“Each one of us is a unique reflection of the universe.”
-Catherine Pawasarat Sensei
Join us this holiday season for two weeks of Teachings with Sensei, time with Sangha and an eight-day Foundation Work retreat.
Two-Week Retreat: December 22nd – January 4th
Optional Arrival/Departure Day (for a one-week retreat): December 28th
Registration Deadline: Sunday, December 8th
Note: This retreat is open to existing Sangha only. Prerequisite: In the past two-years, you have attended at least one in-person retreat with Catherine Sensei.
Foundation Work & sangha Retreat
The best gift that we can give our Teacher is ‘doing the work.’
In light of Qapel’s passing, Catherine Sensei had the beautiful idea of spending this holiday season working on our Foundation Practice together in community.
Already finished your Foundation work? No problem! You’re welcome to use this time focusing on your current practice.
The retreat also includes an End of Life Celebration for Qapel, a New Year’s Celebration and some days enjoying time in community.
Schedule
Here is our schedule (some details may be adjusested slightly).
Sunday, Dec. 22nd: Main arrival day
Monday, Dec. 23rd: Community Sangha Time
Tuesday, Dec. 24th: Community Sangha Time
Wednesday, Dec. 25th – Saturday, Dec. 28th: Foundation Practice
Saturday, Dec 28th: Optional Arrival or Departure Day (everyone staying continues with Foundation Practice)
Sunday, Dec. 29th- Wednesday, Jan 1st: Foundation Practice
Thursday, Jan. 2nd: Community Sangha Time & New Year’s Celebration
Friday, Jan. 3rd: Community Sangha Time
Saturday, Jan. 4th: Main Departure Day
Meet our Teacher
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei began her spiritual practices in earnest in her early 20s, when she struggled to make sense of and overcome personal suffering and international environmental and social justice challenges. She became a student of metaphysics, Western spiritual traditions, and the ayahuasca sacraments in the 1990s.
For 26 years Catherine Sensei trained daily with Qapel Doug Duncan in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003.
With Qapel she co-founded Clear Sky Retreat Center and Planet Dharma and is a lineage holder for these teachings. She supports the spiritual underpinnings of social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship for spiritual practitioners. She worked as an advocacy photojournalist and studied traditional Japanese arts (including koto, shamisen, kyogen) in Kyoto for 20 years, culminating in her landmark work GionFestival.org.
Since the early 2000s Sensei has provided dharma training and taught the path of awakening to hundreds of students, together with Qapel and on her own. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life, Sensei also draws on generative living (a.k.a. sustainability) and the arts.
About Clear Sky
Located in the BC rocky mountains, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature.
Founded by Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world.
In adherence with our quadruple bottom line, we source our food as local and organic as possible.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW on how to get here, what to bring and what to expect.
FAQs
Dana:
Registration fees cover food, accommodation and the technology needed to offer the retreat online. The Teachings are freely given on the basis of dāna.
You may have come across this elsewhere in the form of “pay from the heart”. Dāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”. With dāna, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. It’s our joy to offer this course, and we trust you’ll match our time, energy, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us.
The dharma has been built on generosity. No-one is excluded for lack of funds but it is also extremely beneficial to give as much as you are able
Typically people give in a range of $120-$500 USD for a course.
As we’re committed to ensuring everyone has access to the Dharma, please feel comfortable to give less if you are not financially secure. Another form of giving dāna is to offer service, and if you are interested in providing support in a non-financial way, we invite you to contact us.
Conversely, if you are financially secure, we invite you to generate merit by providing more financial support to the Triple Gem. Contributions like these make the difference in supporting our teachers, teachings, and center.
Learn more about the practice of dāna here.
We aim to make our retreats as accessible as possible.
As a centre run entirely by Karma Yoga (selfless service), retreat fees only cover food, accommodation and the equipment required to offer them online.
The teachings themselves are offered on the basis of Dāna (pay-from-the-heart).
For some, this is still a barrier of entry.
If you are seeking financial assistance to attend a retreat, please complete a Scholarship Application form.
Specific times may change – this is a rough guide (MST)
6:30 – 7:30 AM: Walk &/or Personal Practice
7:30 – 8:15 AM: Breakfast: Prepare, eat, clean up
8:15 – 8:45 AM: Walk &/or Personal Practice
9:00 – 10:00 AM: Class with Teachers
10:00 – 10:30 AM: Walk
10:30 – 11:30 AM: Group Practice led by Sangha
11:30 – 12:30 PM: Personal Practice
12:30 – 1:30 PM: Lunch: Prepare, eat, clean up
1:30 – 3:00 PM: Personal Practice
3:00 – 4:00 PM: Group Practice led by Sangha
4:00 – 5:30 PM: Personal Practice
5:30 – 7:00 PM: Dinner: prepare, eat, clean up
7:00 – 7:30 PM: Walk &/or Personal Practice
7:30 – 8:30 PM: Group Practice and Q & A with Teachers
8:30 – Beyond: Personal Practice & bed
Click here for details on how to get here, what to bring and what to expect.
Note: In the unlikely scenario that this retreat is cancelled, we recommend purchasing refundable travel fares.
We recognize and respect plant medicine as an important part of some people’s spiritual paths.
Please note, the meditation practice on this retreat is very powerful. Consuming mind-altering substances will detract from your experience and could cause negative side-effects.
We ask that you refrain from microdosing or consuming mind-altering substances during this retreat and in the days immediately following it.
Registration Deadline is Sunday, December 8th.
Questions? Please contact maureen@clearskycenter.org