Tarchin Hearn
October 2011 retreat
Tarchin has just finished a two week visit to Melbourne and Shoreham, guiding a 9-day Retreat at Shoreham and open sessions in the evenings at Melbourne University and at Shoreham Community Hall
Tarchin’s teachings wove around the themes of deep love and a passion for understanding: the natural way to meditate. The retreat took those participating into a greater investigation of the world within and around them – just as it is.
There are many wonderful traditions and practices of meditation. During the retreat, Tarchin journeyed with retreatants into the heart of meditation and mindfulness; weaving together classical buddhist teaching, science, ecology and the mystery of sustainable living. A form of practice was explored that grows out of the rhythms of relating that we are, a kind of formless practice, though not without structure. In a natural way to meditate, posture and schedules are of little relevance. Instead, a flow of caring inquiry was encouraged that opened bodies and minds into a place of understanding and experience which was immensely inclusive; rich with reverence and awe for this world in all its abundance.
The natural environment of tidal flats, reef, beach and coastal forest acted as temple and classroom. Daily teaching sessions were blended with opportunities for practice amidst the natural beauty of the environment. During the week Tarchin encouraged participants to carry their contemplative explorations to and from class, in their formal sessions of meditation and practice, in the ongoing daily activities of beach and bush walks, cooking and looking after living arrangements.
This retreat was a marvelous opportunity to seamlessly merge classical dharma practice and compassion filled mindfulness in the course of daily life activities; profundity in the midst of ordinariness – a true living of dharma.
Tarchin has studied and practiced in various schools of Buddhism for more than 40 years and has taught extensively in many countries. With such a wealth of life experience he is regarded as an elder in the tradition of innovative Buddhadharma. Tarchin lives in New Zealand with his partner Mary Jenkins. For more information about Tarchin see www.greendharmatreasury.org
We trust that Tarchin will accept our invitation to visit Shoreham again in 2013.
Report on 2011
In February 2011, Tarchin Hearn and Leander Kane presented, separately, two wonderful weekend courses at Shoreham to inaugurate the new Open Path teaching space. During Tarchin’s weekend, he presented the Tibetan Buddhist teaching on Chenrezi, the Buddha of Compassion, in a rich and moving blessing ceremony to both students attending the course and local neighbours.
In October 2011, Open Path hosted a 9-day retreat with Tarchin: ‘Living Dharma, the heart of Buddhist meditation and practice’. Over 24 participants attended for the first weekend, with almost 20 staying for most of the retreat.
The retreat was an experiment regarding the possibilities of the Open Path teaching space at Shoreham. Retreatants looked after their own accommodation and food and attended the Open Path teaching space on a twice daily basis for the morning and afternoon teaching sessions. In past years Open Path has offered retreats, at various dedicated retreat spaces, on a residential basis with food provided and we were unsure whether participants could integrate meditation practice along with everyday tasks. The experiment proved to be very successful. All retreatants organised accommodation for themselves within walking distance of the teaching space. Some camped at the Shoreham foreshore camping area, a truly delightful natural bush camping space overlooking the beach and the sea. Other participants rented and shared holiday houses, and some who lived nearby stayed in their own homes.
During the retreat Tarchin encouraged participants to engage their mindfulness practice formally, sitting on the beach or in other of the myriad natural bush settings nearby, walking to and from class, and in their ongoing activities of cooking and looking after their living arrangements. For some participants this included looking after children or elderly relatives.
Using classical teachings on breathing meditation as a foundation for the retreat (the Buddha’s teaching on Anapanasati), Tarchin seamlessly merged classical dharma practices with deep ecology, and compassion filled mindfulness practice – a truly living dharma. The natural bush and seaside setting of the Open Path teaching space proved to be a deeply supportive environment for the spacious openness and calm at the heart of the practice.
