Nan Tien Wellness Day

Transform your energy through music, movement and meditation. Cultivate the senses during a holistic Wellness Day at the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. 

Full day of benefits of Nan Tien’s Wellness Day:

• Restore your inner health - calm mind, warm heart. 
• Unique blend of Buddhist meditative and creative practices
• Clear out what no longer serves you and mark a new start
• Join a community of like-minded people

Flexibility and freedom are important. You know your needs. You select:

• Free sessions: Tai Chi, Mindful Music, Medicine Buddha Day Blessing, Sitting Meditation, Calligraphy, Tea meditation, (donations welcomed).
• Ticketed sessions: Laughter Yoga, Ikebana, Watercolour painting, Mindful Mini Zen Garden.
• Lunch: Tea House, Arts Cafe (no bookings) or in Dining Hall (booking required)

Program 

1. Tai Chi –  Cost: Free (donation welcome)

Venerable will guide you through multiple poses to clear out negative energy. Tai Chi is an effective way to restore the body’s harmony and help maintain peace of mind!  When this energy is blocked we can feel stressed, sick or emotionally out of balance.

2. Meditation – with a temple monastic. Cost: Free  (donation welcome)

Meditation is recognised as a powerful tool for improving concentration, managing emotions and calming the inner "chatter". Learn from a Buddhist monastic the skills used to calm one’s thoughts, allowing the cultivation of inner peace, through correct posture, breathing techniques, hand gestures and thought patterns. You’ll feel more disciplined & ready to practise independently at home. There is time to share experiences and ask any questions.

3. Mindful Music workshop - with Dr. Xiangyi Tao. Cost: Free (donation welcome)

Xiangyi guides you through the healing sounds of drums from Native America and Africa, the Didgeridoo, Indian raga and the cosmic sound of Om. You’ll explore the qualities of sounds, rhythms and tone that cultivate healing and connection. There are various musical elements, each holding a specific vibration and intention. You’ll connect with one that resonates with you for your mindful practice.

Explore the “Fanbai,” a traditional chant used in many Mahayana Buddhist ceremonies and the Medicine Buddha chant. Then join us next door in the Main Shrine for the Medicine Buddha Blessing and chant together deep resonating sounds heard all over the world. Dr. Xiangyi Tao holds a PhD of Education (USYD) and is a Member of International Society of Music Education (ISME).

4. Medicine Buddha Day Blessing. Cost: Free  (donation welcome)

Connect with the community in the Main Shrine. Experience the deep healing sound of a Medicine Buddha chanting, a practice treasured in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. You can chant or listen to the healing sounds as a means to experience a meditative state. Continue your walk with Buddhism. The practice purifies and removes the underlying karmic causes of diseases and cultivates the causes for holistic wellbeing.  

Receive a Medicine Buddha blessing and gift from the monastics.  A wonderful experience and see the Shrine in full colour. Stay for the short 15 min talk on Medicine Buddha: tapping into wellness.

5. Laughter Yoga - with Bene from Laugh To Connect. Cost: $15

Laughter is the best medicine. You will feel the benefits of this practice straight away. Bene guides you through a series of laughter exercises with yoga breathing techniques, gentle stretches, exercises, clapping and chanting. The session moves from weirdly funny to sustained belly-laughter, spreading positive effects on the mind and body. You’ll feel liberated. It is hilarious and the giggling is contagious.  Laughter Yoga was developed by an Indian doctor in 1995. It now enables people to laugh to reach greater health and happiness in more than 100 countries.

6. Lunch: Nourish yourself and enjoy the benefits of delicious vegetarian meals.

Nan Tien Temple Dining Hall - bookings required: $20 adult; $11 children 5-12; under 4 free. No booking needed for the Tea House and NTI Arts Cafe. 

7. Ikebana workshop - professional florist, Sue Wong. Cost: $20pp inc. flowers + notes.

This highly popular workshop returns - where art, creativity, meditation and home decor meet. A step-by-step guide to create sustainable and  seasonal arrangements with traditional flowers, vines and twigs and  materials. Traditional and contemporary practices where beauty 'feeds the eyes'. Learn the traditional symbolism of the foliage and types of arrangements to  express grace and movement, heaven and earth, flexibility and resilience. You will take home a fresh new mindset. 

8. Watercolour painting –  with Linda Brown. Cost: $20pp all materials supplied.

You will experience painting as a meditative practice. Prize winning artist and art teacher Linda Brown, will guide you through all the basic techniques in pen and wash watercolour painting. You will learn to draw various fruits, apply washes of watercolour and use ink pens to enhance your artworks.

9. Mindful Mini Zen Garden – with art therapist Venerable Youji. Cost: $20 or $35 with kit.   

Get your zen on! Create your own mini zen garden to enhance your mindful meditation practice with a tactile reminder to breathe.  Learn the mystery & wisdom of ranked sand, bamboo, stones (gongski), moss and bridges. Experience the present moment and unwind with repetitive movements. The premium kit is perfect decor for home, office desk, reception or therapy space.  A compliment to sitting meditation and Ikebana. Venerable Youji is the Curator of the Nan Tien Art Gallery in Nan Tien Institute and a qualified art therapist.

10. Calligraphy - with a temple monastic.  Cost: Free  (donation welcome)

Nan Tien Temple is the only place in Australia where you can transcribe a Sutra onto rice paper in Mandarin in a Buddhist temple with a monastic. This is an authentic cultural experience. Buddhists view the transcribing of Buddhist Sutras as a form of meditation. The writer is encouraged to quietly and calmly focus on each stroke and letter, tracing its righteous messages with a sincere and pure heart. Performing this practice allows one to heal and still the mind as they put aside their worries to simply engage in this soothing task.

11. Tea Meditation –  professional teacher Sue Wong.  Cost: Free (donations welcome)

Learn tea meditation and how each step in making, serving and drinking tea is a meditation practice to create unity and an elegant mood. Serving tea is an expression of Buddhism’s equal-minded offering and being aware of the effects on your mind and body. You can practice tea meditation during any time of the day —  in the morning to start your day with presence, enjoy it in the middle of the day for increased focus and clarity, or end your day with the practice for a peaceful night’s sleep. 

Why we support the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals?

Thank you to the generous support from the Hsing Yun Education Foundation who has made this Series possible.

Nan Tien Temple and the Hsing Yun Education Foundation are commitment to serving the community and play a vital part in achieving the global goals namely in good health and well-being for all people, peace, justice and sustainable communities (Goals 3, 11,16,17) as reflective of our commitment to universal human values.