Meditation Retreat with Venerable Sayalay Dipankara - April 2012

(Full and partial retreat options available)

The community at Buddhas Way happily invites you to an intensive meditation retreat with Venerable Sayalay Dipankara.

As the retreat will be a time of earnest practice, we will hold and maintain a 'noble' silence during the entire retreat period. The daily schedule (complete with practice and meal times) is adapted to practitioners from the Theravada tradition which makes it possible to take and keep the 8 training rules for the retreat period (see explanation of training rules below).

It is also our wish to offer those interested in a taste of intensive practice to join us for a special 3-day retreat option. Participants will arrive on Thursday night to receive a short introduction and then join the already ongoing meditation retreat. 

The full retreat is recommended for more advanced practitioners that have the ability to sit for an hour at a time.

Retreat language: English with German translation.

The course fee includes travel costs and donation for Venerable Dipankara as well as two vegetarian meals. For participants taking normal evening meal, please inform us in your registration. The price is 5€ extra per mealtime.

Participation of monastics is free of charge.

Full 10-Day Meditation Retreat from April 12 (9am) until April 21 (12pm)

Booking Code: 20434
Retreat Rate: 200 €
Students with ID: 30% discount

Plus room and board:

Double room: 315 €
Triple room: 270 €
Dormitory (4 persons): 225 €

Partial 3-Day Meditation Retreat from April 13 (8am) until April 15 (6pm)

(arrival Thursday evening requested)

Booking Code:  20547 
Retreat Rate: 70 €
Students with ID:  30% discount

Plus room and board:
Double room: 70 €
Triple room: 60 €
Dormitory (4 persons): 50 €

Important: When applying/registering, please always state the above-mentioned booking code.This also applies when paying the fee via bank transfer. Thank you.

Biography of Venerable Sayalay Dipankara

Venerable Sayalay Dipankara was born in 1964 in Myanmar. At a very young age, she started the practice of meditation without any external instruction. Throughout the years she continued her practice with the guidance of various great meditation masters. In her university days, she was introduced by one of her professors, also a well known Abhidhamma teacher in Myanmar, to Ven. Pa-Auk Sayadaw for close guidance in Samatha and Vipassana practice. She accomplished the practice within a very short period, under the guidance of her skilful teacher. In 1990, she was ordained as a Theravada nun at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. Since then, she was trained to be a meditation teacher.

For almost 2 decades Ven. Dipankara has experience in teaching any of the 40 Kammatthana (meditation objects) as mentioned in the Visuddhi-Magga, e.g. Anapanassati (Mindfulness on the in- and out-breath), Four Elements Meditation, Metta (Loving Kindness), Buddhanussati (Reflection on Buddha's Qualities), Asubha (Reflection on Foulness), Marananussati (Recollection on Death), the 8 Samapatti (1st to 8th Jhana), all Kasina objects, etc. She also teaches the Vipassana Meditation where yogis will be guided through the 7 stages of purification and insight-knowledge which is indeed a very precious and profound practice.

Ven. Dipankara has also been invited by various reputable Buddhist Centres in different countries to conduct courses and intensive meditation retreats for many years. These countries include USA, Canada, England, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Germany. In 2001, Sayalay was also invited for the „Western Conference on Jhana" at Jubilados Foundation in New Mexico, USA.

Website of Venerable Dipankara

www.cakkavala.org

Website of Pa-Auk Forest Monastery

www.paaukforestmonastery.org

relevant literature:

1. Teaching and Training

2. Knowing and Seeing

3. The Workings of Kamma

Preliminary daily schedule

04.30 h: Wake-up
05.00 till 06.00 h: Sitting Meditation
06.30 h: Breakfast
following till 07.45 h: Helping for the community (i.e. dish-washing and cleaning services according to an in-house schedule)
08.15 till 09.15 h: Sitting Meditation
09.15 till 10.00 h: Individual Time for Walking Meditation etc.
10.00 till 11.00 h: Sitting Meditation
11.15 Lunch
following till 12.15 h: Helping for the community (i.e. dish-washing)
13.30 till 14.00 h: Individual Time for Walking Meditation etc.
14.00 till 15.30 h: Sitting Meditation
15.30 till 16.30 h: Individual Time for Walking Meditation etc. -  Interviews with Ven. Dipankara
16.30 till 18.00 h: Sitting Meditation
18.00 till 19.00 h: Break: Tea, Juice, light vegetarian broth
19.15 till 19.30 h: Chanting
19.30 till 20.30 h: Sitting Meditation or Dhamma Talk
following additional individual practice and/or sleep

The 8 Precepts in the Monastery ...

... to support the daily practice. The rules consist of two parts, to avoid unwholesome actions and to unfold wholesome actions.

1. Train yourself not to kill or injure any living beings. Develop and unfold love and compassion for all sentient beings.

2. Train yourself not to take anything that has not been given. Develop and unfold generosity.

3. Train yourself to live sexual abstinence. Develop and unfold reliability and accountability.

4. Train yourself to avoid lying and using coarse words. Develop and unfold Right Speech.

5. Train yourself to avoid alcohol and drugs. Develop mindfulness and meditation practice.

6. Train yourself not to take any solid food after lunch. Develop and unfold sufficiency and frugality.

7. Train yourself not to indulge in sensual pleasures and to avoid embellishments and cosmetics. Live natural and simple.

8.Train yourself to renounce luxury. Live modest and simple.

 

 

Seit nun fast 2 Jahrzehnten gehört die Ehrwürdige Dipankara zu den erfahrenen Lehrer/innen der 40 Kammatthana (Meditations-Objekte) wie sie in der Visuddhi-Magga beschrieben sind. Dies umfasst z. B. Anapanassati (Achtsamkeit auf den Ein- und Ausatem), 4-Elemente Meditation, Metta (Liebevolle Güte), Buddhanussati (Reflektion Buddhas Qualitäten), Asubha (Reflektion auf die Widerwertigkeit des Vergänglichen), Marananussati (Reflektion über den Tod), die 8 Samapatti (1. bis 8. Jhana), die Kasina-Objekte etc. Auch lehrt sie die Vipassana-Meditation, die den Meditierenden Schritt für Schritt durch die 7 Stufen der Reinheit zum Erkenntnisblick und zur Wissensentfaltung führt. Eine in jeder Hinsicht sehr wertvolle und tiefgründige Praxis.

Seit vielen Jahren wird die Ehrwürdige Dipankara von zahlreichen angesehenen Buddhistischen Zentren in vielen verschiedenen Ländern der Erde, wie z. B. USA, Kanada, England, Australien, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapur und Deutschland, eingeladen, um Kurse und intensive Meditations-Retreats zu leiten. 2001 war Sayalay eine der geladenen Referentinnen an der „Westlichen Konferenz über Jhanas" der Jubilados Stiftung in Neu Mexiko, USA.

Website der Ehrwürdigen Dipankara
www.cakkavala.org
Website des Pa-Auk Waldklosters
www.paaukforestmonastery.org

Literaturhinweise:
1. Teaching and Training
2. Knowing and Seeing
3. The Workings of Kamma