We hosted another
wonderful Shambhala retreat – maybe the 8th or so held here so far.
This time it was an art retreat and as such had quite a different feel to the
usual retreats. Mary Anne Botha, with assistance from Andras Hajdu, ran the
retreat. The week-long program drew from the
teachings on the creative process developed by Tibetan meditation teacher
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the founder of Shambhala Buddhism
This is how Mary Anne
described the retreat.
To artist or
non-artist, the creative process often seems mysterious and magical. As a training Shambhala Art explores making art from the
viewpoint of a meditative discipline.
Working with
this training as a group on retreat together, we discovered that if we were not
too eager to prove something we could welcome the open space of not knowing, of
playing.
And when
inspiration arose out of that space, we dared to make a stroke, to make a
sound, or position an object - with awareness and precision.
And from Andrew Putter:
"By giving us the opportunity to work in a
wide variety of art forms – including acting, singing, writing, calligraphy and
object arranging – and coupling perceptual and expressive exercises with
meditation, study and contemplation – teachers Mary Anne Botha and Andras Hajdu
skilfully introduced us to artistic expression as a potential path of
awakening.
The trick is to
use the artmaking process – no matter what you’re making – as a support to
bring you back to the vividness and spaciousness of the present moment… in this
way, it’s no different to meditation."
Those
interested in Shambhala Buddhism the following may be of interest.
SHAMBHALA takes its name from a
legendary kingdom famous for being an enlightened society. Today, the global Shambhala
network brings together people of all ages and from all walks of life who are
interested in exploring our own minds, transforming our experience, and
awakening our potential for enlightened society.
Shambhala is based on
trust in human dignity. We offer a path of meditation practice and
contemplative arts oriented towards modern life. Our communities around the
world cultivate kindness, bravery, and genuine dialogue. Our vision is to
inspire compassionate, sustainable, and just human societies.
And
to find out about Shambhala South Africa can go to on shambhala.org , and by following the
Cape Town group on capetown.shambhala.info
Feedback to Fynbos Estate
Thought I’d share some of the comments that came back from
the Shambhala Meditation and Art Retreat evaluation sheet question
“How suitable was the venue?” . You
scored 46 out of a possible 50!
- 5 out of 5! Perfect!
Wonderful!
- Wonderful venue and farm
environment, super food and great hosts at Fynbos Mountain Estate
- As venues go this is
right up there!
- Beautiful Place,
wonderful hosts
- Beautiful, generous,
unpretentious
- Very conducive,
relaxing, connecting to nature, good food, pleasant sleeping arrangements
created a good ambience
- The venue is intimate,
comfortable, beautiful, and restful and the food is delicious. And it is
conveniently close to Cape Town.
- glad we were not in the
pavilion given the weather and the flies
- improvements such as
better ventilation and lighting can be made in some of the bedrooms
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