4 – 11 June | Led by Vijayamala, Paramartha + Khemabandhu
“If stopping is a refreshment of…consciousness, then realising insight, vipassana may be compared to a golden spade that opens up a treasure of transcendental wealth”
— Sangharakshita, Dhyana for Beginners seminar, p 18
During this retreat we will explore themes from Bhante’s seminar on the Tiantai text by Zhiyi: ‘Dhyana (i.e. shamata and vipassana) for Beginners’. We will be applying these dual aspects of ‘stopping’ and ‘realising’ to our practice both on and off the cushion.
How are shamatha and vipassana related to our system of practice?
Bhante talks about the 4 rupa dhyanas in terms of Integration, inspiration, permeation and radiation. Can we relate these to integration, positive emotion, spiritual death, rebirth and spiritual receptivity in meditation? And how do each of these elements of the system support our vipassana practice?
Zhiyi and Bhante explore the fundamental spiritual qualities of motivation (chanda), joyful energy (virya), mindfulness (smriti), discernment (prajna), and absorption focused on awakening (samadhi). How do these support our practice of both shamatha and vipassana?
The retreat will be held mostly in silence, with meditation workshops around the themes, devotional practice and optional meditation reviews.
It follows on from the study seminar on the same theme, but is also complete in itself.