Sravasti Abbey’s ‘Good Grief’ Retreat Offers Healing and Transformation
Please consider donating to the FāVS Fund for Social Justice Reporting.
News Brief | FāVS News
Sravasti Abbey will host a “Good Grief” retreat this weekend offering resources to work with loss.
“Loss — of a loved one, a pet, a job, a home, a skill or ability and so on — usually gives rise to the painful experience of grief, which can last for years or decades,” according the Abbey in a Sept. 23 press release. “Grief is painful, and it needs to be acknowledged and healed, not suppressed. But grief also offers an opportunity for spiritual growth and transformation.”
Venerable Sangye Khadro, a well-known Buddhist nun, teacher and author will lead this residential weekend. The retreat begins Friday, Oct. 6 at 3 p.m. and ends Sunday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m.
Buddhist teachings acknowledge loss and the suffering it can bring. They also explain the causes of these painful experiences, the possibility of becoming free from them and how to do that.
Through teachings, meditation and discussion, the course focuses on understanding the underlying causes of grief and identifies practices that enable us to learn from grief and transform it.
These methods can be useful to people from other faiths as well.
The principal teacher of the series, Khadro, was born in California and ordained as a Buddhist nun at Kopan Monastery in Nepal in 1974. She has studied Buddhism with many great masters including Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey and Khensur Jampa Tegchok.
She is the author of several books, including “How to Meditate: A Practical Guide,” now in its 17th printing.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Abbey is a Buddhist monastery in the Tibetan tradition.
The retreat is offered freely, but an offering is welcomed. Those interested can register for the event on the website to attend online or in person.
