More Than Just a Place
Clear Sky is more than a meditation center. We’re a community with a singular aspiration: to wake ourselves up and help others do the same.
Many of our founding members were expats living in Japan, drawn together by a shared enthusiasm for the teachings of Achariya Doug Duncan.
For ten years, our community steadily grew, organizing two to three silent meditation retreats each year. Every retreat presented the challenge of finding a suitable venue. While each place we found had its strengths, the supportive and transformative environment we sought, one truly aligned with the path of awakening, remained elusive.
Eventually, we realized that if we wanted the right conditions for this work, we needed to create them ourselves. So, in 2003, after exploring over 30 properties across North America, we purchased the land that would become Clear Sky.
Sensei on the history of Clear Sky
A container for spiritual growth
Over the past two decades, Clear Sky has become a home for people with a heart for spiritual exploration who want to awaken more quickly and fully. Our many retreats and trainings include our signature online course, Integrating Mindfulness, and silent retreats from our founding teachers Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei.
Some of Clear Sky’s founding members have become Canadian residents, yet many still live abroad. To stay connected with their students around the globe, Qapel and Sensei created Planet Dharma, a virtual monastery offering online courses, listings for international retreats, and tools to support at-home practice.
The name Clear Sky represents the natural clarity of the awakened mind. The mind of blissful, non-clinging awareness. The mind that is ever-present behind the ever-shifting clouds of daily thought and emotion.
Qapel on the future of Clear Sky
Our Vision
We are creating a revolutionary center that inspires and supports awakening.
Our Mission
Our Values
- Spiritually generative
- Environmentally generative
- Socially generative
- Financially generative
