Dwelling in Goodness and Safety: A Brahma Vihara Retreat
A 5-day silent meditation retreat for participants ages 18-35
Led by devon hase and nico hase
May 10th - May 15th, 2024
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies - Barre, Massachusetts
This event is co-sponsored by Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and is intended for participants ages 18-35. The $25 cost of this retreat is a retreat deposit to secure your place. Please email team@dharma-gates.org to indicate if you would like to donate that deposit or have it refunded after the retreat.
Through cultivating beautiful qualities of the heart and mind, we can discover a place of safety, rest, and resiliency, right in the middle of everything. Love, compassion, joy, and equanimity are the skillful responses of a wise heart. Known as the brahma viharas (divine abidings), they are qualities that keep us resourced and inspired to engage with our complex, aching world. During this program, we’ll explore and deepen into these four heart practices offered by the Buddha. Our sitting and walking schedule will move through each of them in sequence, beginning with the practice of metta (loving-kindness), and moving through karuna (compassion), mudita (appreciative joy), and upekkha (equanimity).
This program will include dharma talks, guided meditation, silent meditation, relational practices, walking meditation, and mindful movement.
About the Teachers
devon hase
devon hase loves long retreats. Cumulatively, she’s spent four years in silent practice in the Insight and Vajrayana traditions. Since discovering meditation in 2000, she has put dharma and community at the center of her life: she spent a decade bringing mindfulness to high school and college classrooms and now teaches at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, and other centers around the world. She enjoys supporting practitioners with personal mentoring, and her friendly, conversational approach centers on relational practice and the natural world. She continues to spend a good part of the time in wilderness retreat in Oregon, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.
nico hase
nico hase lived in a monastery for six years before earning a PhD in counseling psychology and becoming an Insight Meditation teacher full time. He currently mentors mindfulness teachers, teaches online and in-person retreats, and speaks with students in one-on-one sessions. He and his beloved life partner devon are the authors of How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Survival Guide for Modern Life. Find out more at www.devonandnicohase.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to have meditation experience? No. All experience levels are welcome, including beginners.
Do I have to be a Buddhist? Nope. You do not have to be Buddhist to participate in this retreat. Megan’s teachings are deeply rooted in the classical Buddhist tradition and include beliefs that may be challenging for some. The invitation is to encounter the teachings, to build confidence in the teachings as we verify in our experience, and to maintain healthy an open, discerning, and inquisitive mind towards what cannot verify in our own experience.
What does it cost? The retreat is run on a donation basis in the spirit of dana. For this retreat, we are requiring a 25$ registration fee, which is an amount we agreed to with Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. This program fee does not include payments to teachers. You will be invited to support the teachers with dana (generosity) at the end of the retreat.
What kind of food will be served? The food served at the retreat will be vegan. If you have specific allergies or requests, you will be able to submit those to the retreat center ahead of time. You are welcome to bring personal food items if you need to -- there will be a fridge and personal food storage.
What is Dharma Gates’ inclusion policy? Dharma Gates welcomes people of all cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities. There will be gender neutral restrooms on-site, and we can provide single rooms if that would make you more comfortable. Our aim is to make retreat practice accessible to all young people - if there’s something we can to do help you feel comfortable to attending, please reach out to us (team@dharma-gates.org.)
Location: This retreat will be at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies at 149 Lockwood Rd, Barre, MA 01005
COVID-19 Policy: Please review the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies COVID-19 protocols here.