7:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Netloft
All wisdom and knowledge in world religions, faith traditions and philosophies are rooted in the same universal story.
Stories from diverse traditions – Vendanta Philosophy (Hindu), Zen Buddhist, Christian and Cosmic (Scientific) – will be heard as we explore this common thread.
Presenters will share their stories from diverse spiritual traditions. We will discuss how these stories relate to us and to our stories and spiritual paths. How they can impact our actions will also be explored.
Presenters
Pandit Tejomaya
Former Gabriolan for several years.
I am a Priest in the 5,000-year-old Himalayan Yoga Tradition, a forest dweller (vanaprastha) living a simple life of devotion on Lasqueti Island, BC.
Vedanta is the ancient spiritual philosophy of non-duality.
From the ferry, we can easily view the dance of waves upon the ocean and contemplate how each wave, while seemingly individual, is not separate from the ocean from which it arises. The quest of a Vedantin is to experience the entire manifest world in exactly the same way, seeing the Divine essence of everything and, in so doing, realizing the oneness of all. When Tejomaya was introduced to this ancient philosophical/spiritual tradition, it gave words to his mystical experience and set him on the path to realize the True nature and oneness of all things.
Mary Wilson and Robbie Huston
Gabriolans since 2005, Robbie began practicing Zen Buddhism in the 1970s, and Mary in the 1990s.
We are not teachers in our tradition, but we are happy to share what we have learned from the generosity of our many teachers over the years.
They will share a series of images often found in Buddhist temples, the ox-herding pictures. This series of images is a metaphor for Buddhist meditative practice and its place in the world. They tell the story of a person who catches, tames, and finally transcends the ox, a metaphor for our true nature. Our true nature as described in our tradition is not a small, separate self. Instead, it is the result of co-creation: we are constantly being created by, and creating, our world. As a natural consequence, the final image is called “in the marketplace with helping hands”.
Maureen Wild, SC
Gabriolan since 2007. I am a Catholic Sister and a Retreat Guide on Themes of Spiritual Ecology and Living Cosmology (the story of our universe).
“Everything is integral and interacts with everything else. This means that nothing is itself without everything else. There is a commonality, an integrity, an intimacy of the universe with itself.”
Thomas Berry
One of Maureen’s mentors and wisdom figures was Catholic monk, scholar of world religions, geo-logian, and cosmic storyteller, Thomas Berry. She will approach the theme of ‘everything belongs’ through the lens of our cosmic identity that we share with all other beings. It’s an amazing story of our belonging that helps us see, with evolutionary eyes, that all creation is beloved and charged with Spirit and with possibility to even greater becoming.
Cost
Friday evening – $20.00
Saturday – $35.00
Whole forum – $50.00
bursaries available, no one will be turned away
Lunch
available Saturday for $10 if ordered before the 25th
Schedule
Friday, March 27
6:30 Registration
7:00 Welcome
7:30 Pandit Tejomaya
Spiritual Journey and story(s) from Vedanta Philosophy
Guided meditation
8:50 Closing
Saturday, March 28
9:30 Registration
10:00 Mary Wilson & Robbie Huston
Spiritual Journey and story(s) from Zen Buddhism
11:00 Maureen Wild
Spiritual Journey and story(s) from Christian & the Cosmic
12:00 Lunch
BYO or Pre-order for $10 when registering
12:45 Small Group Conversation
on key questions initiated by the presenters
re: universal belonging and implications for actions
1:45 Panel with presenters for Q & A
challenges and opportunities
2:30 Reflection and closing
Reserve Your Spot
Bookings are closed for this event.
