"Planting me" Compaign and the First Retreat
in Dharmaloka Chan Buddhist Community in Croatia
Dharmaloka Chan Buddhist Community in Zagreb, Croatia, started a long time ago. It was a small group of Dharma enthusiasts meeting regularly in private homes. Twenty years ago, the first Buddhist educational institution in Zagreb was established, serving also as a Buddhist Center with a study library and a meditation hall.
Today, the community is fulfilling its long-standing vision of building a retreat center dedicated to the cultivation of inner and outer peace, deeper understanding and enlightened care for all people and the world we inhabit.
The official opening ceremony of the new retreat center will take place on May 18th 2019.
First Seven-Day Retreat
An area of 26,000 square meters of undeveloped agricultural land on mountain Žumberak was purchased by the Community in 2005. It took a bit of time but we are happy to announce that starting from November 24th 2018, the very first seven- day retreat led by our Chan Master Žarko Andričević will take place in the newly built, yet not completely finished Center.
The Retreat will be permeated with a lot of work due to the unfurnished interiors of the complex. The enthusiasm is high though, and we are joyful that vibrant activities can be held in the Center from now on.
Surrounding
The Center is situated in the pristine surroundings of a Nature Park, 70-minute drive from the capital of Croatia. It comprises five buildings and is a modern reinterpretation of a traditional mountain "hamlet". The central building is the Chan hall, along with four accompanying facilities. One building is set for dining, one for administration and study, and the other two for accommodation.
To ensure high energy efficiency of all buildings with minimum negative environmental impact, eco-friendly technologies are applied, same with the design and construction methods.
Plant Me: Landscaping Fundraising Campaign
Recently, more precisely on Saturday November 17th 2018, a landscaping and planting event took place in the new Center. In an extraordinary effort, the Sangha came to join together for the first time, and help design and plant a garden for the terrain surrounding our new Center.
The time frame for the campaign named
Plant Me was tight, just six weeks to plan and raise funds, to find, acquire and transport trees and plants planned for the autumn planting event.
(Yes, there will be a spring planting fundraising campaign too.)It was a very complex action, and a joined effort of many individuals was needed in order to carefully plan the campaign and the final planting event, such as create a web site for the campaign, and arrange promotion activities, gathering donations, making analysis, as well as preparing the soil, the plants and everything else needed for fulfilling our goals.
We are thrilled to announce that the campaign was a complete success! The funds raised were more than enough to purchase everything needed. At the day of the planting campaign, seventy people from Croatia and Slovenia managed to plant 32 trees, 16 fruit trees, 30 hazelnut trees, and more than 400 ornamental plants all in a single day! The choice of plants was carefully planned because our Center is located in a Nature Park and we have to follow the strict rules about what is allowed for planting in the area.
Addressing the Sangha at the planting event, our teacher Žarko Andričević pointed out that he hoped the plants would grow roots and become healthy and strong. At the same time he also reminded us that we should all be aware of much more than simply planting trees. Siddharta Gautama was born under a tree; his first childhood spiritual experience took place under a tree; furthermore, under a tree he awakened and finally entered parinirvana.
Tree is a symbol of Nature, and the fact that it plays such an important role in the main events of Buddha’s life reminds us of a deep interconnectedness of human beings with Nature, and of the spiritual path that reestablishes and reinvigorates our lives.
The establishment of the new Center gives us an opportunity to experience this interconnectedness directly, and the Center itself therefore becomes a fundamental point and a place where our practice of cultivating the mind can grow deeper and benefit all sentient beings in the world.
Text: Helga Juretić (Chang Dao)
Photos : Boris Berc
Editing: DDM Editorial Team; John Wu (吳俊宏)