SEPTEMBER 5-8, 2019
GWINWOOD RETREAT CENTER
LACEY, WASHINGTON
The Buddhist Recovery Network (BRN) hosted the 2019 BRN Summit in Lacey, Washington September 5-8, 2019. The title of the summit was:
Recovery: What’s Buddhism Got to Do With It?
The Summit was held at the Gwinwood Retreat Center in Lacey Washington (site of the 2017 summit). Sitting on 29-acres, Gwinwood features 18 acres of forested land, 4 acres of open meadows and 7 acres of undisturbed wetlands, all fronting a beautiful lake. The summit fee included accommodations and vegetarian meals.
All recovery paths, sober time, and Buddhist lineages were welcome! During the 4-day retreat, we engaged in presentations, group discussion, sharing, practice, networking, collaborating and much more. Some of the topics for the summit included:
A review of events since the last Summit in 2017. How have we as individuals and as a community dealt with sexual allegations in several of our Buddhist communities? Interactive exercises facilitated by John Tsungme Guy and Zanele Khamalo
Panel – Creating Safer Spaces in our communities and what we can learn from the Christian and Catholic Communities – Speakers Sue Neufeld- Ellis co-author of ‘Clergy Sexual Misconduct’, and a Chemical Dependency Counsellor and Buddhist Practitioner, and Brian Dean-Williams who is a Buddhist Teacher, Workshop Leader and Therapist specializing in Trauma and Addictions
Panel Taboo Addictions – Speaker Deborah Grace who is a Buddhist Therapist and specializes in sex and love addiction. And the President Vimalasara (Dr. Valerie Mason-John)– specializing in Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia Nervosa and Compulsive Over Eating.
Back By Popular demand – Kevin Griffin and Vince Cullen – on What the Buddhist Sutta’s have to teach us about addiction and recovery
Experience a host of Buddhist Recovery meeting formats offered during the retreat: Recovery Dharma, Eight-Step Recovery, Heart of Recovery and more.
Buddhist Recovery past, present and future. Where do we go from here? How can the BRN help?
Valerie Mason-John, the current President says: “These are exciting times for people in recovery. There is so much choice, no longer can people say I don’t believe in God, as an excuse not to go to a recovery program. Buddhist Recovery has opened up a new doorway into recovery. One which is full of compassion and inspiration. Buddhism is the oldest recovery program that we know off, and it’s taken 2600 years to recognize it. Now that we have woken up to reality and seen the truth in the teachings, lets pass on the wisdom.”
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