OBS RETREATS

Ottawa Buddhist Society

Residential Retreat with Ajahn Sona

October 25-30, 2009

Seven Factors in Five Days: A Brief Excursion through the
Seven Factors of Enlightenment

The focus here is on the upper end of the 8 fold path...how to cultivate
the garden of mind to receive ongoing nourishment...and possibly have
enough left over to give some away!

 Ajahn Sona from Birken Monastery, Kamloops, BC will be leading a 5 day retreat October 25 to October 30, 2009. Ajahn Sona has been a monk in the Theravada tradition for 20 years. The retreat will be held at Galilee Centre, a lovely 19^th century manor house located in Arnprior on the banks of the Ottawa River.

Ven. Bhikkhu Sona - Abbot Born in Canada, Ven. Sona's background as a layperson is in classical guitar performance. His encounter with Buddhist wisdom as a young man initiated a spiritual journey that led him to become a lay hermit for several years. He subsequently ordained as a Theravada monk under Ven. Gunaratana, at the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, where his first years of training took place. Ven. Sona further trained for over three years at monasteries following Ajahn Chah in northeast Thailand, especially Wat Pah Nanachat. Upon his return to Canada in 1994 he helped found Birken Forest Monastery near Pemberton, BC. As its spiritual guide, Ajahn ("teacher") Sona has led the monastery through each stage of its growth. He established Birken (or, Sītavana, 'cool forest') in its final location south of Kamloops BC in 2001.  Ven. Sona has ample experience leading meditation retreats and lecturing on Buddhist meditation and practice, both in Canada and abroad. His teachings combine tried-and-true Buddhist wisdom with modern commonsense.

Location: Galilee Centre, 398 John Street North, Arnprior Ontario http://www.galileecentre.com Cost: $435.00 Date: Sunday October 25, 10:00 am – Friday October 30, 1:00 pm Registration forms are available in .doc and .pdf formats: AjahnSonaRetreatFormOctober2009.pdf AjahnSonaRetreatFormOctober2009.doc