Stardust, Starlight with Bonni Ross
What’s a Human Being made of? What are we for?
This is a love song to the Star One,
and all the precious friends and worthy opponents
who hold Buddhadharma in their hearts to
nurture and protect islands of sanity
for the benefit of all.
January 10 to 24, 2025
On our planet, Sakyamuni Buddha declared that human beings are the only life form that is capable of enlightenment. This capacity in human consciousness gives us immense power, which supports selfish or altruistic activity. All the goodness and distortion we experience in this reality, on this world, is the result of values-based choices made by human beings, the alpha species on our planet.
We’ll start with singularity, a dimensionless point containing all the elements necessary for the creation of a Universe, some 13.8 billion years ago. We’ll travel at warp speed through Universe unfolding, culminating in 2025, our here and now. With experiential understanding through mind expansion — in the boundless states of meditation, embodied feeling and conceptual knowledge — we may glimpse the vast interconnected expanse from which human consciousness is woven.
This retreat will be predominantly silent. In addition to meditation instruction, individual and group practice and opportunity to ask questions, there will be time to immerse ourselves in the supportive natural environment of the Wangapeka.
The terrain is quite rugged and participants should be in reasonably good physical and mental health to enjoy the challenges, inner and outer, of life at Wangapeka.
About Bonni Ross
Bonni Ross has taught at the Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre for 30 years and is a deeply respected Centre Elder. The Dharma teachings she shares, both in the community and through leading meditation retreats, stem from decades of meditation experience and intensive study with her main teacher Namgyal Rinpoche. Encouragement from His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, teachings from many great Buddhist masters, as well as innovative artists, scientists, philosophers and mystery writers have fuelled the quest. With her partner, Matthew Eades, she founded the Sunshine Coast Retreat Centre in 2002 before moving to Nelson in 2017 where she has initiated, guided and supported a wide range of innovative ways to share teachings of liberation. Bonni is a mother and grandmother with a deeply practical, integrated presentation of ancient wisdom.
Costs
Costs include accommodation in a single room, meals, cooks fee and resource fee. It does not include dana to the teacher.
Rooms and huts
Members: $1320
Non members: $1460
Camping
Members: $1026
Non members: $1068
The Sangha Support Fund may be able to help with accommodation costs in cases of financial hardship. Sangha Support information.
About dana
These priceless teachings can’t be quantified in monetary terms. Liberation teachings have always been given freely by Bonni.
An offering can be made to the teacher, traditionally at the beginning of the retreat, and is a profound practice in itself. Giving can help us open; and through an open-hearted state of receptivity, we can find ourselves more able to receive.
Giving as generously as you can enables Bonni to continue sharing the precious Buddhadharma for the benefit of all.
Information and Registration
For further information contact the course manager Jane jane.hobday17@gmail.com
To register please fill out our online registration form
If using Paypal please add 5% of the total cost and include with your payment to cover Paypal’s fees.
Please consider becoming a Wangapeka member – click here for details.