BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.0.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:119@anukampaproject.org DTSTART:20201119T083000Z DTEND:20201124T210000Z DTSTAMP:20201209T210146Z URL:https://anukampaproject.org/events/20201119/ SUMMARY:Ajahn Brahm & Ven Canda: "Bliss Upon Bliss Upon Bliss: A Deep Dive Into Breath Meditation" DESCRIPTION:\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n\n\n \n\nSix Day Online Meditation Retreat\n\nSince the inception of Anukampa B hikkhuni Project\, we have invited Ajahn Brahm to teach in the UK every ye ar. Our usual three to eight day residential retreats and talks with Ajahn Brahm are very popular and an eagerly-awaited highlight of the year\, as well as the major time for generating support and fundraising for our Mona stery! Due to Covid-19\, Ajahn Brahm has very kindly offered to lead a 6-d ay online retreat in place of his yearly tour\, assisted by Venerable Cand a.\n\n \;\n\n \;\nRetreat Description\n \;\n\n \;\n\nIn th is retreat\, meditation master Ajahn Brahm will guide us through the Anapa nassati Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya: 118)\, using his own translation. In her e vening sessions\, Ven Canda Bhikkhuni\, a close disciple of Ajahn Brahm\, will encourage skillful perceptions that complement and empower breath med itation\, such as loving kindness\, joy\, trust\, letting go and contentme nt.\n\n \;\n\nThis is a very special "dual Sangha" (bhikkhu and bhikkh uni- led) retreat. It is also the first time Ajahn Brahm and Ven Canda are teaching a retreat together\, so we are very excited! It will include thr ee sessions of one and a half hours each: a morning and an early afternoon session with Ajahn Brahm and an evening session with Ven Canda.\n\n \ ;\n\n \;\n\nBreath meditation was the Buddha's own preferred method of meditation\, leading to his Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Despite i t's central place in Buddhist practice\, clear and comprehensive teachings on the sixteen stages of Anapanassati\, leading to liberation of the mind \, are very few and far between.\n\n \;\n\nAjahn Brahm emphasises that the deep meditations\, called jhana\, are not attainments but "stages of letting go\," realised through careful cultivation of the whole Noble Eigh tfold Path - a path of ever-increasing joy. In his book "Mindfulness\, Bli ss and Beyond" Ajahn Brahm says:\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n"Meditation is t he way of letting go of the complex world outside in order to reach a powe rful peace within. In all types of mysticism and in many spiritual traditi ons\, meditation is the path to a pure and empowered mind. The experience of this pure mind\, released from the world\, is incredibly blissful. It i s a bliss better than sex.\n\n \;\n\nEffort alone is not sufficient. E ffort needs to be skillful. This means directing your energy to just the r ight places and sustaining it until the task is complete. Skillful effort neither hinders nor disturbs\; instead it produces the beautiful peace of deep meditation. \n\n \;\n\nThe effort is directed to letting go\, to developing a mind that inclines to abandoning. One of the many simple but profound statements of the Buddha is that "a meditator who makes letting go the main object easily achieves samadhi\," that is\, attentive stillnes s (Samyutta Nikaya 48.9). Such a meditator gains these states of inner bli ss almost automatically. The Buddha was saying that the major cause for at taining deep meditation and reaching these powerful states is the ability to abandon\, to let go\, to renounce."\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\nVen Canda' s teachings emphasise kindness and letting go as a way to deepen samadhi ( stillness) and pave the path to wisdom. Her style is warm\, engaging and r ichly informed by the pragmatism of early Buddhist texts. Her popular "Zoo mi Bhikkhuni" sessions are eagerly received by a regular group of devoted disciples of both hers and Ajahn Brahm. Here is some of the feedback she h as received:\n\n \;\n\n"Your Dhamma talks are unusually good. Substant ial\, clearly expressed and full of your own insights. You often put a dif ferent slant on thing which helps the penny to drop. And it's good that yo u share your struggles and doubts with us - very helpful and something I t hink that women are much more often able to do than men. You give us so mu ch!" (July 2020)\n\n \;\n\n"It struck me how different your way of tea ching is compared to the male Ajahns. You bring more warmth\, emotions\, a nd intuition. It's probably about personality\, but I guess also about gen der and it just shows how important it is to have diversity amongst spirit ual teachers :)" (June 2020)\n\n \;\n\nYou can read detailed biographi es of Ajahn Brahm and Ven Canda here.