Dates: April 2020 – November 2020. 
Sliding Scale: $1800 – $1400. Code LD1T20.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This eight-month program is for meditators / Buddhist practitioners, wishing to engage wholeheartedly in a deep exploration of their dharma practice through the study and teaching of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. Using the classic Buddhist teachings of Sila, Samadhi, Pana (Ethics, Meditation, and Wisdom) we will look at how we cultivate mindfulness, kindness, and balance given the inner stresses of modern life and the outer social challenges of inequity and the pressure of climate change.

This will be a practical, experiential, and meditative program, through the exploration of the Buddha’s teachings on cultivating the eight limbs of the Dharma path, namely, Wise Effort, Wise Concentration, Wise Mindfulness, Wise Understanding, Wise Motivation, Wise Action, Wise Livelihood and Wise Communication. Through the support of these teachings we will inquire how to live and respond to life with awareness, wisdom, and compassion.

In this journey, we will create a vibrant learning community to study, meditate, inquire into these key areas of Buddhist teaching, and how to make these teachings practically relevant in our current social milieu. Our meditative path of practice and what is happening around us politically, socially and globally are not separate. As we explore the Eightfold Path teachings, we will apply what was taught 2600 years ago to what we live and experience in our contemporary lives.

PROGRAM DETAILS
• Dates: April – November 2020.
• Commitment: four 2-day non-residential retreats, 1 residential retreats, online conferences, + self-study.
• This program may potentially serve as a foundation for more extensive practitioner programs and training.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS & TUITION
• Program tuition sliding scale: $1800 – $1400. Partial scholarship sliding scale: $1200 – $700
• Prerequisites:
– -2 years of meditation practice
– -10 days of meditation day-retreats or silent residential retreats, or a combination.

PROGRAM DATES
Non-Residential* Retreats held in the Community Meditation Center:
• April 24-25, 9:30 am-4:30 pm, 2020
• May 15-16, 9:30 am-4:30 pm, 2020
• June 26-27, 9:30 am-4:30 pm, 2020
• October 9-10, 9:30 am-4:30 pm, 2020

Residential Retreat held in the Upper Retreat Hall:
• November 16, 2 pm -November 19, 4 pm, 2020

Monthly 1-hour online video conferences:
• July 22, 6 pm
• August 26, 6 pm
• September 16, 6 pm

Accommodations are not available at Spirit Rock for non-residential retreats. Although Spirit Rock staff have not personally viewed or vetted them, as a courtesy to our out-of-town guests, we suggest you check out these nearby accommodations.

TEACHERS:
Mark Coleman has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1984. He is on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and has been teaching Insight Meditation retreats since 1997. He is a psychotherapist, life-coach, and mindfulness consultant to corporations. He is an avid outdoor enthusiast and passionate about combining the forces of meditation, silence, and nature.
Mark’s books include Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery and Make Peace with your Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Your Inner Critic and From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness.

JoAnna Hardy has been exploring and practicing multiple traditions since 1999. In 2005, her focus landed on Buddhism and Vipassana meditation. Helping communities and individuals that don’t typically have access to traditional dharma settings, social/racial justice, and building multicultural community is top on her list of priorities. She is an empowered teacher in the Spirit Rock, IMS lineage. For more information, visit www.joannahardy.org.

APPLICATION & PAYMENT TIMELINE
• Application period: December 6, 2019 – January 31, 2020.
• Notifications sent out by February 28, 2020.
• First payment due by March 15.
• Final payment due by April 15.

CANCELLATION FEES (for Professional Training Programs:)
• 50% of fees: >4 weeks from programs start
• No refund: <4 weeks from program start

QUESTIONS?
Please email the Trainings Program Coordinator