Connecting through silence, solitude, stillness: cultivating the heart of freedom

This nine-day retreat provides a rare opportunity to explore different aspects of the Buddha’s teachings on freedom, through both individual meditation and relational practice. Grounded in Noble Silence and adapting to our current circumstances at home, we will learn how to relate more skilfully to ourselves, each other, and the world around us through a blend of individual and relational meditation practice.

We will explore the four establishments of mindfulness and the four brahmavihara heart qualities of kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity, as supports for releasing the different obstacles that often show up along the path to freedom. As we learn how to overcome these obstacles, we’re able to live with greater ease, happiness, and peace, and to connect with the wisdom and compassion that are our true nature.

The retreat will include daily instruction in insight meditation each morning. Each afternoon, there will be a 1.5 hour session of relational practice. This involves meditating together in pairs or small groups practising mindful speaking and listening, using the six guidelines of Insight Dialogue to support deep inquiry into the dharma, the Buddha's teachings.

For more information about the practice of Insight Dialogue, please see

https://insightdialogue.org/relational-practices/insight-dialogue/

*** Due to the fluidity of the Covid-19 situation, this retreat will now be held online and is designed to be integrated into your everyday life circumstances.

Each day, there will be three teaching sessions of 1.0-1.5 hours that everyone is asked to attend, plus three small-group practice meetings.

Outside those required sessions, you are encouraged to follow the retreat schedule of formal meditation practice to whatever extent you’re able, within your current life context.

The three teaching sessions are:

9:30 am – 10:30 am
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
7:30 pm – 8:15 pm

All times are New Zealand Standard time. Check here (Links to an external site.) for other time-zones.

The schedule for small group practice meetings with the teachers will be advised at the start of the retreat, and be every second or third day, at either 11:00-11:45 or 4:45-5:30 pm.

Experience level: This retreat is best suited to people who have done at least one previous insight meditation two-day retreat or longer, but prior Insight Dialogue experience is not required.

Teacher: Jill Shepherd

Retreat fees: registration $100 + dana* for the teachers

To reserve a place on the retreat, you will need to pay a deposit of $100 through Humanitix.

Cancellation policy: The payment is refundable up to thirty days before the retreat begins. If you cancel after this time, the retreat cost will be forfeited and used to help provide scholarship places.

If we have to cancel the retreat due to Covid-19, you will receive a full refund.

*Dana: In most Buddhist traditions the teachers are not paid to teach. Instead, the teachings are given on a ‘dana’ basis – dana being the Pali word for generosity or giving freely - so there will be an opportunity to offer a donation for the teaching at the end of the event.