Summer Camp 2007

Tradition

We started the camp in the traditional way of coming together in the shrine room in the retreat center. Each taking a piece of stone and make a cairn. The stone was broken bits of the temple floor, which need to be replaced. Family campers could then take these home at the end of the camp. Click on image below to see a large image.

As usual over the last few years the weather has been not so good and this year was no exception, it was rainy for six days but the sun did manage to come out for the last few days. We changed how we ran pujas, and we used a microphone. The pujas started with devotional aspect and then moved on to more contemplative games, done in the washing up groups.

We had great fun doing graffiti (see some images here), art, clay making, songs, football, eating, talking, indoor cricket, sleeping, resting, women in transition group (see video section), sutta study, story-telling and even a few dhamma class with a monk and have a look at the timetable here.

We started the camp with a Quaker style meeting for anybody that want to attend and ran another one of these later in the week on bullying - shame and blame, both meeting went well, with teenagers and parents attending. The kitchen was cooking for about 110 and there was over 20 teenagers at the camp.

We made a video for monk that was not well in Canada and the singing group sang to another monk not well within the monastery, they did it right outside his window. We also had families from America and Poland. The family from Poland, the mother had come to the camps when she was a child and she wrote a story when she was a eleven in the rainbows magazine, many years ago.

Each day had a theme and you can see the quotes we used here and you can see more about tradition and the sutta we used here.

Watch a movie about the family camp here and slideshow about family camp here

Listen to the songs here

Quick links to the days of the camp 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Quick link to films we watched and made

If you have the password and username you can look at a lot of pictures from the camp here

A few images to see no password required here

Welcome Evening

There was large group of helpers this year artist, video makers, Alexander technique, who worked very hard over the week to make the family camp a rewarding experience.

We started the evening by finding a partner and introducing ourselves in silence, a major feat given there was over 90 people in the room. We then watched a short film called Spin. Watch it here. We used this film as a way of discussing the five precepts and the triple gem. We then got into our washing groups and came up with name, and images.

The washing up team name were - Sa-wag, marsh-mellows, reggae, the leftovers, the dream-team, the trust-worthies, scrubber-dubbers

We also read a short story about Fleming - its a nice story about our interconnectedness and Kamma - read it here

Day 1 - The theme was Precepts.

Morning Puja

Guided meditation on Viewing the Space Between our hands.

We came up with a definition about tradition by asking each washing up group to make a definition (image here) or come up with some words and then as a group we came up with this definition:-

"The family camp tradition is a meaningfully expression of spirituality which creates one form out of many."

Evening Puja

Guided meditation on Body and Boundaries

We watched Sister Cittapala's slideshow on Shrines - watch it on-line here

We then played a game called living without and we read Badness for beginners

Day 2 - The theme was Extreme Tradition

AM Puja

For the third year in a row we were unable to got down to the forest - anyway you can have a look at the guided meditation we would have done if the weather had been okay here.

Instead we came to the shrine sung songs, and did another guided meditation and did a great exercise on exploring values and family values... the instructions are here.

PM Puja

Guided meditation on Awareness of liking and not liking

We watched and interesting clip from the TV program called west wing about biblical quotes - watch it here

We played judging the truth instructions here

Day 3 - The theme was Interpretation

AM Puja

Guided meditation on Kalama Sutta; Discernment of unskillful states
we read Big Bully Hippo

PM Puja

In the evening the Adults joined the community for a quiet meditation and talk by Ajahn Sumedho. The teenagers and children had a session for themselves, which involved some sitting meditation, mantra chanting and also Alexander technique which they all really enjoyed.

We also read this story how to speak moo

Day 4 - The theme was Fearlessness

AM Puja

There was guided meditation on What do you trust?

We gave time to a Quaker style meeting on Bullying and blame and shame - it was well attended by adults and young people. And helped to clear the air around some of the issue that had been happening at the camp.

PM Puja

This Puja was run by the teenagers - which was done brilliantly - it included a powerful guided meditation for the adults on what our inner teenager would have liked. We Sang the tradition song and new song called a I can't live without listen here to both of them) . This song came from the game we played on Day 1 puja.

Day 5 - The theme was Listening

On this day we went for a walk - it was great because the weather was okay. There was three walks and some of the younger children moved up into the 9 mile walk.

PM Puja

Usually we go out to the stupa and watch the clouds but the ground was toooo wet...

we watched this video what about me

Day 6 - The theme was know if for yourself

AM Puja

We had a guided meditation on Truth - Know for yourself

and we read The really rude Rhino

PM Puja

We had a guided meditation on Metta - Experience well-being in your body and the love to heal.
We read Greedy, grumpy Hippo and we watched this video Penn And Teller Get Hippies To Sign Water Banning Petition

Day 7 Saturday - The Theme was beyond tradition

We had a guided meditation on Awareness, the only refuge in a world of change.

This was a simple puja as we got ready for the afternoon presentation.

In the presentation we did the following:-

We watched various multimedia presentations, heard poems, songs from different singing groups in different languages, a short play from the dramma group, ballet presentation, football trophy, and finished a group photo and with the firing of the kilns, which where made from folled up paper.

The afternoon end with sad news of Alan's death (have a look at some pictures here)- we finished with a circumumbulation around the Buddha grove, which a lot of the monastic community joined in. On Sunday we finished off with seeing some of the videos made on the camp and end up with a blessing and sharing of merits.