We are excited that Cheri Maples, True Jewel, has accepted our invitation to come to Montana to be our guest teacher for Open Way Sangha’s Spring Retreat. The retreat will take place at University of Montana’s Lubrecht Forest Camp from April 29 – May 2, Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon. The retreat topic will be Transforming Barriers With an Open Heart. Peggy Mallette will be retreat director and can be reached at (406) 541-8191.

Registration is open: you can download the registration flyer from this page.

About our teacher, Cheri Maples

Cheri Maples lives in Wisconsin and has worked as a professional in the criminal justice system for twenty-five years. She has also been a criminal attorney and a clinical social worker. She is cofounder of the Center for Mindfulness and Justice where she is helping to develop an alternative youth justice program and other support and community networking programs. She received the Lamp Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh in January, 2009. You can read more about her in two magazines: Tricycle, Winter 2009, “She’s Got the Beat,” and The Mindfulness Bell, Autumn, 2009, “Fierce Compassion.”

Those of us that attended the Thich Nhat Hanh retreat at Estes Park in August 2009 enjoyed Cheri’s participation on a panel where she, Rowan, Huong Nghiem, and Phap Tri took the stage for Thay at the Question and Answer session. The Open Way board decided it would be great to hear more from her perspective and get to know her better.