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Practice in Daily Life (PODL)
Online support for Practice, Jan - March,
Led by Bhante, Info
here
See below for Retreats
Perhaps a little late in the day, my 80th loomed upon me all of a sudden. And I realised that I need to start up new
teachers
. All who I have worked with - Hui, Pierre and Mark - show great potential. Next year, I shall be adding Tisara and Josephine. And we also have Hannes Huber, a long established teacher. There are also others I would like to invite. Hopefully, over time there will be enough teachers to continue the long retreats. For this was the purpose of the centre, to offer a continuous programme for those who wanted to stay longer than the usual week or two.
Returning from my retreat, there is always something that needs attending to. Noirin has been struggling with the air source heating system. The engineers can't find out what's wrong! Such is the problem with high-tech. When it works, it's a miracle. Once it malfunctions, you are thrown into a hell realm! We are now investing in oil heaters to cover all the rooms in the eventuality of shut down. That will definitely raise our heating costs and we are still having to bear the hike after Covid shut down, paying a huge c70p per kilowatt hour. Thankfully, this ends in February when we have a regular tariff.
And the final bit of news is that I shall be sending out information about the Manager role in a couple of weeks. It's all change at Satipanya!
Wishing you all a very fruitful year!
Hope to see you on the New Years Vigil and PODL!
Announcements
Our retreat house in Bishops Castle "Sativasa" is now open for personal retreats. Suitable only for established meditators. Come for a week or longer. Retreats are self catering so the first day might need to be spent shopping, cooking etc. See
here
for more info. To apply email
Bhante
or
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 growing community of friendly and supportive meditators meeting in-person every month in 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 join our WhatsApp group using
this link
and say hello, or
email Maz
if you have any questions.
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 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.
The 2026 Calanders is available for courses into January.
Please Note
Courses from late March into late summer open for application on
Friday, 16 January
Please apply only when you are certain to come.
The Necessity of Cultivating Joy
Sympathetic Joy, Reciprocal Joy.
Mudita
Bhante Bodhidhamma
There was never a time under my teachers in Theravada, who were all Burmese monks, the two most well-known were Sayadaw U Janaka and Sayadaw U Pandita, when I was given instructions on how to develop joy or compassion or equanimity. It was only metta we were encouraged to develop. Now there is a wisdom to that for once metta is developed, there is an easier response to suffering with compassion and to joy with joy.
However, joy is an Illimitable; it can be developed indefinitely. And it is a Divine Abode, one of the most beautiful mental states. And so important to balance compassion.
In a world which now manifests such suffering, causing us to feel depressed and hopeless, joy is an antidote. And if in a downcast mood we feel there is nothing to be joyful about, then we are not paying attention. We tend to be more aware of negativity, such as perceived dangers and for good reason, than we are of positivity. But if, on waking, we make a decision to be aware of how many times during the day we are in some degree of happiness, the work of developing joy is by that very attention enhanced.
So not only does developing joy balance any compassion it stops us falling into grief and apathy, but encourages us to action. It also undermines those negative states of envy and jealousy. As a distinguishing definition let us say that envy is wanting what the other has and jealousy the same but laced with hatred.
“Envy is abandoned by one who develops sympathetic joy.”
Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.161 – Issā Sutta
To watch a parent rejoicing in their daughter’s or son’s success is to see how much more joy there is in being joyful for others. A joy shared is a joy squared.
[i]
In a work environment, where people, abandon blame and praise each other, all those bad feelings around rivalry, competition and subtle hostility are reduced. I’ve no doubt it increases productivity. So praising someone for their social or economic achievement has the effect of lessening resentment and selfishness, undermining that ego-self.
It is important to distinguish joy from excitement. Excitement is indulging in the feelings of joy and relies on some type of greed to keep it growing. When that fails, boredom sets in and the search for another ‘exciting thing to do’ starts all over. It becomes an addiction. Joy is a quiet, pleasant and at times very pleasant mental state, even to the point of Absorption, the jhana. It is always accompanied with calmness, equanimity. It never demands you keep it going. It is always an appropriate response to a joyful situation. And there’s no hankering after it when it passes.
Moreover, although it is complicated brain chemistry (for me!), in lay terms, the result of feeling in a down mood as a regular mood, changes the cell receptors so that the physical sensations to joyful moods are dampened. So, it is physiologically important to develop joyfulness! Since the body and mind (nama-rupa) are intermeshed, the body acts like a sounding board to mental states making our feeling tone that much more dense.
And for those who credit the possibility of rebirth:
“One who develops the liberation of mind by sympathetic joy
… is reborn in a happy destination.” Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.125
Mindheart (citta) is liberated of all unwholesome states, at least when the mindheart is in a state of joy.
So how do we develop Joy? As we develop Metta. Bring to mind someone who makes you feel joyful – little children, a pet, a joyful event, any joyful person. And use that as a touch stone and then go through the normal Metta process ending with all beings in all directions.
The blessings are simple: may you be joyful; may you be ever more joyful. And if it agrees with you: may you experience the sublime happiness of Nibbana.
Wishing you a very joyful 2026!
[i]
A Swedish proverb, "Shared joy is double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow".
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