Finding Our Balance Amidst the 8 Worldly Winds
with John Orr
October 31 - November 3, 2019
During the course of our lives we all experience many ups and downs. The Buddha named eight experiences that we may be familiar with called “The Worldly Winds.”
They are: Pleasure and Pain,
Gain and Loss,
Praise and Blame,
Fame and Disrepute.
These 8 winds and experiences blow within and all around each of us. No one experiences only pleasure without experiencing some form of physical or emotional pain. Sometimes we experience gain in our lives and at other times we experience loss. People may praise and then on the other hand they may blame us. In our popular culture fame and disrepute seem to walk hand in hand. At times we may feel blown off balance as we experience these ever-changing “Worldly Winds”.
The Dharma and our meditation practice are a means to being centered and clear as these winds blow. Sometimes, in life, we fall down, but like a toddler learning to walk, we get back up and we try again. Gradually we find increasing equanimity with the changing winds of life and true peace within.
Instruction in Insight Meditation and heart-centered meditations will be offered. Dharma talks and chanting from various spiritual traditions will also be a part of the weekend, which is conducted in Noble Silence. All are welcome to attend!
Leader
John Orr received Theravada Buddhist ordination while living in Thailand and India as a monk for eight years in the 1970’s. He has been teaching meditation and leading retreats internationally since 1980 and has also practiced in the Taoist, Dzogbchen and Hindu Yoga traditions. He teaches through the New Hope Sangha in Durham, North Carolina and Deep Spring Center Ann Arbor, Michigan. He recently retired from teaching for three decades at Duke University.
Learn more about John Orr