The Wings of Awakening: A One-Day Retreat on Mayne Island

The path of practice asks us to open to the full range of experience. When we start to pay attention we notice that we are constantly being buffeted by the eight winds of fortune: loss and gain, pain and pleasure, fame and disrepute, praise and blame. Even in one day we may experience all of these. Anything can happen, and often it does. How do we nurture a strong foundation in our practice so that we can ride with the changing currents in our lives, make wise decisions, and remain connected and alive to the beauty and wonder around us?

Margo has been a student of the Insight tradition of Theravada Buddhism since 1986. She was a staff member at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts and has practiced in the United States and in Burma with Western and Asian teachers, including Sayadaw U Lakkhana, Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald and Tskokyni Rinpoche. She is also a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School where she studied Pali and Sanskrit. Drawing on her background as a storyteller, Margo infuses her teaching with a love of metaphor and story as tools for sharpening perception and touching the heart.

Registration for this one-day retreat is $10. These teachings are considered priceless and no charge is made for them. Offerings to the teacher are welcome, however. The practice of dana, which means "generosity" is an opportunity to support the teacher's expression of the Dharma and to allow her to continue practicing and teaching as a way of earning their livelihood.

This one-day retreat will be preceded by an evening performance of storytelling at the lighthouse. $10 suggested donation. To register for either the storytelling or the retreat, or both, please contact Donna Williams at dwillow40@hotmail.com