Over the the past four years Open Path has continued to develop as a vehicle for the teaching and sharing of Buddhadharma in its largest sense. Co-ordinated by us, Bill Genat and Kathryn Shain, Open Path has convened a wide range of Dharma activities including formal meditation sessions, body movement work, explorations of the senses, Tibetan and other Buddhist teachings and practices and has hosted visiting teachers conducting weekend workshops and week-long residential retreats. Many of these activities have taken place from our teaching studio in Hawthorn.
Early in 2011 we moved from Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula and set up the Open Path teaching space in Marine Parade, Shoreham (a little over an hour by car from the Hawthorn venue). In February of that year, we hosted two inaugural weekends of teachings at the teaching space by visiting teachers of Buddhadharma, Tarchin Hearn and Leander Kane, both from New Zealand. In October, Tarchin returned to conduct a very successful nine-day residential retreat drawing upon the peace of the sea and the beautiful natural bushland surrounds of Shoreham, a wonderful space for this purpose. Meanwhile we continued to teach, on a more limited basis, from the Hawthorn studio.
From the beginning of 2012, Open Path ceased to operate from Hawthorn. We decided to devote our time to teaching and exploring Buddhadharma from the teaching space in Shoreham. Here, we have started to convene regular teaching sessions together with weekend workshops and retreats. This space provides the possibility of incorporating a deeper appreciation of nature into the continuing explorations of living dharma.
We hope everyone who has shared in the explorations at Hawthorn and who has provided support in so many ways for both the ongoing activities of Open Path and for visiting teachers, in particular Tarchin and Leander, will be able to extract themselves from the sticky commitments that go with city living, leave town for refreshment and respite and continue to share these rich explorations. We look forward to our continuing engagement with the Open Path sangha, all of you who have shared and developed an ongoing interest in the exploration of Buddhadharma together with us. We look forward to continuing friendships and further developing the circle of Dharma friends here in Shoreham during 2012.
Bill and Kathryn