A place for long-term individual retreat.
And above all, a place to feel the
power of simply living in rich contact with nature.
A great hunger
There is a thirst to discover, remember, and embody what is most
important in life. People have pleaded us for a chance to immerse
themselves in deep learning, rest, and silence for longer than a weekend
or ten days—a chance to find their own rhythms, and to gain momentum in
their inner work. We have noticed the simple power of listening,
and of encouraging experimentation and inner authority.
We have heard a call for teachers who trust and respect the potential in each student to learn in her or his unique way.
The Open Centre will support those who wish to feel at home in themselves and in the world, and who wish to share the joy of living what is most important.
An abundance of nourishment
The Open Centre will expand the diversity of what we offer and to whom we offer it. In a home dedicated to Open Dharma, we can provide programs:
* with greater freedom;
* with better accessibility to people who cannot normally
attend our retreats;
* and with more continuity, and therefore depth, in our
three main areas of exploration: nature,
interaction, and silence.
More freedom, more diversity.
Religious and cultural freedom.
Being guests in religious centres: On our retreats we are currently
guests at monasteries, ashrams, and other centres. When our host centres
are devoted to a single religion, we often must limit what we offer
in order to respect the tradition of our hosts. For example, in
most monasteries, we cannot offer massage training or children’s theatre.
Reclining for deep rest meditation may be offensive. We sometimes postpone
our wish to use texts or songs from diverse religious traditions.
Being visitors in India: * Cultural norms in India, especially regarding women’s
dress and behavior, and interactions between women and men, sometimes limits
what we can include in a retreat. Dance meditation, a solitary retreat
for a woman, or a program for single mothers would be problematic in India.
* Visas often expire just when someone needs to continue
practice. With a centre in Spain, Europeans would have one obstacle fewer
to attending a retreat or program.
Being at home: Having the freedom of “being at home” in our own multi-traditional
centre in Spain would allow us to expand: * our collaborations with therapists and artists
from ceramicists to writers.
* our programs and support for families, children, and couples.
* our encouragement to rest deeply in reclining meditation.
* our support for people to find their own motivation and rhythm, rather
than to rely on, or be restricted to, the culture of the centre.
* our programs with those who are sometimes unwelcome, whether differently-abled
people, pregnant women, or “at-risk” teenagers.
Financial freedom.
We are also bound to the prices set by our hosts.
One of the reasons we always offer the teachings on a donation basis
is to help make our programs financially accessible. At the Open Centre we
will continue to emphasize the tradition of generosity as a spiritual practice.
* We will collect donations for scholarships;
* We will at times offer programs where room, food, and organizational expenses,
along with the teachings, are all given on a donation basis.
* Camping and work retreat will be affordable options during
residential programs at the Open Centre.
More accessibility, more diversity.
Geographical accessibility:
Although we will continue to offer programs elsewhere in the world, especially
in India, we realize that not everyone can travel to India.
Concerns about health or money, or commitments at work
and at home—as well as simple fear—keep many people away from India.
The Open Centre will be an easily accessible location:* that is convenient to travel to from
both within and outside of Europe.
* where the moderate climate in Spain will permit year-round participation,
whereas the extremes in India prevent most visitors from staying in one
place throughout the year.
Accessibility through amenities:
The relative comfort of some rooms will make the Open Centre accessible
to those who cannot sleep on a wooden bed in an ashram in India.
We will also do our best to make the Open Centre as accessible as possible
for differently-abled participants.
Continuity means depth.
Continuity for individual participants.
The Centre will allow us to fulfill a dream of offering long-term
individual retreats with personal guidance. These retreats will be offered on an application basis to people who have attended at least trhee Open Dharma retreats. We will devote one area
of the land to silence, so that individual retreats and other types of programs
can both carry on undisturbed.
Participants report that returning to the same place provides perspective
and stability.
Continuity of organization and infrastructure.
When friends offer to organize a retreat for us, they are invariably surprised
at what a huge amount of energy and work it takes to prepare our
programs each time in a different place.
Having our facilities in place will free up the energy of teachers and organizers
alike.* Teachers will be able to invest more energy
in teaching, from personal guidance to envisioning new programs.
* Silent areas will remain undisturbed.
* We can dedicate space to the practice of yoga postures and Chi
Gong, as well as to the study of alternative health modalities
such as the Japanese art of Jin Shin Jyutsu.
* Each caring gesture will be an investment that can take root in
the Centre. If the organizers are not busy finding mattresses or
other basics, they will have more time to welcome participants personally
or improve the infrastructure for the long-term.
Continuity of connection with nature.
In
the wild:
* Sometimes just standing among trees
or looking up at the stars is enough to bring the heart back home.
* At the Open Centre we will also be able to deepen our practice of walking
in nature on both familiar paths on the land and spectacular
walks to nearby waterfalls and hills.
In
the garden:
* Working in the garden helps enliven and ground
spiritual practice.
* The Open Centre will provide vegetarian food, some of it from our own fields, and as much as possible it will be locally and organically grown.
In
simplicity: We wish to enjoy and to share the honor of deeply caring for one place as a microcosm and symbol of human potential to live in harmony with nature. The Open Centre will pro-actively model sustainable living, from a sense of abundance rather than lack. Rather than motivating people through a sense of alarm, our model will both inspire and educate participants.
* Inspiration: While global warming,
droughts, and other human-made disasters threaten to destabilize global
ecosystems, the Open Centre will provide a living example of how
fulfilling it can be to live in harmony with nature. It can be
a relief to know that living simply can be as rich as harvesting fresh tomatoes
or figs, swimming in a naturally purified swimming pool, or using composting
toilets. In our experience, many people feel a sense of hope, joy, and connection
just from having the chance to participate in a smoothly functioning,
ecologically sustainable system.
* Education: Some of our Open Centre programs will provide
more in-depth education in such areas as sustainable
gardening and forestry; natural water purification; beekeeping
and processing of honey and other bee products; herbal medicine; flora and
fauna identification; orientation, and camping.
