Ajahn Brahm & Ven Canda 7-day Online Retreat: “Emboldening The Mind With Fizz & Sparkle!”

Date/Time
Date(s) - 06 Dec 2021 - 12 Dec 2021
8:30 am - 9:00 pm


“Ajahn Brahm and Ven Canda create a really safe, supportive and nurturing environment. It softens the heart. The teachings are wise and profound but delivered in a way that is funny, sensitive and warm hearted. They lead by example in how to act through love, acceptance and compassion. I am glad I have found such teachers.”

~ Patricia, a participant in Ajahn Brahm & Ven Canda’s “Bliss Upon Bliss” online retreat, November 2020

 

 

Meditation is profound, sublime and life-changing, yet it takes courage to go against the stream of craving and embody kindness and gentleness in a world that often seems harsh. Courage can also be an important quality in meditation practice. As we go inside, we come face to face with our own attachments and hindrances, which limit mindfulness, prevent stillness and weaken our ability to see the inner and outer world clearly.

 

Happily, deep, transcending experiences are also full of joy and as we practice, an ever-increasing mental pleasure becomes the main impersonal force that pushes through the obstacles we face.

 

In this retreat, the teachers will show how we can nurture happiness and a love of peace so that inner tranquillity blossoms easily, like a fragrant lotus of luminous beauty. Inspiration flows from within and emboldens courage in the mind, enabling us to live with authenticity, and to gradually let go and perceive the liberating Dhamma (Truth) as The Buddha timelessly taught.

 

 

 

The Ethical Precepts 

 

Venerable 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 skillful ethics is not having regrets (avippati). The purpose and benefit of not 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 stillness is seeing things as they truly are. The purpose and benefit of seeing things as they truly are is revulsion (nibbida). The purpose and benefit of revulsion is dispassion or fading away (viraga). The purpose and benefit of dispassion is knowledge and vision of liberation (vimuttinyanadassana). So, Ānanda, skillful ethics progressively leads up to the highest.” (Anguttara Nikaya 11.1) 

 

Here we can see how practicing ethical precepts creates a strong foundation for the development of deep meditation. 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.

 

The Five Precepts – Pañcasīla

  1. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from killing living beings.
    Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  2. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from taking what is not given.
    Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  3. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from sexual misconduct.
    Kāmesu micchācārā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  4. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from false speech.
    Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  5. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from alcoholic drink or drugs that cloud the mind and cause heedlessness.
    Surā meraya majja pamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.

 

The Eight Precepts – Aṭṭhaṅgasīla

  1. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from killing living beings.
    Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  2. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from taking what is not given.
    Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  3. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from sexual conduct.
    Abrahmacariyā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  4. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from false speech.
    Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  5. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from alcoholic drink or drugs that cloud the mind and cause heedlessness.
    Surā meraya majja pamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  6. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from eating at the wrong time (after solar noon).
    Vikāla bhojanā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  7. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from dancing, singing, music, going to see entertainments, wearing jewellery, using perfumes, and beautifying the body with cosmetics.
    Nacca gīta vādita visūkadassanā mālā gandha vilepana dhārana maṇḍana vibhūsanaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
  8. I undertake the training-precept to abstain from using high or luxurious beds and seats.
    Uccāsayana mahāsayanā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.

 

 

Tentative schedule (8:30 on 6th Dec ~ 15:00 on 12th Dec UK time)

 

The retreat starts at 8:30 on Monday 6th Dec, and finishes at 15:00 on Sunday 12th Dec. On the last day, there will be an opportunity to share your experience with other retreatants. The schedule is deliberately designed to be spacious and allow for plenty of personal practice time and rest, so that you can take a break from the screen and find a supportive rhythm and pace. You will be guided as to how best to make use of your personal practice time and given instructions in walking meditation.

