with
Duncan Mackay, Jane Hobday & Mark Schrader
Wangapeka Study & Retreat Centre
Want to learn to meditate? Perhaps you have tried and need some more skills and extra encouragement?
Or possibly, you already meditate and wish to develop your practice and drop into a full weekend of meditation. If so, then this weekend retreat will support you in exploring this.
The weekend will be predominantly silent and offers you the opportunity to learn, strengthen and enliven your individual practice of breathing meditation.
Alongside this there will be opportunities for sharing and questions as well as time for individual practice; including space to enjoy just ‘being’ at the Wangapeka Centre – a very beautiful environment.
Facilitator with extensive background in meditation and retreat work. Has studied closely with teachers Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche, Bonni Ross, Tarchin Hearn and Cecile Kwiat over many years. This is his fourth year of running 'Don't just Do something! Sit there!' retreat.
Facilitator with extensive experience running meditative retreats and workshops. Has a deep background in meditation and retreat work, having studied closely with teachers Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche, Bonni Ross, Tarchin Hearn and Cecile Kwiat. She is the Course Manager for this retreat.
Facilitator with extensive experience leading meditative retreats and workshops. Has practiced meditation and retreat work for many years studying with teachers Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche, Bonni Ross, Tarchin Hearn and Cecile Kwiat. He is a contributor to the dharmasphere collective at dharmasphere.org.nz.
The retreat takes place on the beautiful Wangapeka whenua nestled in stunning native forests with expansive views down the Wangapeka valley. The land itself provides a healing sanctuary surrounded by mature trees and offering the perfect environment for reflection and reconnection with nature.
Accommodation is included in the price of the retreat, with all rooms being comfortable and well-appointed with single beds and electric heating. Shared bathroom facilities are conveniently located close to all rooms.
All meals are included in this retreat to support the your well-being and focus. Our kitchen team prepares nourishing vegetarian food to sustain and delight you throughout your stay. Specific dietary requirements can be accommodated and self-catering is also possible if you prefer to bring and prepare your own food.
This teaching room is beautifully crafted and has been used for a wide variety of teaching for over 20 years. It has a wooden parquet floor and a pot belly stove to keep away winter chills. Set amongst beautiful mature trees, it offers a charming view looking down the Wangapeka valley, creating an inspiring environment for movement and meditation practices.
The original building at Wangapeka, the Main Hall serves as the heart of community life with its combined living and dining room, library, and welcoming wood burner. Tea, coffee, and snacks are freely available here throughout your stay. Whether you choose to relax in the cosy interior or step out onto the porch to enjoy the expansive views, this space invites connection and contemplation. The hall also houses the kitchen, bathroom facilities, and laundry for your convenience.
Five wisdoms, five activities, five families - investigating awakened nature while learning and unlearning what obstructs liberation in predominantly silent retreat at Wangapeka.
Join friends, co-facilitators and intimacy explorers Camila and Ross for an immersion into the mystery and practice of intimacy. Flowing between stillness and movement, inner and outer, solitude and togetherness, we offer opportunities to give, receive, and savor experiences of authentic connection with yourself, with others, and the natural world.
This five-day retreat is an exploration of the apprenticeship of grief — learning how to turn towards what is difficult, rather than away from it; learning how to be shaped by not-knowing, restraint and humility as acts of reverence.