Fred Eppsteiner

A Four-day Retreat for All Levels of Practitioners

Description

Whether your recent Dharma studies and practice have focused on exploring your relationship to the contents of experience (such as in our current Mindful Living Path Intensive) or looking into the experience of mind itself (as those on the Dharma and Wisdom paths have done), all practitioners can deepen their practice by being on retreat. Retreat gives us the opportunity for extended periods of silence, stillness and focus so that the teachings and meditations we are learning can penetrate more deeply than when we are constantly involved in the ongoing business of our daily routines.

Fred is delighted to be offering all of us the opportunity to retreat together for four full days in June, when he will transmit the Buddha’s teachings and practices of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. These teachings were the foundation of the Buddha’s meditation system and are the basis for living a wholesome and happy life. Learning to be aware and present to both the experiences of one’s body and to the experiences of one's mind is the practice of full awareness.

Those who are newer practitioners will benefit from the four-day immersion with these fundamental practices. Experienced practitioners who may have some experiences with the Four Foundations but who continue to, from time-to-time, be plagued by reactivity and lapses of mindfulness will also benefit by strengthening their base of practice.

In this retreat, we will reflect and meditate deeply on these Four Foundations, and develop realistic strategies for incorporating them in our lives. Whether in relationship to our bodies and minds or the people and situations we encounter, the “how” of entering life fully will be explored in the Dharma talks and meditation periods. Obstacles and challenges to living a mindful life will be dealt with.

As usual, this will be a silent retreat. The silence affords participants the opportunity to deepen their meditative experience while absorbing the experiential meaning of the teachings and practices presented during the retreat. The retreat will include formal periods of sitting and walking meditation, guided meditations, daily Dharma talks, Q&A sessions with Fred, deep listening periods, and opportunities for solitary practice.

Logistics

This retreat is open to both FCM members and non-members and will benefit anyone with meditative experience and who has a desire to experience who they truly are. The retreat will offer both in-person participation at FCM ’s Tampa Center and online participation. THIS REGISTRATION PAGE IS FOR IN-PERSON PARTICIPATION ONLY. Please visit the Online Retreat page if you wish to attend online.

FCM's retreat center in Tampa, Florida provides a beautiful and serene refuge from the noise and business of our everyday lives. Set among our bamboo gardens, walking paths and pond, our center offers comfortable double-occupancy accommodations in our Great Cloud residence hall, nourishing vegan meals and ample indoor and outdoor meditation spaces for personal reflection.

The retreat will begin with orientation at 5:30 pm on Wednesday evening, June 1, followed by dinner at 6:00 and the opening session at 7:15. The retreat will end with lunch on Sunday, June 5. This registration is an application for in-person participation, so no payment is accepted at this time. We will contact you after registration closes to either let you know that an in-person spot is available or if not, to ask if you wish to participate online. Full payment will be due upon acceptance into the retreat.

The fee for the retreat is $320. Retreat Scholarships are available; please click here to see FCM ’s Retreat Scholarship Policy and for an Application, which needs to be submitted prior to the registration deadline for this retreat. The teachings are offered in the Buddhist tradition of Dana, wherein the teachers freely give of themselves to the students out of gratitude for what they ’ve received from their teachers and a desire to be of service. The student ’s response is also based on Dana, i.e. generosity that naturally flows from a sense of appreciation of the value of Dharma and gratitude to the living lineage.

The retreat registrar will be sending additional information to registrants once registration is closed and registrants have been formally accepted for in-person participation.

The last day to register for in-person participation in this retreat is May 11.

Retreat Leader

Fred Eppsteiner has been a student of the psychology of Buddhist meditation for over 40 years, and was a psychotherapist for more than 30 years. He has trained extensively in the Buddhist meditative traditions the U.S. and Asia. He received permission to teach from Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994 and is the editor of two books: The Path of Compassion and Interbeing.

Questions?
For more information, please contact Angie at parrish26@gmail.com.