\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n \;\nTh e Ethical Precepts \n \;\n\nVenerable Ānanda once asked the Buddha\, “Venerable\, what is the purpose and benefit of skillful ethics (sila)? ” The Buddha answered\, "So\, Ānanda\, the purpose and benefit of skill ful ethics is not having regrets (avippati). The purpose and benefit of no t having regrets is joy (pamojja). The purpose and benefit of joy is bliss (piti). The purpose and benefit of bliss is tranquillity (passaddhi). The purpose and benefit of tranquillity is happiness (sukha). The purpose and benefit of happiness is stillness (samadhi). The purpose and benefit of s tillness is seeing things as they truly are. The purpose and benefit of se eing things as they truly are is revulsion (nibbida). The purpose and bene fit of revulsion is dispassion or fading away (viraga). The purpose and be nefit of dispassion is knowledge and vision of liberation (vimuttinyanadas sana). So\, Ānanda\, skillful ethics progressively leads up to the highes t.” (Anguttara Nikaya 11.1). \n\n \;\n\nHere we see how practicing ethical precepts creates a strong foundation for the development of deep m editation. We therefore strongly encourage you to take the precepts - and you may choose whether you wish to observe the five or the eight\, during the retreat.\n\n \;\n\nThe Five Precepts – Pañcasīla\n\n \nI und ertake the training-precept to abstain from killing living beings.\nPāṇ ātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the t raining-precept to abstain from taking what is not given.\nAdinnādānā v eramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the training-prec ept to abstain from sexual misconduct.\nKāmesu micchācārā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the training-precept to abst ain from false speech.\nMusāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyām i.\n \nI undertake the training-precept to abstain from alcoholic drink o r drugs that cloud the mind and cause heedlessness.\nSurā meraya majja pa mādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n\n \;\n\nT he Eight Precepts – Aṭṭhaṅgasīla\n\n \nI undertake the training- precept to abstain from killing living beings.\nPāṇātipātā veramaṇ ī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the training-precept to a bstain from taking what is not given.\nAdinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpa daṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the training-precept to abstain from sexual conduct.\nAbrahmacariyā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the training-precept to abstain from false speech.\nMusāv ādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the traini ng-precept to abstain from alcoholic drink or drugs that cloud the mind an d cause heedlessness.\nSurā meraya majja pamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the training-precept to abst ain from eating at the wrong time (after solar noon).\nVikāla bhojanā ve ramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.\n \nI undertake the training-prece pt to abstain from dancing\, singing\, music\, going to see entertainments \, wearing jewellery\, using perfumes\, and beautifying the body with cosm etics.\nNacca gīta vādita visūkadassanā mālā gandha vilepana dhāran a maṇḍana vibhūsanaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyā mi.\n \nI undertake the training-precept to abstain from using high or lu xurious beds and seats.\nUccāsayana mahāsayanā veramaṇī sikkhāpada ṃ samādiyāmi.\n\n \;\n\n \;\nTentative schedule (8:30 on 19th Nov ~ 15:00 on 24th Nov GMT UK time)\n \;\n\nThe retreat starts at 8:3 0 on Thurs 19th Nov\, and finishes at 15:00 on Tues 24th Nov. On the last day\, there will be an opportunity to share your experience with other ret reatants. The schedule is deliberately designed to be spacious and allow for plenty of personal practice time and rest\, so that you can take a bre ak from the screen and find a supportive rhythm and pace. You will be guid ed as to how best to make use of your personal practice time.\n\n \;\n \n \;\n\n08:30 – 10:00  Dhamma talk\, guided meditation and precept s (Ajahn Brahm)\n\n10:00 – 12:00  Lunch for those on 8 precepts\n\n12:0 0 – 13:30  Anapanassati Sutta teaching and discussion (Ajahn Brahm)\n\ n13:30 – 14.30  Lunch or rest\n\n14:30 – 18:00  Personal practice pe riod\n\n18:00 – 19:15  Tea or dinner\n\n19:30 – 21:00  Short talk\, guided meditation and Q&\;A (Ven Canda)\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\nFull t ime attendance – including the personal practice period – is necessa ry for this retreat\, so you can experience the full potential of the prac tice. Due to the timing it will therefore work best for people in the UK a nd Europe (or the east coast of the US if you are willing to adopt forest monastery time and rise early!) Places are limited to 95\, so we kindly as k that if you only want to attend the teacher-led sessions\, to please to watch them via live-stream\, or after we upload them to our Youtube chann el.\n\nCheck the retreat schedule against your time zone here.\n\n \;\ n\n \;\nHow To Have A Home Retreat \n \;\n\nPracticing on a home retreat can be a very rewarding experience. One of the most powerful ways in which it differs from watching online talks\, is that you carve out a s pace dedicated to silent practice with none of the usual distractions and disturbances. Essentially\, you take “time out” of ordinary life to de lve deeply into your inner world. To support yourself in this process\, No ble Silence is encouraged throughout the retreat: to remain in silence as much as possible and to not use any electronic devices\, including mobile phones\, other than the one you would use for the online Zoom sessions (on ly!). To help you decide whether this would suit you\, we offer some thoug hts about the benefits of home retreat and consider some of the potential challenges – as well as possible solutions – so you can make the best use of your time.