Brightening and Deepening Spiritual Life - The Five Spiritual Faculties
A hybrid meditation retreat
in person with Janice Cittasubha Sheppard and Carole Melkonian at Pine Lake Camp
or online via Zoom
April 26-30, 2023
Registration is now open for our retreat with Janice Cittasubha Sheppard and Carole Melkonian April 26–30.
This will be a hybrid retreat, held in person at Pine Lake Camp in Westfield, Wisconsin, and online via Zoom. Pine Lake is in a beautiful location, surrounded by rolling hills, farms, and oak savannas, and offering lovely walking trails.
RETREAT DESCRIPTION
The theme of the retreat will be Brightening and Deepening Spiritual Life – The Five Spiritual Faculties. Sometimes, even when we are frequently meditating, we can feel unsure about how to deepen practice. The Five Spiritual Faculties (indriyas in Pali) — confidence/faith, energy/effort, mindfulness, samadhi, and wisdom/discernment — are said to be the “leaders of awakening.” They operate as a feedback loop in the progression of the heart's development on the path. Investigating these five and how they factor into our practice can open new opportunities and insights to expand spiritual life. Intentionally bringing them into focus fosters the confidence of a loving heart and the wisdom of a discerning mind. Please join us for this investigation to comfort, uplift, and ease the heart.
This retreat will include meditation instructions; chanting; Dhamma reflections; periods of silent sitting, walking, and standing meditation; QiGong; small group sessions with a teacher; and Q&As in the hall. We will be lighting candles and incense each morning and evening. Both new and experienced meditators are welcome. This will be a five-precept retreat.
If you’d like to become familiar with these two wonderful teachers before the retreat, a selection of Carole’s talks can be found here. A selection of Cittasubha’s talks can be found here, here, and here.
COVID PRECAUTIONS (FOR IN-PERSON ATTENDEES)
We will be adhering to the following COVID precautions:
Registrations for in-person attendance will be capped at 27 to allow more space - but not necessarily a full six feet between yogis - in the meditation hall and at meals. (There is no cap on online attendance via Zoom.)
Full vaccination (two doses, plus a booster if the second dose was received five or more months before the retreat) will be required for in-person attendance. We encourage those who are not fully vaccinated to attend the retreat online.
Proof of vaccination - a copy of your vaccination card, Wisconsin Immunization Registry record, or vaccination record provided by your health care provider - will be required as part of registration for in-person attendance. Your spot in the retreat will not be guaranteed until proof is received.
If you do not yet have the necessary COVID vaccinations but plan to get them before the retreat, please contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com as soon as you submit your form and payment to make arrangements for securing your place in the retreat and submitting the proof of vaccination.
Masks may be required. We will check case numbers closer to the date to make that determination and notify all registered retreatants at that time. If masks are required, the teachers will remove theirs when offering teachings.
Accommodations for in-person attendance will be single occupancy unless two yogis together request a double.
Hand sanitizer will be located in heavy traffic areas, and hand sanitizing will be required before meals.
Yogis will be required to agree to a waiver of liability as part of registration.
To protect the health of the community, if you are feeling unwell prior to the retreat, we ask that you stay home and email the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com.
COST
Registration fees are on a sliding-scale basis. The sliding scale goes from 50% to 150% of actual costs, and within this range you’re invited to offer the amount that best suits your circumstances. Please pay at the highest level of the sliding scale you can afford; this gives the opportunity to attend to others who need to pay less. If the lower end of the range exceeds what you can afford, please offer what you can.
In-person fees: Fees for those attending the retreat in person cover room, simple vegetarian meals, and fixed costs (teacher transportation, room, and meals; facility rental costs; and miscellaneous expenses). Residential accommodations will be single occupancy unless two yogis together request a double.
Online fee: The fee for those attending via Zoom covers fixed costs only (teacher transportation, room, and meals; facility rental costs; and miscellaneous expenses).
Note. We charged no registration fee for entirely online retreats during the first two years of the pandemic. Hosting this retreat in person as well as online entails significant fixed costs, which we’re asking all retreatants to share.
| Registration Preference | Actual Cost | Sliding Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | $570 | $285-$855 |
| Double room | $405 | $202-$608 |
| Online via Zoom | $95 | $47-$142 |
In keeping with Theravada Buddhist tradition, there is no charge for the teachings. However, there will be an opportunity to offer a freewill donation (dana) to the teachers. We encourage dana as each person’s way to support and demonstrate appreciation to the teachers for sharing the Dhamma with us.
