Auckland Insight, together with teachers Jill Shepherd, Willa Thaniya Reid and Elizabeth Day, is planning to offer a two-week retreat for experienced meditators at Te Moata Retreat Centre in August 2023. This will be a rare opportunity to do a longer meditation retreat in New Zealand.

Led by three highly experienced meditation teachers, it will combine approaches from the Thai Forest and Western Insight traditions. Together, these will provide retreatants with an in-depth exploration of a variety of Buddhist teachings and practices, including the Four Establishments of Mindfulness that orient us to deep freedom, and the four Brahmavihāra practices of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity that open the heart and mind. At the beginning and end of the retreat, there may also be some relational practice meditating together in pairs or small groups, to strengthen our sense of sangha/community. The rest of the retreat will be held in Noble Silence.

Teachers: Jill Shepherd, Willa Thaniya Reid and Elizabeth Day (partial)

Willa Thaniya Reid spent 18 years in Ajahn Chah monasteries in Thailand and the UK extending her practice of meditation and Buddhist contemplation. As the senior nun of the Chithurst community in England for eight years, she supported both the lay and monastic communities. She has taught retreats in Europe, America, Australia and the UK, and continues to teach in the US and NZ. She has a Masters of Counselling, and clinical pastoral training.

Dr Elizabeth Day has been practising meditation and yoga for over 30 years, including as an ordained monastic within the Ajahn Chah monasteries in the UK. She has held leadership positions in the Health and Higher Education sectors, including as Head of Department of Psychotherapy and Counselling at AUT in Aotearoa New Zealand. She has a Doctorate in intersubjectivity, and is a qualified yoga teacher and Gestalt psychotherapist. She teaches meditation retreats locally and internationally.

Jill Shepherd began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and since that time has lived and worked at several meditation centres and monasteries in the US, Australia, England, and Thailand. She spent seven years on staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts, and is a graduate of the IMS / Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal.

Experience level: This retreat is best suited to people who have done at least two previous insight meditation retreats of five days or longer.

Retreat fees: approx $1500 + dāna*

Exact amount to be advised, once we have more information about the number of participants and venue costs. We will do our best to keep costs as low as possible.

The retreat fee covers only the cost of food and accommodation. The teaching is freely offered, and there will be an opportunity to give dāna* to the teachers at the end of the retreat.

To ensure we have the numbers to go ahead with this retreat, please register your interest (at no cost) by clicking on the Get Tickets button on this site, then we can contact you when we have more information about costs and other practical details.

*Dāna: In most Buddhist traditions the teachers are not paid to teach. Instead, the teachings are given on a ‘dāna’ basis – dāna being the Pāli 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.