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FULL MOON OBSERVANCE
Next Sun. Feb. 05
Practice in Ordinary Daily Life (PODL) Course
Sun. Feb. 05: Day Retreat – Sun. a.m. Feb. 12: Sharing
"I managed to meditate every day of the following week and found I had more peace, calmness and positivity in my day to day life." — A.
"Practicing in daily life is more difficult than on retreat, due to all the distractions, so this retreat gave a controlled setting to explore this." — T.
"This was a new and, in the end, very helpful way of meditating and it definitely had an effect in my daily life." — D.
The rats are back! There's a cupboard at the back of the Block where the communication cable and water pipes enter into the building. They love the plastic! Or they are famished at this time of the year. At least it is not so drastic as it was last time when the chewed through a water pipe in the loft of the Bungalow. You would have thought that builders in the countryside are aware of this danger. We now have expense of changing the whole cable with a steel amoured cable. My question is why have the rats taken so long to attack? We've been here 15 years. Anyway ...
And they are eating the wires in the car, damaging the rear lights! Modern plastics are mixed with vegetable plastics and this is said what attracts rats. What amazing digestive systems!
The
PODL
course went very well with some 15 participants. 30 had applied so I hope they and others will join the next one on Sunday February 05. See below.
Noirin is now on personal retreat till mid-March. She will continue with her Tips about Climate Crisis then.
Announcements
Northwest area Satipanya Sangha:
Anyone living in the northwest, particularly in Chester, Manchester, Liverpool and surrounding areas who would like to explore options for practicing together please contact
Martin Ratcliffe
who hopes to form a local group.
Opening to the Impact of the Climate Emergency:
Following on from the Zoom with Gwen Sanderson and Bhante Bodhidhamma in September, there are two options for ongoing engagement:
-
Gwen Sanderson is facilitating monthly
Climate and Dhamma Conversations
which are held using
Zoom
. Email
Gwen
for further information or to register.
-
Noirin Sheahan has set up a Satipanya
Forum
focussing on the
Six Maxims
(ethical training to prepare for the social and environmental consequences of climate change - see tip below). Contact
Noirin
for further info or to register.
This collaborative study group has evolved out of the fortnightly London and South East Satipanya Saṅgha which has been meeting via Zoom since the beginning of the Covid outbreak. We are currently
studying the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta
, as set out by Joseph Goldstein in his
46 part discussion on the Dharma Seed site
and in his book Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening. We intend to continue this group on Zoom and
warmly extend an invitation to any practitioner
who would like to join us. Currently meeting alternate Sundays 10:30am - midday. Please contact
[email protected]
for further information. (By the way, please try again if you've emailed to attend and haven't received anything back, Carl has been particularly busy lately.)
Join us for your daily meditation - 06.00, 09.00, 14.00, 16.00 and 20.00 sits.
Info.
An informal meditation group meets on a monthly basis via Zoom for a full day of meditation. Email Magda for details at
[email protected]
Join 20.00 to 21.00 on the Sunday closest to the Full Moon. Bhante gives a short dhamma talk, followed by a 30-min sitting, refuges and precepts and we end by reading and chanting the metta sutta.
For date of next Celebration.
Every morning at puja we call the names of those who are sick or dying, or are having a hard time.
Every evening at puja we call the names of those who have something to rejoice.
Satipanya Courses
Coronavirus:
Requirements for visiting Satipanya.
We are asking everyone to take an antigen test before setting out in their journey to Satipanya and not to come if the test is positive.
Vipassana as taught by the Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma
The Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma, one of the most influential vipassana insight meditation teachers of the last century, developed techniques to help us maintain moment to moment mindfulness from the instant we awake to the instant we fall asleep.
This leads not only to spiritual insights into our true, unborn-undying essence, but also, equally important, to the purification of the heart. So that we not only become wiser but more caring, generous, joyous and compassionate.
Applying the techniques on this retreat we follow a robust schedule, but meditators can modulate their practice to fit their level of experience, even absolute beginners. The accent is on relaxation and curiosity, rather than striving and concentration. And regular teacher contact, daily Q&A and personal interviews ensures students are supported throughout.
The retreat ends with advice on how to bring the practice into ordinary daily life to enhance our relationships and give spiritual meaning to our work and everyday tasks.
Assistants Needed
N.B.
All the courses are serviced by assistants.
As assistant you have the opportunity to serve others. It can be a way of
expressing gratitude for the gift of Dhamma. Although the morning is mainly
taken up with breakfast preparation and cooking, the rest of day is for
practice.
You can
see
the menus here
(PDF).
As an assistant, we do not expect payment of the deposit or make a donation
because you have kindly offered your time.
However, your commitment is essential, for the course would be very difficult to
run without an assistant and may indeed have to be cancelled.
If you are interested, follow this link:
Course
Assistant
For info. about retreats and teachers see website:
www.satipanya.org.uk
See drop down menus: especially About Us, Teachings and Retreats
Would you like to come and assist on a course?
See
calendar on website
for up-to-date assistant need.
Make sure you diary the date when applications can be received
for the retreat you want to attend.
To Love or To Be Loved. That is the Question.
Bhante Bodhidhamma
The Buddhadhamma teaches that we have unconscious desires, the anusaya, latent tendencies. The habits we have formed lie beneath our conscious life and rise only when some stimulus activates a given unskilful reaction. But like little devils, the anusaya are always there influencing the way we behave. Freud also was well aware of this and we have the ‘Freudian slip’ to tell us how embarrassed we can be by such unwelcome intervention.
The whole area of love is fraught with such little devils. And we have to ask ourselves constantly: Am I thinking, saying and doing this as an expression of love for the other or as a means to get them to love me, appreciate me or both?
According to psychoanalysis, as babies we are utterly identified with our mothers. As the necessary separation takes place so we can become individuals in our own right, we lose the safety and warmth of that union. So there is a longing to re-establish such a heavenly union for the rest of our lives. One reason why falling in love is so enthralling, is because it reminds us of that earlier union with our mothers.
The Dhamma digs a little deeper to the sense of self and how it drives us to seek delight ‘now here, now there’. But it sits on a bed of insecurity, highlighted only when the shadow of death is glimpsed. There is no greater reassurance in that dread than the embrace of another. False refuge, yet it does serve to allay the sickled ghost. In that need, we find ourselves unconsciously offering our love in order to be loved.
Yet in doing so, we are developing all the neediness and selfishness that insecurity can develop. We become anxious about whether we are liked or not, good enough or not. We must butter up our self-esteem by doing good for the other, impressing the other. We find ourselves going over the top to help and find we are even becoming nuisances. Rejection for such ‘generous offering’ stings and we tend to blame the other for their ingratitude. ‘I have done so much for you ….’
Paradoxically, when all our intentions bend to love, to care for the other, sensitive to their needs, we find that self-esteem arises naturally. Such is the product of virtue. There is no need for appreciation or gratitude to be expressed.
What practice can we set ourselves to move towards a pure loving? First, we must heighten our sense of awareness around our intentions now that we are forewarned. Second, we must be sure the intention is a fully conscious act so that the unwholesome intentions are not reinforced and so, unexercised, simply wither. And the reflection after any conversation or act and especially at the end of the day, gently pointing to errors and being joyful at successes that lead to a greater love and care.
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at the bottom of the front page of the website.
Many thanks.
Finally
, please forward this email if you know someone who may be
interested. Thanks.
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