Friendship in life and on the spiritual path

28 September – 1 October 2023
Mindfulness retreat in nature
with Julia Ramanoelina and Bar Zecharya
at Pardesa practice center, Italy

The Buddha’s attendant Ananda once said to him: “it seems to me that half of the spiritual life is good friendship”. The Buddha exclaimed, “not so, Ananda! The entire spiritual life is good friendship!”

How can I find a true friend, one who is worthy of my trust, who shares and nourishes my joy, who understands and supports me in hard times? How can I be a true friend to people I feel drawn to, and to the members of my community? We could say, the spiritual path, the path of engagement to heal the world, is one and the same thing as the community of engaged friends who help save humans, animals, plants and minerals. In a Buddhist context, this means that the Sangha jewel isn’t different from the Dharma jewel. The very moment we take refuge in a path of truth, goodness, beauty and happiness (Dharma), we are at the same time fully embracing everyone (Sangha) who strives to make this happiness real, and the Sangha is fully embracing us whether we know it or not.

In this retreat we’ll explore the importance of friendship in our lives and we’ll practice ways of bringing more depth to our relationships. We’ll share sitting and walking meditation outdoors, Dharma talks, mindful eating, sharing circles and time in nature. The “Contrafforte Pliocenico” nature reserve, where Pardesa is located, is an ideal location for our experience.

No specific skills or experience are required. Retreatants are expected to participate fully in the community life of the practice center. This includes arriving on time for activities and respecting the practices of silence, meditation and sharing. All these elements enrich and are an integral part of our retreat experience.

The retreat will be conducted in Italian and English, with translation when necessary.

Our teachers

Julia Ramanoelina is a Dharma teacher from the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the international mindfulness practice center Plum Village. She lived as a nun in Plum Village for 12 years and has traveled throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia to help lead retreats and meditation activities for adults, teenagers and children. She is currently active in Montagne du Dharma practice center, located in the national park of the Cévennes in France. Julia cares deeply and concretely about nature and about people; and she focuses her attention each day to embody the spiritual name she received from Thich Nhat Hanh in 2008: true harmony.

Bar Zecharya, Dharma teacher in the zen tradition founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, serves as the caretaker of Pardesa since 2018. Bar encountered permaculture in 2014, finding it a concrete expression of a spiritual path that gives primary importance to our interconnection with the Earth. Topics dear to him include: how we relate to the Earth and to the climate crisis; practicing in contexts and moments of conflict; understanding and working with the mind, the ego and consciousness; living fully our aspirations; and the art of stopping and healing.

Daily schedule

The schedule may vary. As an example:

5:45 am wake up
6:30 am formal morning meditation
7:30 am breakfast
8:45 am morning circle / presenting the day
9:00 am Dharma talk
10:30 am walking meditation
12:00 pm lunch
2:30 pm deep relaxation
3:30 pm community practice (sharing, service, etc)
7:00 pm dinner
8:30 pm formal evening meditation
noble silence (until 8:45 am the following day)