\n\n \;\n\n \;\nBenefits:\n\n Continuity of prac tice which helps you get more benefit from meditation\n Safety\, intimacy and support of an enclosed group\n Opportunity for personal guidance thr ough questions to the teachers\n Renewed confidence in your ability to pr actice wherever you are\n The food that suits your tummy and no one snori ng in your dorm!\n\n \;\nChallenges and solutions:\n \;\n\nIf you are living alone\, you have the ideal hermitage! Turn off your phone\, pu t on the vacation responder and do your weekly shop in advance. Use ear pl ugs if it is especially noisy and take a walk at the quietest times of day . This will help you immensely in observing Noble Silence and cultivating sense restraint\, which inclines the mind toward inner happiness and facil itates quietening the mind.\n\n \;\n\nFor most however\, home retreat may pose the challenge of living with others who are not on retreat! In t his case\, you may need to put a few extra measures in place (if they will not join you!)\, to enable you to observe Noble Silence and maintain your inward focus. You might ask them to support you while you are on retreat by keeping interactions to an absolute minimum and having a note system fo r anything absolutely unavoidable. Perhaps there is a room in the house th at you can retreat into and someone kind may cook your favourite food and leave your meals outside the door\, or negotiate times to use the kitchen alone! If you have children or teens it might be difficult to keep the noi se down\, so\, if you are able\, you might even decide to book into a qui et hotel or apartment (COVID conditions allowing) and tune in to the sess ions from there.\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n \;\nRegistration Fees\n&nbs p\;\n\n \;\n\nThis retreat is offered on a donation basis to make the Dhamma teachings accessible to all. Our volunteers have organised this as an act of generosity in their own free time and neither our volunteers nor the two teachers receive any remuneration. To honour the wisdom\, time an d commitment of our teachers\, you will be invited at the end of the retre at to offer donations. Your donations will help us fundraise toward acquir ing our dream "Forest Monastery\," so please give with a heart of generosi ty and joy\, whilst respecting your own personal financial situation.\n\n& nbsp\;\n\nThe registration fee is on a sliding scale to ensure your commit ment to attending the retreat\, as we generally experience a 25% no-show r ate to online events. Places are limited\, so when this happens others may lose a potentially life changing opportunity to practice.  The registrat ion fee will help further our charitable aims by contributing toward our o utgoings and the rental expenses of our Oxford Bhikkhuni Residence. If you are unable to afford this\, please contact us. Alternatively\, thanks to the selfless service of our volunteers\, you may choose to join every teac her-led session via our live stream as part of home-retreat\, or find the teachings on our YouTube channel to watch later.\n\n \;\n\nPlease not e that the registration fee is NON REFUNDABLE.\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n& nbsp\;\n\n \;\nApplication Procedure\n \;\n\n\n\n1. Please ensure you have read all the above information carefully before you fill the app lication form below.\n\n \;\n\n2. After submitting your application f orm\, you should receive email confirming that we have received your appl ication within a few minutes. Please check your junk mail inbox if you do not receive it. If it is not in your junk mail please contact us\; you mi ght have submitted the wrong email address. We advise you to add our ema il address\, bookings@anukampaproject.org\, as a contact to prevent email s from us going into your junk folder.\n\n \;\n\n3. In most cases\, we will approve your application within a day or two. Once your application is approved\, we will ask for the registration fee to secure your place a nd then your ticket will be automatically sent to you.\n\n \;\n\n  \;\nJoining from the same household\n \;\n\nIf more than one person fr om the same household wishes to join the retreat\, you will need to make s eparate bookings and log in from separate computers. This is to make our n umbers manageable for the Q&\;A sessions and to encourage you to practi ce as if you were alone. \n\n \;\nPart-time participation\n \;\n\ nAs places are limited to 95\, if you only want to attend the teacher-led sessions rather than sit the whole retreat\, we kindly ask you to please w atch them via Facebook live-stream or after we upload them to our YouTube channel\, instead. There is no need to register for the retreat.\n\n&nb sp\;\n\n***** WAITING LIST IN OPERATION *****  THE RETREAT IS FULLY BOOKE D\, YOU ARE REGISTERING FOR WAITING LIST *** \n\n \;\n\n \;\n\n~ IMPORTANT !! ~  There is a small problem with our server. To be sure that you see our most up to date page\, YOU MUST REFRESH your browser by press ing F5 OR click the ↺ reload sign on the address bar.\n\n \;\n\n&nbs p\; ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://anukampaproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2 020/10/ABVC.png CATEGORIES:2020 Tour END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR