2023 Retreat Almanac
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What is Retreat?
Retreat practice provides the opportunity for you to restore your energies, have time to rest and to let go of the day to day mundane responsibilities and focus on your own inner development and spiritual growth. You can learn to nurture yourself, restore a sense of balance and well-being, and open up to nature. A weight may seem to be lifted from your shoulders and you may be able to experience a fresh perspective that will renew your appreciation for life and your commitment to appreciate and use every precious moment.
Throughout the year we offer a range of high quality retreats at Nan Hua Temple. In all retreats we practice techniques that are useful in the retreat situation and can also be applied to everyday life. Your basic needs will be completely supported and taken care of within a safe environment created by the facilitators and staff. You can then focus all of your energy and attention on finding the answers you seek and on rejuvenating your body, mind and spirit.
Throughout the year we offer a range of high quality retreats at Nan Hua Temple. In all retreats we practice techniques that are useful in the retreat situation and can also be applied to everyday life. Your basic needs will be completely supported and taken care of within a safe environment created by the facilitators and staff. You can then focus all of your energy and attention on finding the answers you seek and on rejuvenating your body, mind and spirit.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a way of learning to relax your body whilst still keeping your mind alert. This happens quite naturally when we gently focus on something, maybe a sound, a sensation in our body or something that we imagine. It gives us a moment of space and freedom from the thoughts that endlessly go through our minds and is a way of quite quickly and deliberately relaxing our bodies.
Why Meditate?
Everyone has experienced a state of deep calm, open awareness or contentment. Worries disappear, your mind is clear and focused. This is meditation.
With meditation you can learn to deliberately return to that clear and open state. You can also learn to relax quickly and effectively, improve concentration, and cultivate a deep sense of well-being and happiness.
People also practice meditation to :
With meditation you can learn to deliberately return to that clear and open state. You can also learn to relax quickly and effectively, improve concentration, and cultivate a deep sense of well-being and happiness.
People also practice meditation to :
- Learn to relax
- Relieve stress and anxiety
- Restore health and well-being
- Develop focus and concentration
- Develop self awareness and personal growth
- Enhance creativity
Can meditation help to reduce stress or to manage depression?
Yes. When you are fearful or sad, you can feel consumed by stress or depression. Meditation helps you to witness your mind, placing your fears and disappointments in perspective. Fears and disappointments, however vast, are temporary, like dark clouds in a vast sky. By observing the clouds, you begin to realize that the clouds are your own thoughts. The thoughts arose from your own mind. You can experience your own nature as peaceful, calm and quiet, like the sky on a still day. By paying less attention to your troubling thoughts you can experience power and peace.
Meditation retreats at Nan Hua Temple #1
Nan Hua meditation retreats provide an opportunity for you to let go of your day-to-day responsibilities, rest, restore your energies and focus on your inner development and spiritual growth. They provide an opportunity to cultivate your spiritual being, restore a sense of balance and well-being, and open up to nature. A weight may seem to be lifted from your shoulders and you may be able to experience a fresh perspective that will renew your appreciation for life and your commitment to use well every precious moment. Meditation is a wonderful way to nurture your creativity.
The Temple offers a Beginner’s meditation retreat (which includes an introduction to Ch’an or Zen meditation) and intermediate level Pure Land retreats. On the Beginner’s retreat we teach you relaxation, calming and focusing meditation techniques that you can take home and practice in the midst of the bustle of daily life to calm yourself down, restore your energy and help you cope with the ongoing stresses of modern life. We also introduce you to other Eastern Buddhist practices, not yet well known in the west, which can also be used to cope with the pressures of life.
The Temple offers a Beginner’s meditation retreat (which includes an introduction to Ch’an or Zen meditation) and intermediate level Pure Land retreats. On the Beginner’s retreat we teach you relaxation, calming and focusing meditation techniques that you can take home and practice in the midst of the bustle of daily life to calm yourself down, restore your energy and help you cope with the ongoing stresses of modern life. We also introduce you to other Eastern Buddhist practices, not yet well known in the west, which can also be used to cope with the pressures of life.
Booking policy
All bookings are done on a ‘first come first serve’ basis subject to availability. Please provide the retreat dates that you would like to attend, we will check if there are available spaces for the retreat before sending you an application form. Booking is only valid when we receive your application form.
If you want to share an accommodation with someone, their application form must be sent in as well.
Contact Sipho at Tel 013 931 0009; cell phone 061 416 8646; email: info@nanhua.co.za to confirm availability before paying deposit.
Note
The value of Meditation Retreat is priceless. Thus, Nan Hua Temple does not charge fees for any Meditation Class. However, fees will be charged for accommodation and meals.The retreat is a practice for Buddhism. It is practiced to enlighten and teach our participants about Buddhism in forms of meditation, dharma practices and such. We do not charge anything for the retreat. All costs included are for accommodation only.
Cost of accommodation for level 1 and level 2
1. R500 per person: Double room, sharing with someone of the same gender in a chalet
2. R600 per person: Single room, own en-suite bedroom and bathroom or bedroom with adjoining shower, same gender in a chalet
3. R900 per person: Private chalet, one person only
An admin fee will be charged on all cancellations or date changes.
