3-night Silent Retreat with Kynan Tan

A 3-night Silent meditation retreat in the beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW

About this event

Dates: Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 January 2023, arrive 4pm Thursday, depart 2pm Sunday

This 3-day meditation retreat allows practitioners to settle into stillness and quiet. The retreat becomes a supportive environment to go deeper into meditation than is typically possible with the busyness and complexities of daily life. The beautiful, serene environment allows space for cultivating awareness and equanimity and for exploring the mind.

This is a student-centred retreat, which means that there is no set curriculum to follow but rather each student will continue their own meditation practice and all talks and interviews will be responsive to students’ needs and interests. Instructions on meditation techniques will be provided as required and all levels of experience are welcome.

Retreat Schedule

The schedule will mostly alternate between seated and walking meditation. Each day there will be a dharma talk, a one-on-one interview with the teacher, three meals, and time for exercise or walking outside. We will observe noble silence from Thursday night until Sunday noon. All meals will be provided.

FAQ

Here’s a short FAQ about going on retreat: https://kynanmeditation.net/vejjasala-retreat-faq/

About the Teacher

Kynan Tan is a meditation teacher who takes a collaborative approach to helping students achieve their meditation goals. He came to meditation after struggles with stress, anxiety, and depression and found the practice to be transformative. He believes that meditation has enormous potential for creating positive change and opening up new ways of relating to our experience.

Kynan draws upon a number of different modern and traditional techniques of contemplative and introspective practice. He is a longtime practitioner of the stages of śamatha-vipassanā (as presented in the book The Mind Illuminated), Rob Burbea’s insight meditation techniques, nondual awareness, and brahmavihārā practices (mettā, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity).

Kynan studies meditation with Dr. Tucker Peck. He teaches the Pragmatic Dharma Club at the San Francisco Dharma Collective, leads retreats, and teaches one-on-one instruction and online meditation courses. Kynan has sat a number of retreats, including a month-long solo retreat in 2021.

Venue and Cost

Vejjasala, located just outside the village of Wingello in the Southern Highlands of NSW, is the retreat centre of the Association of Engaged Buddhists (AEB). The name, Vejjasala, means a place for healing.

Tickets are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis via Eventrbite.

This retreat is catered with three vegan/vegetarian meals per day. Please indicate if you have any allergies or dietary requirements. We may not be able to accommodate all requests.

The cost for the retreat is $375. Members and Friends of the Association of Engaged Buddhists should use the Promo code AEBMEMFRI to receive the member price of $330. This cost covers food and accommodation. If the cost is prohibitive, please talk to the organisers, as there may be scholarship positions available.

Payment to the teacher is traditionally made by donation (dāna) after the retreat.

The annual membership fee for AEB is $60.00. To join AEB, visit our membership page.

Full details about Vejjasala, accommodation options, directions, and information about what to bring can be found on the website: https://engagedbuddhists.org.au/vejjasala-retreat-centre/

There is a train station in Wingello, however trains do not frequently stop there. We will attempt to organise carpooling. Please indicate on the signup form if you require a lift or are able to offer lifts to others.

Vejjasala is a safe and inclusive space for LGBTQIA+ people.

COVID

• We are requiring that all attendees conduct a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 24 hours of attending the retreat. Take a photo of your result and email to office@engagedbuddhists.org.au in order to be able to attend the retreat.
• All attendees must be fully vaccinated and send a screenshot of vaccination status along with RAT test results per the above. This is to ensure the safety of all members attending the retreat.

Adequate social distancing, hand-washing and other sensible measure should be followed by all attendees.

It should be noted that participants attend these retreats entirely at their own discretion and should consider their own risks and responsibilities in regard to COVID. While reasonable efforts will be taken in regard to providing a safe environment, the Association takes no responsibility for individuals’ behaviour or health consequences arising from attending a retreat. If you are experiencing any symptoms, please do not attend the retreat and notify the organisers at office@engagedbuddhists.org.au.

Enquiries

If you have any questions about the retreat, please contact us on office@engagedbuddhists.org.au