Title
Dhyana & emptiness
From the earliest days, the main meditative approach to awakening in Buddhism has combined the cultivation of calmness of mind (shamatha) and mental absorption (dhyana) with the cultivation of liberating insight (vipashyana).
Accessing dhyana seems very natural for some people and a complete mystery to others. On this retreat, Tejananda will be suggesting approaches that people have found to be helpful and effective. This may involve questioning both our own views and some of what the tradition has to say about dhyana practice. We’ll proceed on the basis of asking ‘What, in our experience, is and is not actually helpful?’
We’ll then explore further in the context of awareness and insight, using a progression of insight contemplations from the Buddha’s Shorter Discourse on Emptiness. This starts from our ordinary everyday experience and proceeds into the formless spheres of boundless space, consciousness and no-thingness. This may sound very ‘advanced’ but these spheres are surprisingly accessible and the approach to emptiness is less analytical and more experiential than many of those developed in later schools.
For more information see the retreat information sheet.