mind/Wise Compassionate Heart,

Five Faculties of Mindfulness
A Non-Residential Retreat

with
Adrianne Ross

 Held at Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Road, Victoria, BC,
Retreat Dates are May 25 & 26, 2019
Saturday 9:00 to 4:30 pm;  Sunday 9:00 – 4:00 pm.
Registration will open April 29th.

Through this 2 day retreat, we will explore how the five faculties of mindfulness – stability, balanced energy, faith (confidence) and wisdom can support our meditation practice and our daily lives in the world.
We will be both recognizing our strengths and cultivating and developing these qualities together in a balanced way. There will be periods of meditation instruction, silent sitting and walking, and time for discussion with the teacher. The weekend will be held in a background of silence.

Adrianne Ross, MD, has been involved with meditation and healing since 1978. Her teaching is influenced by Burmese and Thai streams of Theravada as well as Dzogchen and contemplative practices. She teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to people with chronic pain and illness. She recently retired from working as a family physician to devote more time to personal practice and teaching retreats in Canada and the U.S. Adrianne is passionate about being awake in all areas of life, facing the challenges of diversity, equality and climate change though dharma eyes, and living the dharma as fully as possible.