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You’re
warmly invited to the first ever International Urban retreat run by the FWBO. Everyone is welcome to take part, whether or
not you’re near an FWBO Centre.
It’s some time off yet, of course, but if you’re interested to
take part, we suggest you do a couple of things now – put the date in your diary (June 20th - 27th 2009),
register your interest with the Highland Sangha by emailing.
The plan is for individual FWBO Centres across the world to run their own retreats
‘in parallel’ with one another, with some shared teaching from leading FWBO teachers, plus special arrangements
for all those not living near Buddhist centres. We hope this will offer the best possible combination of local flexibility
and international solidarity.
Typically an Urban Retreat starts with a day spent on retreat, if possible at the
local Buddhist centre. During this, participants are encouraged to think about how they’d like to practice over the
coming week – unlike ordinary retreats however, for the retreat itself they are not required to leave their normal homes
or work. This means the urban retreat takes place within people’s everyday lives and it’s therefore a great way
to bring Buddhist ideals more effectively into one’s daily life – whatever one’s daily life consists in.
Preparation on the first day will include things like becoming aware of what may help and what may hinder one’s
practice, beginning to keep a ‘practice diary’ for the duration of the retreat, agreeing to ‘buddy up’
with someone to exchange notes on how things are going; and perhaps making arrangements to meet together during the week.
Another important element is performing an “aspirational puja”, which includes chanting a mantra that can
then be used through the week. At the end of the week there is another day retreat to review and learn for the future.
Click here to read about some experiences of an Urban Retreat
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