Nayaka came to Dhanakosa in 1996 after learning to meditate with the Newcastle Buddhist Centre. Drawn by the mountains, he quickly felt at home here and became increasingly involved in the running of the centre. He became part of the management team in 1999, was ordained into the Western Buddhist Order in 2001 and became Centre Director in 2006. He has a background in earth and life sciences, a long standing interest in natural history and a love of the wilderness. He lives at Dhanakosa with Dharmavasini and their 2 children.
The five skandhas are a description of human experience often evoked in both early and later Buddhism to point to the nature of reality through reflection. When tackled experientially this list, that at first glance seems rather dry and abstract, becomes rich and wondrous. And, has the power to lead us to deep transformation.
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First daily session (2 hrs): IE & UK 07:30 | Europe CET 08:30 | India 12:00 | Australia AEDT 16.30 | New Zealand 18.30
Second daily session (2 hrs): USA PST 11:00 | México 13:00 | USA EST 14:00 | IE & UK 19:00 | Europe CET 20:00 | India 23:30 | Australia AEDT 04.00 (next day) | New Zealand 06.00 (next day)
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This is a low time commitment online retreat from Dhanakosa to help us discover how we can use the five skandhas as a reflection scheme in everyday life. It will take a practical and accessible look at this traditional list, reflection on which is said to lead to awakening.
The Buddha’s teaching of conditionality or dependent arising offers a way to understand the causes and conditions for suffering in our experience as well as for the ‘spiral path’, a sequence of stages of the path to liberation. This retreat will combine study of the Buddha’s teachings on the spiral path with discussion and meditation to make it all real.
For more information read the retreat information sheet.
The Buddha’s teaching of conditionality or dependent arising offers a way to think about the causes and conditions for suffering in our experience, and about the causes and conditions for the path to liberation. This retreat will combine study of the Buddha’s teachings on conditionality with discussion and meditation to make it all real.
For more information, read the retreat information sheet.
Drawing deeply on the landscape, and the sensual immediacy of our experience, we will explore the traditional Buddhist teaching of the six elements. We will see how this teaching provides a rich framework for reflection, gently transforming our sense of ourselves. This work will be set about with ritual, and the traditional Triratna approach to integration and positive emotion.
An exploration of anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing in sixteen stages), aiming to engage the whole of our experience through sutta study and group discussion, meditation, and periods of silence. Moving through the stages of the anapanasati takes us deeper into a clear and still awareness, leaving us sensitive and open like a living mirror.
For more information, please read the retreat information sheet.
On this retreat we will explore the Buddha's four noble truths and eightfold path to awakening through talks discussion meditation, reflection and ritual. There will be more silence, meditation and a stronger Buddhist context (including an introduction to and practice of 7-fold Puja) than on our introductory retreats. They are open to anyone who has done an introductory retreat or has been attending a local centre and is looking to take their practice a bit deeper.
Dhanakosa is an excellent base for cycling, and cycling, combined with basic meditation instruction and an introduction to the principals of Buddhism is an excellent way to connect a little more deeply with what it is to be alive.
There will be led cycle rides to suit all levels of experience.
For men training for ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order and Order Members.
