Annual Retreat

July 21-23, 2023, Green Mountain Retreat, Los Gatos, CA Contributed by Mora Oommen, Executive Director, Youth Community Service (YCS) As we leave behind the Friday afternoon traffic of Silicon Valley, Azaria, Ambree and I enjoy the clean air and tall redwoods that welcome us on the windy road up the mountain top. This is our …

Intergenerational Reflection and Growth at the 2023 Shinnyo-en Foundation Annual Retreat Read More »

Isabella (Bella) Wren Sullivan, a youth advisory council mentor of the National Youth Leadership Council, published this post on her LinkedIn to share her excitement about our Annual Retreat! “This past weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the 2022 Annual Shinnyo-en Retreat in San Francisco! Thanks to the Foundation staff’s hard work, …

An “Incredible Opportunity” at the 2022 Shinnyo-en Foundation Annual Retreat! Read More »

Contributed by Youth Community Service (YCS) youth participants “My experience at the Marconi Retreat was amazing. The activities were all so inclusive and helped me understand things I could not understand before,” remarked Ishita Mishra, a high school freshman from the San Francisco Bay Area who participated in this year’s Shinnyo-en Annual Retreat. This past …

Thumbs up! – Reflection on the 2019 Annual Retreat Read More »

Contributed by Lisa Sackreiter, The Blake School Despacho is a tangible expression of gratitude, the making and sending of a care package to the universe.  In parts of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, Despacho ceremonies are used on many life occasions – birth, death, and life transitions – for healing and spiritual connection.  During this ritual, …

“Despacho” – Reflection on the 2018 SEF Annual Retreat Read More »

As it has since 1999, the Marconi Conference Center in Marshall, CA provided the perfect setting for Shinnyo-en Foundation’s 2017 Annual Retreat. This year, the size of the retreat was slightly smaller than that of previous years, consisting of 36 participants, but it provided a more intimate feeling while still incorporating a variety of 14 …

2017 Shinnyo-en Foundation Annual Retreat Read More »

The photo above shows the bead bracelets that this year’s Annual Retreat participants made in their Home Groups. This activity was designed for participants to share something personal about their retreat experience as they passed out their beads, and also symbolized the act of giving and receiving in service. Jeff, a Shinnyo-en youth from the …

Annual Retreat 2016: A Time to Reflect, Connect and Be Inspired Read More »

Contributed by Patrick Hanlon I am a member of the Youth Association (YA) of Chicago’s Shinnyo-en Buddhist Temple. The YA’s role is to share the Buddhist teaching, develop leadership practices among our temple’s youth practitioners, and promote living the teaching in our daily lives. As such, I was fortunate to be invited to Shinnyo-en Foundation’s …

2015 Annual Retreat Read More »