 

 

08:30 – 10:00  Dhamma talk, guided meditation and precepts (Ajahn Brahm)

10:00 – 12:00  Lunch for those on 8 precepts

12:00 – 13:30  Teaching and discussion (Ajahn Brahm)

13:30 – 14.30  Lunch or rest

14:30 – 18:00  Personal practice period

18:00 – 19:15  Tea or dinner

19:30 – 21:00  Short talk, guided meditation and Q&A (Ven Canda)

 

 

Full time attendance – including the personal practice period – is necessary for this retreat, so you can experience the full potential of the practice. Due to the timing it will therefore work best for people in the UK and Europe (or the east coast of the US if you are willing to adopt forest monastery time and rise early!) Places are limited to 93, so we kindly ask that if you only want to attend the teacher-led sessions, to please watch them after we upload them to our YouTube channel.

 

Check the retreat schedule against your time zone here.

 

How To Have A Home Retreat 

 

Practicing 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 space dedicated to silent practice with none of the usual distractions and disturbances. Essentially, you take “time out” of ordinary life to delve deeply into your inner world. To support yourself in this process, Noble 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 (only!). To help you decide whether this would suit you, we offer some thoughts 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.

 

 

Benefits:

  • Continuity of practice which helps you get more benefit from meditation
  • Safety, intimacy and support of an enclosed group
  • Opportunity for personal guidance through questions to the teachers
  • Renewed confidence in your ability to practice wherever you are
  • The food that suits your tummy and no one snoring in your dorm!

 

Challenges and solutions:

 

If you are living alone, you have the ideal hermitage! Turn off your phone, put on the vacation responder and do your weekly shop in advance. Use ear plugs 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 facilitates quietening the mind.

 

For most however, home retreat may pose the challenge of living with others who are not on retreat! In this 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 for anything absolutely unavoidable. Perhaps there is a room in the house that 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 noise down, so, if you are able, you might even decide to book into a quiet hotel or apartment (COVID conditions allowing) and tune in to the sessions from there.

 

 

Registration Fees

 

 

The retreat teachings are offered on a donation basis to make the Dhamma accessible to all. Our volunteers have generously organised this in their own free time and neither they nor the two teachers receive any remuneration. To honour the wisdom, time and commitment of our teachers, you will be invited to offer donations at the end of the retreat. Your donations will help us fundraise toward a “Forest Monastery,” which will be the physical hub of our community and a haven of peace. Please give with a heart of generosity and joy, whilst respecting your own personal financial situation.

 

The registration fee is on a sliding scale to ensure your commitment to attending the retreat, as we generally experience a 25% no-show rate to online events. When this happens others may lose a potentially life changing opportunity to practice. The registration fee will contribute towards our outgoings and rental expenses. If you are unable to afford this, please contact us. Alternatively, you can listen to the teachings later on our YouTube channel.

 

 

Please note that the registration fee is NON REFUNDABLE.

 

 

 

 

Application Procedure

 

 

1. *Please ensure you have read all the above information carefully before you fill the application form below!

 

2. After submitting your application form, you should receive email confirming that we have received your application 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 might have submitted the wrong email address. We advise you to add our email address, bookings@anukampaproject.org, as a contact to prevent emails from us going into your junk folder.

 

3. We aim to approve your application within a day or two. Once your application is approved, your registration fee is needed to secure your place. Upon receipt, your ticket will be automatically sent to you.

 

 

Joining from the same household

 

If more than one person from the same household wishes to join the retreat, please make separate bookings and log in from separate computers. This ensures our numbers are manageable for the Q&A sessions and enables you to practice as though alone. 

 

Part-time participation

 

Should you only want to attend the teacher-led sessions rather than sit the whole retreat, please watch them later on our YouTube channel, as places are limited to 93. In this case, please do not register for the retreat.

 

 

~ IMPORTANT !! ~  Before you fill in the application form YOU MUST REFRESH your browser by pressing F5 OR clicking the ↺ reload sign. This will update the form to show the current number of spaces available.

 

 

Bookings

Bookings are closed for this event.