Waking from the dream – Online retreat

A ‘Buddha’ is one who has realised ‘bodhi’. Both of these words come from budh, ‘to wake’, to know’, ‘to understand’. We already have a sense of what this analogy is getting at – after all, we wake up, often straight out of a dream, every single day!

We’re asleep, deeply enmeshed in a dream – maybe a nightmare – and then suddenly we’re awake. At that moment, the world that seemed so real a moment ago is seen to be illusory, not ‘real’. There is not the slightest doubt – we know.

But the Buddha didn’t just wake up from an ordinary dream, he woke up to the illusory nature of this very ‘waking reality’. This is the illusion.

As the Diamond Sutra says:

As stars, a fault of vision, as a lamp,

A mock show, dew drops, or a bubble,

A dream, a lightening flash, or a cloud,

So should one view what is conditioned.

It’s not ‘real’ in the way we believe it to be and, in the dream we’re living in now, we’re creating a lot of unnecessary suffering.

The Buddha saw through all layers of illusion in the course of a single night, but the vast majority of people see through and wake up from illusion layer by layer.

On this retreat we’ll be exploring some of the dream-illusions implicit in our sense of identity, particularly “I am separate” and “I am my thoughts / the thinker”.  How do we create a sense of ‘me’ as a separate entity, and ‘other’ as an objective world ‘out there’?  And, most importantly, how can we genuinely wake up from the narrow confines of identification with the dream into an unfabricated space of openness, clear-seeing and unconditional love?

Suitable for people with at least three years of regular meditation practice.

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The programme on each day will be (UK times):

8.00 – 10.00 practice, teaching and inquiry

15.00 – 16.30 ritual, chanting, meditation and the opportunity to join a breakout group to discuss your practice

19.00 – 20.30 – practice, teaching and inquiry

I won’t be able to offer one to one reviews during the retreat but if you would like to have one or more follow-up reviews (10 to 20 minutes), I’ll offer that possibility.

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This retreat and subsequent reviews or mentoring are offered on the principle of reciprocal generosity (dana). There is no charge, but your generosity in supporting my livelihood and work is greatly appreciated. If you are unable to afford anything at present, I would much prefer that you attend nevertheless.

To register interest in this online retreat, please email me at tejananda.online@proton.me I will acknowledge your booking and send out full details, including the zoom link, a week or so before the retreat starts.