Cost of accommodation for Flower and Ch’an, Fooditation
1. R500 per person + R400 material fee: Double room, sharing room with someone of the same gender in a chalet
2. R600 per person + R400 material fee: Single room, own en-suite bedroom and bathroom or bedroom with adjoining shower, same gender in a chalet
3. R900 per person + R400 material fee: Private chalet, one person only
Price includes
• One night’s accommodation in the comfortable temple chalets
• Chinese vegetarian meals, breakfast, lunch, supper
• All lectures
• Material required for the different retreats
As part of Nan Hua Temple's meditation retreat policy, male and female participants are to stay in separate rooms despite being a couple with each other. This retreat focuses on oneself and self-development and therefore we are unable to accommodate your request of staying together in a chalet.
Dress code
This is a practicing monastery. Please do not wear sleeveless tops, shorts or sundresses. Please make sure your shoulders, upper arms, midriff and knees are covered. Socks MUST be worn in the meditation hall.
If you want to share an accommodation with someone, their application form must be sent in as well.
Contact Sipho at Tel 013 931 0009; cell phone 061 416 8646; email: info@nanhua.co.za to confirm availability before paying deposit.
Note
The value of Meditation Retreat is priceless. Thus, Nan Hua Temple does not charge fees for any Meditation Class. However, fees will be charged for accommodation and meals.The retreat is a practice for Buddhism. It is practiced to enlighten and teach our participants about Buddhism in forms of meditation, dharma practices and such. We do not charge anything for the retreat. All costs included are for accommodation only.
Cost of accommodation for level 1 and level 2
1. R500 per person: Double room, sharing with someone of the same gender in a chalet
2. R600 per person: Single room, own en-suite bedroom and bathroom or bedroom with adjoining shower, same gender in a chalet
3. R900 per person: Private chalet, one person only
An admin fee will be charged on all cancellations or date changes.
Cost of accommodation for Flower and Ch’an, Fooditation
1. R500 per person + R400 material fee: Double room, sharing room with someone of the same gender in a chalet
2. R600 per person + R400 material fee: Single room, own en-suite bedroom and bathroom or bedroom with adjoining shower, same gender in a chalet
3. R900 per person + R400 material fee: Private chalet, one person only
Price includes
• One night’s accommodation in the comfortable temple chalets
• Chinese vegetarian meals, breakfast, lunch, supper
• All lectures
• Material required for the different retreats
As part of Nan Hua Temple's meditation retreat policy, male and female participants are to stay in separate rooms despite being a couple with each other. This retreat focuses on oneself and self-development and therefore we are unable to accommodate your request of staying together in a chalet.
Dress code
This is a practicing monastery. Please do not wear sleeveless tops, shorts or sundresses. Please make sure your shoulders, upper arms, midriff and knees are covered. Socks MUST be worn in the meditation hall.
Meditation (Part 5)
Please Click Here to read Meditation Part 1 to Part 4
Experienced mediators can enter meditative concentration no matter where they are, be it beside a stream in a forest, inside a mountain cave, or among some graves, but for those beginning the practice it is best to choose an indoor area that is away from outside noises. Such locations bring better results. The lighting in the room should be moderate: too much light is harsh on the eyes, while too little light can make one drowsy. It is best if an image of the Buddha is placed in the room, so that one can make offerings by burning incense as a source of inspiration. One should also not sit where there is a draft to avoid catching a cold.
Before sitting in meditation one should also pay attention to how one eats and dresses. One should not meditate less than an hour after finishing a meal, since at that time blood has rushed to the stomach and intestines and one can easily become drowsy. One should not be too full or too hungry; seventy to eighty percent full is best. One’s clothing should be loose, comfortable, and soft to promote good circulation. Having sufficient sleep will also prevent one from falling asleep during meditation and wasting precious time.
Once all preparatory work is complete, one can then begin sitting in meditation. In the Chan School, sitting meditation is generally divided into three stages: *3 regulating the body, regulating the breath, and regulating the mind.
*3 A more complete explanation can be found in Master Zhizhe’s smaller text Stopping and Seeing (小止觀).
Experienced mediators can enter meditative concentration no matter where they are, be it beside a stream in a forest, inside a mountain cave, or among some graves, but for those beginning the practice it is best to choose an indoor area that is away from outside noises. Such locations bring better results. The lighting in the room should be moderate: too much light is harsh on the eyes, while too little light can make one drowsy. It is best if an image of the Buddha is placed in the room, so that one can make offerings by burning incense as a source of inspiration. One should also not sit where there is a draft to avoid catching a cold.
Before sitting in meditation one should also pay attention to how one eats and dresses. One should not meditate less than an hour after finishing a meal, since at that time blood has rushed to the stomach and intestines and one can easily become drowsy. One should not be too full or too hungry; seventy to eighty percent full is best. One’s clothing should be loose, comfortable, and soft to promote good circulation. Having sufficient sleep will also prevent one from falling asleep during meditation and wasting precious time.
Once all preparatory work is complete, one can then begin sitting in meditation. In the Chan School, sitting meditation is generally divided into three stages: *3 regulating the body, regulating the breath, and regulating the mind.
*3 A more complete explanation can be found in Master Zhizhe’s smaller text Stopping and Seeing (小止觀).
