Every year Deer Park offers our beloved Family Retreat. It is a time where families from all over come together with the aspiration to cultivate their understanding and love. Family Retreat offers a unique space for each member of the family to deepen their experience of the practice. Parents and adults are given the opportunity to explore the practice through activities such as Dharma Sharing, Total Relaxation, and Dharma Talks, while younger ones enjoy learning the art of happiness through games, mindfulness activities, and sharings of their own.
The 2019 Family Retreat, “Harmony in our Home. Joy in the World”, was aptly named. It was a time of deepening understanding and love in and amongst families, and because we are aware of our inter-being nature, we know that the peace and joy of the family is the peace and joy of the world.
This year, in an effort to offer the practice to as many families as possible, we had not the usual one, but two weeks of Family Retreat. Because the Retreat was twice as long, we put twice as much hard and loving work into making sure it was the best retreat we could offer. Part of this offering, the Dharma talks, were recorded and are now being posted to the Deer Park Dharma cast. New Dharma talks and retreat recordings will be posted Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Whether you were physically present for this year’s Family Retreat or not, we hope you enjoy and benefit from these heartfelt talks. May these talks help bring harmony and joy to your family, and to the world.