Beautiful Liberations: a Daylong Retreat to Brighten the Heart with Ajahn Nisabho & Ayyā Ahimsa

Join Ajahn Nisabho and Ayyā Ahiṃsā for a full day of meditation and Dharma teachings on Sunday, July 5, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at Harmony Woods Retreat Center outside Spokane, WA (11507 S Keeney Rd, Spokane, WA). Please note that Clear Mountain’s weekly Saturday gathering in Seattle will continue as usual.

Inspired by the Buddha’s encouragement to brighten the heart through attention to sublime qualities, this retreat will explore loving-kindness (mettā), rejoicing (muditā), and the joyful supports that uplift the mind (pamojjā). By turning toward the beautiful in both meditation and everyday life, we strengthen the mind and support its freedom from suffering.

Schedule

• 9:00 – 10:00 am: Brief welcome, introduction, and guided meditation
• 10:00 – 10:30 am: Dharma talk
• 10:30 – 11:30 am: Sitting and walking meditation
• 11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Sack lunch
• 12:30 – 1:00 pm: Rest / free time
• 1:00 – 2:00 pm: Guided meditation and Q&A
• 2:00 – 3:30 pm: Walking and sitting meditation, with individual interviews
• 3:30 – 4:00 pm: Dharma talk
• 4:00 – 4:30 pm: Sitting meditation
• 4:30 – 5:00 pm: Closing comments and blessing practice
• 5:00 – 6:00 pm: Informal teatime, clean-up, and time to connect with old and new friends

Meal

To keep the day simple, there will be no potluck this year. Participants are invited to bring a sack lunch. Those who wish may also offer food for the monastics’ meal at the start of the lunch break.

What to Bring

• A meditation cushion; extra cushions and chairs will be available at the venue
• A blanket, if you tend to get cold while sitting still
• A sack lunch
• A sun hat and sunscreen for outdoor walking meditation
• Your intention to practice in community

Donations

All teachings are offered free of charge. If you feel inspired to support Harmony Woods in hosting the retreat, you may do so through their website. Contributions to Clear Mountain are also welcome through the Friends of Clear Mountain website. These gifts help sustain future offerings and the continued growth of the Dharma.

Biographies

Ajahn Nisabho finished college in 2012 and then left his home state of Washington to ordain as a Buddhist monk in Thailand. He received full ordination the following spring under Ajahn Anan, a senior disciple of the respected meditation master Ajahn Chah. He spent the following years training in forest monasteries around the world with teachers including Ajahn Anan, Ajahn Pasanno, and Ajahn Jayasaro. Through this training, he came to see the tradition as a faithful expression of the original Buddhist path, capable of bearing great fruit even in modern life. In the summer of 2021, he returned to Seattle to help plant the first seeds of Clear Mountain Monastery.

Ayyā Ahiṃsā took Anagarika Precepts in January 2012 and Samaneri Precepts in 2013 with Ayya Medhanandi at Sati Saraniya Hermitage. In 2016, she joined the community of nuns at Aloka Vihara and received Bhikkhuni Ordination in 2017, with Ayya Gunasari Theri as her preceptor. Since 2022, Ayya Ahimsa has studied with Beth Upton as her meditation teacher.