U.S. Buddhist Teacher To Visit New Zealand

U.S. Buddhist Teacher To Visit New Zealand

April 2011 sees the first visit to New Zealand by U.S. insight meditation teacher Eric Kolvig. With a particular interest in grassroots dharma, building spiritual community in democratic, non-authoritarian ways, Eric has been teaching in the vipassana Buddhist tradition since 1985, leading meditation retreats and giving public talks around the U.S.

His first stop in New Zealand will be Christchurch, where he will be leading a post-quake community gathering focussing on "Mindfulness of the Mind, and Mindfulness of the Body in Challenging Times" on Sunday 3 April. Thursday 7 April sees him in Wellington at St Andrews on The Terrace speaking on the topic of "Engaging With World Tragedy", in which he will be reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

"With our minds we make our world," said Eric Kolvig. "Our minds have made most of our tragedies: personal ones like ruined relationships, social ones like injustice and war, and global ones like earthquakes and climate change." In this talk, he will be suggesting how we can master these all-important minds, moment by moment, to create well-being on our planet, and also in our societies and our personal lives.

From Friday 8 through Friday 15 April 2011, Eric will be leading a meditation retreat at Riverslea Retreat Centre, Otaki, examining "Practice for Hard Times".

Information on all these events can be found at www.abet.net.nz/eric-kolvig-2011/. Some of Eric's writings and other material can be found on his website at www.erickolvig.com. Of particular interest are his reflections on a journey to the Cook Islands in search of his mother's roots, and his piece "Crazy and Free', on living as a gay man with mental illness.

ENDS

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