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You will know that we are in the process of buying a bungalow in White Grit to house a manager, not twenty minutes walk away from Satipanya. As usual the process is taking its time.You will also know that Jim Tibby has volunteered to take on the task of managing the property.
You will also know that we are trying to sell the property we bought in Bishops Castle that will finance this buy. The property, we have discovered is somewhat jinxed. When the bath was used, the overflow outlet had no pipe connection, so the water descended into the entrance and soaked the electrical box. Recently the water tank in the roof began to leak. Unfortunately we didn't find out for some time. So now we have to wait till the walls and carpets dry and then we have to redecorate.
On top of that we have President Trump (I'm restraining from the use epithets!) starting an ill-advised war on Iran. This has had a real dampening effect on the housing market. And to date we have had one interested party! So please send some powerful good wishes.
Putting all that to one side, I have neighbours who are shining examples of neighbourliness. Anne is forever beating me at bringing in the bins from the road. And her husband, Richard is always ready to help. This Saturday morning he saw me struggling to cut the grass with the mower that had been left by the sellers. I've let the grass grow so the patch will become a meadow in time. He warned me it would burn out. And he could do it with his powerful model. In he came with a petrol driven state of the art mower and in half an hour cut the grass and stamped it into the bin. Literally, he climbed into the bin and jumped up and down to squash down all the grass. And he's all of seventy! Unfortunately, they've put their house up for sale and want to move to Anglesey in north Wales. I think I am going to miss them.
BEFORE Richard
AFTER Richard
Announcements
Compassionate Inquiry: Ayya Anopama is a Theravada Buddhist nun who has trained in Mahasi as well as other meditation practices. Ayya is now training in Compassionate Inquiry (CI) and from July to September 2026 will be offering free one-to-one CI sessions which can be held in in English, Spanish and German. For more information or to contact Ayya see here.
This years on-line course is titled "Rooted in Mud" and looks at the many ways our path to liberation can spring from the mud of deep sorrows as well as the minor miseries of everyday life. The course includes suggested exercises for home practice and the opportunity to share your reflections with other students on the Satipanya Forum. The first run of the 7 week course started mid-May and it will run again in October. For further information or to register please contact Noirin.
has been published as an ebook, kindle, paperback and can be dowloaded as a PDF. Based on Noirin's Daily Life courses over previous years and supplemented by students' reflections, the book offers a study-practice guide to the Buddha's teaching on Mindfulness of Body, Feeling and Mind. Many thanks to Therese Caherty for editing. Further info here.
Satipanya London Sangha is a small but growing community of friendly and supportive meditators meeting in person at a peaceful community garden near King's Cross station for group sits and lighthearted discussions.
If you'd like to attend upcoming meetings in London and practice vipassana in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw then email Maz and ask to be added to the mailing list.
Join us for your daily meditation - 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]
This collaborative online group studies various dhamma topics across multiple traditions — so, not just Mahāsi practice. Carl says: We warmly extend an invitation to any practitioner who would like to join us. Currently meeting on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at 10:20am - around midday. Please contact Carl at [email protected] for further information.
Join 20.00 to 21.00 UK time 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.
Opening to the Impact of the Climate Emergency: Following on from the Zoom with Gwen Sanderson and Bhante Bodhidhamma in 2023, 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). Contact Noirin for further info or to register.
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
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.
Please apply only when you are certain to come.
Mindful Accident?
Bhante Bodhidhamma
It was the third Saturday in June and I woke relieved. My home-made head bandage was still firmly attached to my head and no sign of blood.
I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep since the 2cm long cut at the back of my skull is just where I place my head on the pillow, but I was able to place the pillow beneath it and I slept like a log.
Looking out onto my overgrown lawn – I’m developing a meadow … seriously – I’m wondering what lesson is to be learnt.
Way back in 2007, I woke with the room barrelling around me. I staggered to the toilet to splash my face and fell back into bed. The next morning I rang 111 and the nurse told me to go and see the doctor if it happened again. Well, it didn’t, but I’d lost a lot of my sense of balance. I’m often gently moving off centre before I notice it.
And that’s what happened late evening yesterday. I was trying out an exercise bike a friend had given to me. As I got off, I lost balance. As I fell backwards, I grabbed the bike only to find it was helping me on the way down. I then fell against the swivel chair only to be launched at the filing cabinet. It’s a cheap one so the metal is ‘soft’. Quite a bang and I caught the back of my head on the handle.
I lay there for a while recognising that was a nasty bump and waiting to see if I saw stars or lost consciousness. Nothing happened so I got up. I began to get a mild headache, so it really was a bang on the head. I went to rub the sore feeling on my head only to find my hand covered in blood!
I had bought a small packet of small Elastoplasts that would not do. So I rolled up a sheet of kitchen paper and Celotaped it to my head. And that’s what I lay on my pillow.
So what is the lesson? I could be harsh. Be careful! And go easy, you silly old …!
Now I dare say you will be wanting to say, ‘Oh Bhante, you have to be more mindful’.
But I can assure I was very mindful getting off that bike because it was awkward. It has, of course, made me more aware of my disability.
So, the question arises, ‘Can you have an accident while being mindful?’
To understand why that can happen we have to recall the Buddha’s understanding of how events occur. Every moment is a meeting of past causes into presenting conditions. This is the Specific Law of Conditionality, Idappaccayatā.
Whenever we are crossing a busy road, each step enters into a new environment. Such may be our concern, our attention is on the moving traffic and we have not noticed the pothole next to the kerb. That hole has been waiting a long time for someone’s foot to acknowledge its presence. Luckily our forward stumble is automatically halted, but it leaves us with a nasty shock. A normal reaction. And that’s when we smile, recalling to mind the Idappaccayatā.
We work with ever changing, never repeating, momentary conditions.
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