Be Wise, Go Kind, Live Fully: Creativity and the Essence of Kindness

Connecting through Meditation, Poetry, Dialogue, and Song

Over two weekends, we will connect to the innate heart of kindness that resides within each of us through meditation, poetry, art, dialogue and song. Using The Aspiration of Bodhicitta as our guide, we’ll explore the myriad of ways we can connect with others even when we feel most disconnected. Mitra Mark Power will be our guide, along with guest Karunikas and facilitators to help us bring these concepts into vivid and creative practice in each moment.

An Aspiration of Bodhicitta is a short Buddhist prayer that expresses the essence of genuine kindness. The aspiration evokes the heartfelt desire that all living beings experience supreme joy and loving kindness, that they are free from fear, and finally are freed from all suffering and confusion.

Weekend 1:
Weekend One will be hybrid: onsite at the Nalandabodhi Toronto Centre and online.
Over this weekend, we will explore the first two stanzas of The Aspiration of Bodhicitta, focusing on Joy and Loving-kindness through poetry and collage, playfully examining how our inspiration and creative expression arise from the play of form and emptiness.

Weekend 2:
Weekend Two will be hybrid: onsite at the Nalandabodhi Montreal Centre and online
Over this second weekend, we will continue our exploration of the final two stanzas of The Aspiration of Bodhicitta focusing on the themes of Freedom from Fear and Bodhicitta, the courageous kindness that seeks the genuine happiness of all beings. Here we go further with the themes of form and emptiness, exploring the essential work of offering, releasing, and letting go of what we have created. 

Please plan to join us ONLINE or ONSITE for this two weekend hybrid program, March 14-15 in Toronto and March 21-22 in Montreal, with Mitra Mark Power. 

Participants will receive the zoom link for the entire program. You are warmly invited to join us onsite in Toronto, Montreal, or both locations. There is no extra cost for joining onsite, but please indicate on your registration so that we can plan for the correct number of participants. Onsite participants will enjoy a vegetarian pot luck lunch. All participants will have access to all the recordings for both weekends for 21 days after the end of the program, until April 15, 2025.

Schedule (Eastern Time Zone)