Buddhayana Forest Retreat


Welcome to Buddhayana ! www.buddhayana.ns.ca

"The Forest Tradition offers nothing
and asks for nothing in return ..."

Buddhayana Forest Retreat is a Buddhist Meditation Retreat Center, set in the beautiful mixed hardwood forest of Nova Scotia's Cobequid Highlands. Buddhayana Forest Retreat offers FREE retreat cabins for temporary, self directed, intensive meditation retreat, in the Buddhist ascetic forest tradition of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Thai forest monks, Tibetan mountain yogis, Zen and Taoist hermits and others who have retreated to the quiet and solace of the nature, to engage in a sincere and disciplined practice of meditation. Buddhayana is an non aligned, non sectarian Buddhist Meditation retreat center. Retreatants bring and practice their own particular meditation practices. Buddhayana is not a teaching center, it is a practice retreat center ... The Buddha was unequivocal, Life is short, this precious opportunity is slipping through our fingers ... Having heard the Dharma, been given a practice, now come to the Forest and get down to it ! "Death is real, the timing uncertain, THIS body is a corpse ! Practice as if your hair were on fire !" the Buddha Only by awakening ourselves may we save the Earth and be of real service to the Family of Man ... Retreatants at Buddhayana agree to practice the first Ten Buddhist Precepts during their retreat. (including Noble Silence) NO SERVICES Buddhayana only offers simple, housekeeping retreat cabins and a Meditation Hall explicitly for personal solitary Meditation practice ! Retreatants should expect to be self directed and self motivated, in their practice and in their personal upkeep. Retreatants MUST come to Buddhayana physically and psychologically prepared to look after themselves ! There are NO services offered at Buddhayana, ONLY Meditation cabins in the woods ... FACILITIES The housekeeping cabins are simple, rustic and comfy, while the forest setting is quiet and inspiring. Retreatants cook and generally fend for themselves. Cabins are ten foot square single rooms, with a bed and kitchen counter, no electricity, no running water, and no indoor plumbing, no refrigeration (Retreatants utilize beer coolers c well water) no internet or cellphone reception. Cooking and lighting is by propane. Cabins have kitchenettes equiped with two burner propane hot plates and a bare necessity of pots, pans and utensils. Beds consist of two inch, high density foam pads on plywood platforms. Otherwise, Retreatants must bring their own bedding. With a hundred square foot floor plan, the cabins just large enough for prostration practice. There is room to set up a shrine. Retreatants have access to miles of hiking / cross country ski trails. The cabins are 100 to 300 meter walk-ins, so retreatants must be able and prepared to carry their gear in and their garbage out ... as well as to carry their water. Drinking water is ground water drawn from dug wells, with a full population of Forest ground water organisms ... (if you are of delicate constitution. treat the water accordingly ...) Retreatants sponge bathe in their cabins at their sinks, and utilize pit privy outhouses. Scheduling a Retreat Cabins are unheated ! so Retreatants must time their retreats according whether they feel that they can survive the ambient seasonal temperatures ! Retreatants are invited to enter retreat at any time and stay as long as they wish. Retreatants should commit to remain in retreat for their own predetermined length of time ... To enter retreat, you MUST arrange to be met by the Retreat Manager, to be "Shown In". please communicate by Email at least a week in advance Email may ONLY be checked once a week ! FEES Cabins at Buddhayana Forest Retreat are "offered", FREE ! that is, we do NOT charge a fee for retreats, as per the Buddhadharma's 2500 year tradition of Dana generosity and Buddhayana Retreat Society's registered Charter If you would like to support the development & upkeep of Buddhayana Forest Retreat, or the retreat practise of future yogis, then we will gladly accept your donations. Unfortunately, Buddhayana Retreat Society is not a registered charity under Canada Revenue Agency regulations, so, we cannot offer tax reciepts for for your donations. All donations at Buddhayana Forest Retreat are annonymous, the merit belongs to the Dharma ... RULES In support of each retreatant's individual practice, and in support of the overall demeanor and retreat energy of Buddhayana, all retreatants at Buddhayana Forest Retreat will be expected to keep the traditional, twenty-five hundred year old Ten Buddhist Practice Precepts, Abstaining from causing harm Abstaining from coveting Abstaining from sex Abstaining from talking Abstaining from intoxication Abstaining from eating after the midday meal Abstaining from business Abstaining from entertainments Abstaining from vanities Abstaining from slouching & slumping Otherwise, The nature of your meditation practice is completely up to you. On a practical note ... For the purpose of preemptive fire safety, there will be NO CANDLES - NO CAMP FIRES - NO SMOKING at Buddhayana Forest Retreat. There is no storage at Buddhayana Forest Retreat. Any thing left behind after your retreat will be considered as discarded or donated, and will be disposed of immediately. SERVICES "... what part of NO services do you NOT understand ?" Retreatants MUST come prepared, physically and psychologically to be self sufficient, to look after themselves. Retreatants cook for themselves. There is no commissary and there will be no shopping service. Retreatants are expected to bring all their own necessary groceries and toiletries. (including toilet paper !) One day per week, Retreatants may schedule an open / shopping day, When Retreatants may leave the Retreat, if desired, to obtain groceries and supplies. Retreatants must bring their own bedding and meditation cushions. There is no telephone, no internet, no cellphone reception and no electricity at Buddhayana Forest Retreat. We do offer a propane tank exchange system. CONTACT WEBPAGE www.buddhayana.ns.ca EMAIL buddhayana@hotmail.com (please enter "retreat info" in subject heading or you won't get read !) SURFACE MAIL Buddhayana Forest Retreat PO Box 82, River John Nova Scotia, Canada BOK INO DIRECTIONS Buddhayana Forest Retreat is set in the Cobequid Highlands, which run east and west, along Nova Scotia's North Shore, south of, and across the Northumberland Strait from the province of Prince Edward Island. get a roadmap !!! From Truro, Nova Scotia take 311 N, 326 N, and 256 E. in West Branch take Loganville Road 1 mile, (that's IN West Branch !!! be careful !!!) turn right onto James Murray Road, and 1 kilometer to the red "Buddhayana HQ" building. if you do get lost ask the neighbors for Jeff Mitton ... "Seek out your own salvation with diligence !" the Buddha