In essence, ‘simply being’ evokes the effortless flow of embodied presence. Presence is this ‘timeless moment’, where there is no observer nor observed, no subject or object. It is always unconditionally ‘here’. Yet, we remain ignorant of it owing to the deep conditioning of our self-narratives. Nevertheless, it is what we are and we […]
Seven days of meditation, lively exploration, and strong, supportive friendship: a space to explore why the wisdom of emptiness is, precisely, compassion. Led by Tejananda, with Kusalacitta leading ritual and meditation in the afternoon slot *** The Heart Sutra is one of the most familiar of all Buddhist texts and, inevitably, there are innumerable takes […]
Body Heart Mind Awake – taking the backward step This is my first 'personal' online retreat, exploring the title I've given to my website. Mind is usually taken to mean all kinds of mental activity, but what we’re interested in here is ‘mind itself’ – the awake, aware quality of mind. Awakeness is here […]
In Zen, a sesshin is a period of especially intense all-the-time formal practice. For three days on this retreat, we will adopt - and adapt - this approach. Each day, there will be several two-hour periods of sitting and walking, and we’ll be opening to the presence of awareness in all of our activities […]
The well-known metaphor of ‘a finger pointing at the moon’ is itself a pointer to something essential in dharma practice. It suggests ‘don’t mistake the finger for the moon’. But what is the moon, and what is the finger? The finger could be taken as whatever gets us looking and going in the ‘right’ direction. […]
Our ‘precious human body’ is the first and most important foundation not just of mindfulness, but of meditation and Dharma practice as a whole. The teaching of the Buddha’s ‘Three Bodies’ (trikaya) suggests that there is far, far more to the body than meets the eye. These could be summarised as the bodies of truth […]
The Heart Sutra is one of the most well-known and loved of all Buddhist texts. Inevitably, there are innumerable takes on what it ‘means’. Early western commentators treated it as philosophy or even poetry. But what if it actually points us towards our own immediate experience as the way to “sunder the bonds that cause […]
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 […]
Body, heart and mind are essential facets of our being. Mind is usually taken to mean all kinds of mental activity, but what we’re interested in here is ‘mind itself’ – the awake, aware quality of mind. Awakeness is here even when we feel sleepy and dull. How do we know that we’re sleepy and […]
‘Simply being’ points to the aliveness and awakeness that we can recognise at any moment. It’s an openness to full presence, our full being - in body, senses and awareness. It points to being what we really are, beyond conceptual fabrication. In recognising and opening to the steady and spacious aspects of experience here […]
Body, heart and mind are essential facets of our being. Mind is usually taken to mean all kinds of mental activity, but what we’re interested in here is ‘mind itself’ – the awake, aware quality of mind. Awakeness is here even when we feel sleepy and dull. How do we know that we’re sleepy and […]
A weekend exploring suññatā as non-separation In my online retreat earlier in the year, the ‘moon’ to which I was pointing was the unfindability of a separate self. The kind of self that we think we are - persisting, potentially satisfactory and somehow ‘who and what I really am’ - is nothing but a mental […]