RESERVED SPACES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND PERSONS OF COLOR
In line with our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we reserve the last few spots before the retreat fills up for young people and people of color who haven’t yet signed up. We’ll reserve these spots up until two weeks before the retreat (April 12). After that, we'll open up any remaining spots to folks on the waiting list. If you identify with one or both of those groups, please check the appropriate box(es) on the registration form. If you have questions about whether spaces are still available, please contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com.
MEALS
On each full day of the retreat, there will be a vegetarian breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the dining hall. Tea will be available in the residential area. No dinner will be provided on Wednesday evening, April 26, and the retreat will end after lunch on Sunday, April 30. Please note that we are unable to accommodate special dietary needs.
SPECIAL NEEDS
If you would like to use one of our assistive listening devices, please indicate this on the registration form. Questions about the devices may be directed to Mike Kehl. To inquire about other needs, contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com.
CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY
If you are attending the retreat in person, please refrain from using perfumes or scented shampoos, ointments, or lotions in consideration of those with chemical sensitivities.
SCHEDULE
Check-in will open at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 26. An orientation for those newer to retreat or the facility will be offered at 6:00 pm, and the retreat will begin at 7:00 pm. Please arrive no later than 6:30 pm in order to check in, settle in your room, and be in the hall when the retreat begins at 7:00 pm. The retreat will close on Sunday, April 30, after lunch.
RIDE SHARING
If you would like to request or offer a ride to and from Pine Lake, please indicate this on the registration form. Alternatively, contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com.
TO REGISTER
To register for either in-person or Zoom attendance, COMPLETE ONLINE REGISTRATION by April 19.
In-person registration. In-person attendance is capped at 27, so early registration is encouraged. If the retreat is full, you will have the option of being placed on a waiting list or registering for Zoom attendance. Those on the waiting list who do not get an in-person spot may elect to switch to Zoom attendance or receive a full refund. Please note that your place in the registration queue for in-person attendance will not be secured until we receive your payment and proof of full vaccination along with your registration form.
Zoom registration. There is no cap on online attendance via Zoom, but registration is required.
CANCELLATIONS
In-person registration. All cancellations of in-person registrations will be subject to a nonrefundable $50 fee. Cancellations received on or before March 29 will be refunded the retreat fee less $50. Refunds, less $50, will be given to those canceling after March 29 only if there is another person wanting to register to attend the retreat in person.
Zoom registration. All cancellations of Zoom registrations will be subject to a nonrefundable $25 fee. The deadline for cancellation of Zoom registration is April 20; cancellations after that date will receive no refund.
ONLINE PAYMENT
As you complete the registration form, you will be asked to pay your registration fee online. If you prefer not to pay electronically, please contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com to make other arrangements.
If for any reason you are not able to pay your registration fee when you submit your registration form, you may come back to this page later and use this payment link.
After registering, you’ll receive two emails, the first confirming that we received your complete registration. Close to the time of the retreat, you’ll receive another email providing additional details for both in-person and online attendance.
For questions about registration, contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com.
Janice Cittasubha Sheppard has been practicing meditation since 1995 and teaching meditation since 2002. She has an MA and Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology (University of Wisconsin–Madison). Since retirement from higher education administration in 2012, Jan has focused on sharing her knowledge of Buddhism and deepening her meditation practice. She was trained as a Community Dharma Leader at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and as a Lay Buddhist Minister in the Theravada Thai Forest lineage by the abbots of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery. She was given the name Cittasubha by her teachers Luang Por Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. She continues practicing with Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Amaro, Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Sucitto, and other monastics in the Thai Forest lineage. She has led a weekly meditation group for 20 years, teaches meditation, leads meditation retreats, and taught a year-long intensive program, Form and Freedom in Theravada Buddhism, for individuals seeking to deepen their understanding of the Buddha’s teachings and meditation practice. She has offered mindfulness meditation instruction in various secular settings, including government offices and healthcare facilities. Since 2012, she has volunteered in Wisconsin prisons to offer secular mindfulness meditation groups, lead Buddhist services, and provide Buddhist pastoral visits.
Carole Melkonian has been practicing meditation for decades. In 1980, she spent 4 years in residence at Zen Mountain Monastery under the guidance of John Daido Loori and then 12 years studying closely with Thich Nhat Hanh, helping start his publishing company, Parallax Press. She has attended many three-month Winter Retreats at Chithurst and Amaravati monasteries and dedicated all of 2015 to practice meditation at monasteries in England and America.
She draws inspiration most deeply from the nuns and monks in the Forest Tradition of Luang Por Chah and is especially drawn to the teachings of Ajahn Sucitto and former nun Willa Thaniya Reid, with whom she continues to study.
She completed the two-year Spirit Rock/IMS Community Dharma Leader Program and in 1997 attended the MBSR training course with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli.