Date/Time
Date(s) - 18 Jun 2024 - 20 Jun 2024
All Day

“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

Silence is what we develop through stillness. It is not merely the absence of noise; silence is a gateway to profound insight. When we are still, the mind becomes tranquil and we move beyond the boundaries of conventional knowledge. As we learn to trust the silence and release the clamour of the five-sense world, the mind energises and becomes blissful and bright. In deep, meditative stillness, the Dhamma ~ timeless truth ~ reveals itself and you see things as they truly are. You may even end up blissing your “self” out of samsara!

In this retreat, our wise and compassionate guides will gently lead us into the heart of silence. Like skilled gardeners, they will tend to the soil of our minds, nurturing seeds of happiness and peace. The retreat will include guided and silent meditations, engaging Dhamma talks and opportunities for questions and responses. It is suitable for every level of experience and requires that you have a reasonably quiet and safe place to stay where you can caringly tend to your body and mind. Ven Upekkha will be also be present and may hopefully offer some Dhamma as well!

Tentative Daily Schedule (Time zone BST):

Please note the retreat begins at 08:00 on the first day and 06:15 on the second and third day. The day programmes end at 20:30 on the first two days, and at 17:30 on the last day.

Tuesday 18th June:

08:00 – 10:00 Dhamma Talk, Precepts & Guided meditation (Ajahn Brahm)
10:00 – 12:15 Walking meditation & Lunch break
12:30 – 14:00 Guided Meditation & Q&A (Ajahn Brahm)
14:00 – 16:30 Personal practice period (encouraging walking and sitting meditation)
16:45 – 17:30 Silent Meditation
17:30 – 19:00 Tea break or snack
19:00 – 20:30: Short talk, guided meditation and Q&A (Ven Canda)

Wednesday 19th June:

Change: 06:15 – 07:00 Morning Silent Meditation & Metta Sutta Chanting with Ven Upekkha
Change: 08:30 – 10:00 Dhamma Talk & Guided meditation (Ajahn Brahm)
10:00 – 12:15 Walking meditation & Lunch break
12:30 – 14:00 Guided Meditation & Q&A (Ajahn Brahm)
14:00 – 16:30 Personal practice period (encouraging walking and sitting meditation)
16:45 – 17:30 Silent Meditation
17:30 – 19:00 Tea break or snack
19:00 – 20:30: Short talk, guided meditation and Q&A (Ven Canda and/or Ven Upekkha)

Thursday 20th June:

06:15 – 07:00 Morning Silent Meditation & Metta Sutta Chanting with Ven Upekkha
08:30 – 10:00 Dhamma Talk & Guided meditation (Ajahn Brahm)
10:00 – 12:15 Walking meditation & Lunch break
12:30 – 14:00 Guided Meditation & Q&A (Ajahn Brahm)
Change: 15:00 – 15:45 Silent Meditation
Change: 16:00 – 17:30 Closing Session ~ Talk, meditation and Anukampa discussion (Ven Canda)

Check the retreat schedule against your country time zone here.

Full attendance is ideal to make the most of your retreat. Please apply only if you can give yourself the very best opportunity for developing the beauty of silence!

As this is an online home-retreat, you are free to choose whether you wish to observe the Eight Precepts or the Five Precepts.

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

I undertake the training-precept to abstain from killing living beings.
Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the training-precept to abstain from taking what is not given.
Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the training-precept to abstain from sexual misconduct.
Kāmesu micchācārā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the training-precept to abstain from false speech.
Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
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

I undertake the training-precept to abstain from killing living beings.
Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the training-precept to abstain from taking what is not given.
Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the training-precept to abstain from sexual conduct.
Abrahmacariyā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the training-precept to abstain from false speech.
Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
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.
I undertake the training-precept to abstain from eating at the wrong time (after solar noon).
Vikāla bhojanā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
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.
I undertake the training-precept to abstain from using high or luxurious beds and seats.
Uccāsayana mahāsayanā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.

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 like 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 a 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 and tune in to the sessions from there.

*Flooded fields near the River Thames at Iffley Lock, February 2024*

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 support the running costs of our new Anukampa Grove Bhikkhuni Monastery, which will be the physical hub of our community and a haven of peace, and provide for the monastics requisites. Please give with a heart of generosity and joy, whilst respecting your own personal financial situation.

The registration fee ensures 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 contributes towards our admin and the running expenses of our monastery. 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. 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. If it is not in your junk mail please contact us; you might have submitted a wrong email address. Please also be aware that emails that we send to non-gmail, hotmail or outlook email account outside the UK (e.g. .pl; .gmx etc), are often rejected as ‘undelivered’ for unknown reasons. Please therefore contact us from a gmail, hotmail or outlook email account where at all possible, to save disappointment.

4. 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.

~ 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

Ticket Type	Spaces
Standard Ticket £75
Waiting List

Registration Information

Booker details

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Email Confirmation (please retype your email address manually) *

Address *

Address Line 2 (optional)

City/Town *

County/State (optional)

Zip/Post Code *

Country *

Phone *

Gender *

Age *

Occupation *

Have you attended a Buddhist meditation retreat before? If yes, please give details. *

Have you been to a retreat organised by Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project before? *

Do you have a regular home meditation practice? If yes, please describe. *

Do you have any physical condition that may be aggravated by sitting and walking meditation ? Please describe : *

Have you ever been diagnosed or treated for a psychological condition? If yes, please describe the condition, treatment and dates : *

Are you currently taking any medication for any physical or psychological condition? If yes, please specify the condition and list medications and dosage: *

Are there any particular issues you are working through currently eg depression, anxiety, or bereavement? *

Have you ever attempted to take your own life? If yes please provide dates and details. *

What do you hope to gain from this retreat? *

If you are not from the UK, what time is it 8:00 and 20:30 BST/UK Time, in your time zone? And are you able to manage this time difference? (Please answer in details so we can consider your application)

Are you committed to attending the whole retreat, including all the teacher-led sessions? *

For the Waiting List applicants: Are you able to join the retreat on a short notice? Please give us detailed information on your availability.

Thank you for filling in this form! We will contact you after we have reviewed your application and at that time your registration fee will be due. We will then send you your confirmation. Please note that the registration fee is NON REFUNDABLE. *

Please check the box to confirm you have read and consent to Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project’s Privacy Policy (including details given on how Anukampa will process your personal data), that you understand you can change your communication preferences at any time and also that you have read and consent to the terms and conditions of this booking. *

I consent to my submitted data being collected and stored as outlined by the site .