with
Kath Mitchell, Mark Schrader & Chani Grieve
Wangapeka Study & Retreat Centre
A dynamic 10-week online community exploration of ethics in action
The current state of our world is a cause of deep concern for many. We see unskillful choices and actions being perpetuated and causing great harm. There is also the pain of meeting our own unskillful habits and responses; yet we all have innate basic goodness. How can we live well with this dynamic tension?
The training precepts, outlined by the Buddha, provide a tried and tested lens through which we can investigate the complexities of our contemporary human life, and come into a more wholesome relationship with all that is.
The precepts can buffer us from life's challenges, offering us clearer direction and guidance, inviting us to sense life as a creative flow of interdependence.
The precepts are not rigid rules, but guiding principles that support awareness and compassionate response, and form the foundation for genuine spiritual development.
Perhaps we could consider the precepts as "hitching posts" allowing us to rest, to pause, to consider our responses, removing the heat of reactivity that fragments the heart and mind. This creates the base for a peaceful, healthy and transformative life.
At heart the precepts are a training in awareness. They invite question, provoke deeper engagement, contemplation, and offer an increasingly subtle guide to discover what truly matters in life.
This 10-week course invites you to explore the precepts as a living, transformative practice, with the support of collective effort. Using the raw material of our lives – our activities, relationships, and experiences – we will explore ethics in action, and calibrate our inner compass to refrain from harm and to support and uplift all of life.
Course Format
● Dates: Wednesdays, July 2 – September 3, 2025
● Time: 6:30–8:00 pm NZT Check your time zone here
● Delivery: Predominantly online, with optional local discussion hubs in Motueka, Nelson, and other locations if numbers and interest allow
● Participants: Limited to 40
● Registration Deadline: Registrations close one week prior to course commencement, June 25, 2025
Who Is This For?
Open to all, especially those with some meditation experience, who have a commitment to ethical living, and who are strongly motivated to train themselves to refrain from harm and support all of life. No prior affiliation with Wangapeka is required.
Commitment
Registering for this course is a commitment, not a wish.
By registering, you commit to:
● Attend all 10 weeks to the best of your ability
● Join live sessions and discussion groups
● Engage in personal practice and reflection between sessions
This course is experiential and participatory. Full engagement benefits both you and the community.
Weekly Schedule
● July 2 & 9 – Live online sessions with Mark, Kath and Chani
● July 16 – Facilitated discussion groups (local or online)
● July 23 – Guest presentation
● July 30 – Discussion groups
● August 6 – Guest presentation
● August 13 – Discussion groups
● August 20 – Guest presentation
● August 27 – Discussion groups
● September 3 – Integration & Closing Session
Over the 10 weeks, there will be a mixture of live online sessions/teachings, live or pre-recorded teachings from the Elders, and small discussion group hubs in local areas or online to explore and share our lived experience with the precepts.
Mark Schrader, Kath Mitchell and Chani Grieve are all dedicated and experienced practitioners, who between them have around 80 years of meditative practice under their belts! They have been collaborating and co-facilitating courses and retreats together for over 10 years, and enjoy the vibrancy of teaching and practicing together in community. They bring their respective professional backgrounds in education, mental health, counselling, creative arts, healing and embodiment, and their deep commitment to the Dharma to this course, offered with wholeheartedness to support awakening in community.
Mark Schrader, Kath Mitchell and Chani Grieve are all dedicated and experienced practitioners, who between them have around 80 years of meditative practice under their belts! They have been collaborating and co-facilitating courses and retreats together for over 10 years, and enjoy the vibrancy of teaching and practicing together in community. They bring their respective professional backgrounds in education, mental health, counselling, creative arts, healing and embodiment, and their deep commitment to the Dharma to this course, offered with wholeheartedness to support awakening in community.
Mark Schrader, Kath Mitchell and Chani Grieve are all dedicated and experienced practitioners, who between them have around 80 years of meditative practice under their belts! They have been collaborating and co-facilitating courses and retreats together for over 10 years, and enjoy the vibrancy of teaching and practicing together in community. They bring their respective professional backgrounds in education, mental health, counselling, creative arts, healing and embodiment, and their deep commitment to the Dharma to this course, offered with wholeheartedness to support awakening in community.
The retreat takes place on the beautiful Wangapeka whenua nestled in stunning native forests with expansive views down the Wangapeka valley. The land itself provides a healing sanctuary surrounded by mature trees and offering the perfect environment for reflection and reconnection with nature.
Accommodation is included in the price of the retreat, with all rooms being comfortable and well-appointed with single beds and electric heating. Shared bathroom facilities are conveniently located close to all rooms.
All meals are included in this retreat to support the your well-being and focus. Our kitchen team prepares nourishing vegetarian food to sustain and delight you throughout your stay. Specific dietary requirements can be accommodated and self-catering is also possible if you prefer to bring and prepare your own food.
This teaching room is beautifully crafted and has been used for a wide variety of teaching for over 20 years. It has a wooden parquet floor and a pot belly stove to keep away winter chills. Set amongst beautiful mature trees, it offers a charming view looking down the Wangapeka valley, creating an inspiring environment for movement and meditation practices.
The original building at Wangapeka, the Main Hall serves as the heart of community life with its combined living and dining room, library, and welcoming wood burner. Tea, coffee, and snacks are freely available here throughout your stay. Whether you choose to relax in the cosy interior or step out onto the porch to enjoy the expansive views, this space invites connection and contemplation. The hall also houses the kitchen, bathroom facilities, and laundry for your convenience.
A perfect opportunity for Dharma practitioners—both seasoned and new—to gather for a one-month Dzogchen retreat guided by Lama Mark Webber. Accommodation for this retrea...
The retreat is residential and the dates span Easter 2026. Chimé has also indicated that the community are welcome to attend, on a daily basis, on Easter Saturday (4th April) for teaching on...
Five wisdoms, five activities, five families - investigating awakened nature while learning and unlearning what obstructs liberation in predominantly silent retreat at Wangapeka.