Embracing Simplicity Hermitage

The Embracing Simplicity Hermitage is located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just outside Hendersonville, 22 miles south of Asheville, North Carolina.

The historic district of downtown Hendersonville offers traditional southern hometown charm and businesses such as specialty shops, antique stores and restaurants. Not far away, the DuPont State Forest includes five waterfalls and 80 miles of roads and trails wandering through mountainous terrain. The forest is open to the public for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.

The hermitage property is six wooded acres, with more than 3,000 cultivated woodland plants, trees and flowers (some of them rare specimens). There are walking meditation paths throughout the gardens and along the stream, which meanders over rocks and through deep pools. Although we are little more than off the beaten path, our retreatants can totally immerse themselves in the sweet scents of flora, the sound of birds and the waterfall flowing into a large fish pond, where the fish will greet you if you put your fingers into the water.

The natural wood and stone community house totally merges into the woodland terrain, imparting a sense of tranquility both outside and in the light, airy rooms indoors. Monastics, residents and visitors not on silent retreat stay here. When you step through the glass doors from the dining area onto the large deck it is like stepping right out into the woods. Glass doors open from the ground floor onto a patio that takes you to gardens and paths down to the stream.

The newly completed Dhamma Hall sits on a hill in the woods, just a short walk from the main house. The residence hall on the lower level is a place of serenity for visitors who come for silent retreat and meditation. The Dhamma/meditation hall on the upper level, spacious, serene and peaceful, looks out into the woods from all sides.

The land ranges from flat and fertile meadowland to fairly steep as you approach the house. Roadways are conveniently cut to allow for luggage drop-off. While there is some parking at the main house for unloading and those unable to walk the paths, visitors are asked to park in the space at the entrance to the property whenever possible, and walk over the footbridge and up the paths to the house.

Bhikkhuni Pannavati is a co-abbot of the hermitage.

• Address: 41 Wisdom Lane Hendersonville 28739
• Tradition: Theravada, Mahayana, Non-Sectarian, Offers western monastic bhikkhu/bhikkhuni ordination program
• Phone: 828 338 2665
• Fax: 919 387 2473
• Website: www.embracingsimplicityhermitage.org
• Teacher: Bhikkhu Pannadipa
• Main Contact: Kaye Meckley, Administrator
• Spiritual Director: Bhikkhuni Pannavati (Phone: 828 338-2665)

External links

• http://www.embracingsimplicityhermitage.org/