Building Our New Residential Center: Expanding Opportunities to Heal and Transform
We still need your Help!
Your continued financial support of Great Cloud Refuge is deeply appreciated. We are now down to the final stages of completion, with a modest amount of funds needed to cover these lasts costs.
What greater gift can we give to ourselves, the world, and generations to come than the Dharma, with its capacity to transform suffering at the base and bring true happiness into the world! We welcome all support for helping to create Great Cloud Refuge. Please click here to explore ways to offer support and help us "Close the Gap."
Our Progress
We are happy to report the current progress on our community’s endeavor to build Great Cloud refuge.
The exterior of the building has been painted and workers are busily completing interior drywall work. Once complete, we expect to quickly complete the balance of the interior work and be ready for retreat by Christmas!
When complete, the new Great Cloud Refuge building on our Tampa Center Campus will include: 4,000 square feet for sleeping rooms to house 24-42 people, additional spaces for individual meditation, and flexible gathering spots for meditation or small group meetings. (Please click below to see the attached beautiful architectural renderings for four views of the completed building and landscaping).
Please click here to hear our teacher Fred speak about his vision for retreats at the Practice Center and here for a Q&A with Fred.
Our Vision
We envision Great Cloud Refuge as providing the capacity to offer sleeping accommodations for up to 42 retreatants for a whole range of Dharma activities and study currently limited by our access to outside facilities. Some examples of what Great Cloud Refuge would make possible are:
A larger number of 2-, 3-, and 4-day retreats;
Individual retreats to explore specific areas of healing and transformation under the guidance of a teacher/mentor;
Accommodations for visiting teachers who can offer teachings at the Center;
A wide range of mindful living weekend course offerings, e.g. transforming relationships, working with emotions, mindful parenting, mindful leadership, etc., that would appeal to both Buddhist practitioners and the general public, and would contribute to the happiness and well-being of our broader Florida community.
…and other purposes yet to be envisioned.
Informed by the advice of architects, construction experts, and experienced retreat facility managers, we have undertaken a thorough process of assessing how the space can be used to maximum advantage, serving the sangha’s needs for years to come. The result is a lovely 4,000 square foot space that will support our retreat aspirations and both blend with and enhance our current Practice Center campus. We hope to begin offering retreats at Great Cloud in the first quarter of 2019.
Great Cloud Architectural Renderings (Views 1, 2, 3, and 4)
