Dhyana Through the Body – at Rivendell
Accessing dhyana (jhana), or absorption, seems to be very natural for some people, and a complete mystery to others. Dhyana is well worth cultivating as a way of deepening shamatha (mental tranquillity) as well as for the sheer psycho-somatic pleasure that some of these states afford.
On this retreat, we’ll be suggesting approaches that people have found to be helpful and effective for getting an experience of dhyana, especially cultivating body awareness. This may well involve holding lightly to both our own views and some of what the tradition has to say about dhyana. We’ll proceed on the basis of asking ‘What, in our experience, is and is not actually helpful’? We will also explore, in experience, the relationship between dhyana and insight.
To attend this retreat you will need to have been regularly meditating for at least two years and regularly attend retreats, a centre or a group within the context of the Triratna Buddhist Community. You must also be comfortable with extended periods of sitting meditation, Buddhist devotional practice and spending most of the retreat in silence.