spring 2012 insight in the buddhist tradition news Contents

Regular Articles Welcome pg 2 A word from our Trustees pg 4 Sangha News pg 9 Coordinator news and reflection pg 10 Teacher’s Corner pg 15 Focus on Retreats pg 17 UK One Day Retreat Information pg 20 UK Sitting Groups pg 22

Features in this edition Waking Up In (Our Own) Time pg 5 by Rob Burbea

to get us thinking and to challenge our conventional thinking. but few get to know them so intimately as she has done; it is Instant Communication pg 12 Director’s piece... I tend to harbour a comfortable notion of compassion as a delightful to hear some of the inside story, especially when by Martine Batchelor pleasant feeling of goodwill, but the searing honesty which Now in an unnaturally warm late March I feel excited at written in such a poetic way. Insight Meditation and Rob advocates would not be so easy to live with. The the prospect of the long, dreamy, hot summer days ahead. This newsletter is the first one to be taken under the -based Approaches pg 14 intellectual beliefs and values in my head are in conflict with Coming out of winter always brings a relief, heralded at the wing of Charlotte Johnston, our new Communications by Christina Feldman the course of my daily life, with assumptions which I hold front of Gaia House by the patches of daffodils and around Manager. Very many thanks to Sarah Abdy for her years about how I should relate to people or how I should behave in Your feedback please! pg 16 the back of the building by the delicious smell of the wild of hard editorial work, during which this small publication garlic growing in dense, shaded clumps. I have a strong society. What do I do when ideas which hold out the hope by Charlotte Johnston has come a long way. With the intention of harnessing feeling of being revived, that there is more to look forward of a better world prejudice the easy relationships which make the considerable expertise available to Gaia House, A Secular Buddhist pg 18 to once again. my world feel peaceful? Charlotte is aided by an Editorial Group consisting of by Stephen Batchelor Rob is giving us a difficult message: although we can all I enjoy this time of the year and the resurgence of life. But two teachers (Stephen Batchelor and John Peacock), make sense of ideas in the Dharma, living in a way fully true in Rob Burbea’s article in this newsletter, James Gustav Speth a trustee (Sarah Hamilton), and by any measure last of all, is quoted: “we, I fear, are living a dream. We need to be to the Dharma is a different matter altogether. The Dharma, Credits according to this ruthless exposition, undermines us, presents me. reminded of the nightmare ahead.” In his striking piece Rob Editor: Andy Power asks us what it means to wake up from the dream. He points us with complications and contradictions where we search The 2013 programme is already being put together now, Photography: Julian Sutton & Vibeke Dahl out the anomaly that pursuing a compassionate approach to desperately for clarity and straightforwardness. Truth appears and it seems timely to pass the message on that there life must consider future generations, yet that very consideration to be an elusive notion, maybe even a spurious one. In the will be an extended shutdown of six weeks in January- Design & Print: Kingfisher Print and Design Ltd face of such difficulty do we bow our heads and leave it for using inks from sustainable will put us in a direct – and potentially very uncompassionate- February 2013. A couple of retreats will unfortunately and renewable sources, looking – collision course with our contemporaries and even others to sort out, or do we look into the depths of seeming be lost because of this, while others will be re-scheduled, the paper is 100 per cent post-consumer waste. ourselves. I am forced to ask how much I am living a dream: impossibility and join the collective search for a way to but we hope to accomplish a full overhaul of the internal reconcile this into our lives and our future? It is also chlorine-free and how much of my own self-satisfied value system is nothing heating equipment throughout the house over that period. FSC-accredited more than vaporous nice intentions? Suddenly my enthusiasm The deepest truth that I need to come back to when I get With a hoped-for end result of a much less troublesome, (www.fsc-uk.org). is compromised, my sense of who I am feels undermined; lost in such labyrinthine complexities is the grounding, simple All by-products of the more efficient and more effective heating infrastructure production and printing my passing springtime enjoyment seems like a cheap refuge. presence of that springtime beauty in the garden, and the to complement our woodchip boiler and solar panels, processes are recycled. Rob’s uncompromising message is not an easy one to take pleasure it creates. we think that the sacrifice will be worthwhile. on board. Talking of which, Emma describes inspiringly the pleasure she It’s not easy because such strong, appealing ideas are has derived from working in the garden for the last couple of Andy Power

fraught with difficulty. It is brave to expose these thoughts, years later in this issue. So many people enjoy our gardens, Director CBP0003490305124259

2 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 3 A word from Waking Up our Trustees In (Our Own) Time Writing this gave me an opportunity to reflect on Rob Burbea my first year as a Trustee, both personally and in terms of what has been happening at Gaia House. Recently there have been changes amongst the Trustee Board with the departure at the end of 2011 of Douglas What does it mean to wake up today, in the midst of this modern life? Stoddart and Rob Sully. Thanks are due to both of them for the generosity with which they gave of their individual skills, expertise and time over the past years. We are If ‘waking up’ has something to do with the way we meet life, what is our pleased to welcome two new trustees, Pete Mallard and sense of what an ‘awakened’ (or at least, a ‘more awakened’) meeting Justin Andrews. Both may be already known to some with life might involve? What do we imagine it might look like? And in our readers as Pete manages The Barn Retreat at Sharpham The Trustee Board, like the Boards of many charities with and Justin has been a co-ordinator at Gaia House. a strong ethos, is faced with the need to make decisions notion of ‘Meeting Life’, what exactly do we mean when we say ‘Life’? Greater numbers of yogis from an ever wider range of that accord with Gaia House’s Ethical Guidelines whilst at the same time ensuring that we comply with backgrounds have been coming to Gaia House and For modern ‘Life’ (however we construe it) now inevitably Though often conceived of as an ‘environmental’ issue, legal frameworks and satisfy the Charity Commisioners’ our capacity this year is being increased by off-site includes an awareness of a whole range of uncomfortable anthropogenic global warming is also probably the retreats at Seale-Hayne campus near Newton Abbot. requirements for good practice. The intention to maintain but undeniable facts about itself, about our collective biggest Human Rights issue the world has ever faced. For This, together with the intention to build on outreach this balance, work closely with the Teacher Council and situation and how we shape it through our choices and we know, almost with certainty, a stark truth: as a result make decisions through consensus can be challenging at activities, has necessitated some staff restructuring. actions. At times of course it can feel tempting to try to times. It’s good to be able to acknowledge the progress of global climate destabilisation, alongside the wholesale We wish Charlotte Johnston all the best in the new role of avoid this awareness and the questions and emotions it we have all made recently, in addition to outreach devastation to other species, many millions, or even billions Communications Manager. might bring up for us. To live wakefully and authentically, and Gaia House @ Seale-Hayne. Financial stability of (mostly poor) human beings will be confronted with On a personal note I have come to deeply appreciate however, we have to endeavour instead to somehow and a buoyant Retreat Support Fund has enabled us practically unavoidable death and suffering by starvation, just how many people, (staff, co-ordinators, volunteers, broaden the range and reach of our hearts and our to introduce lower rates for young people. Our new water shortage, loss of land and displacement through teachers, trustees and yogis) contribute in different ways questioning, and with it the compass of what the Dharma website is now up and running well. Turning on the new droughts and flooding, increased disease, extreme to what Gaia House has to offer. I’ve discovered more means today. biomass boiler has created a warmer environment for all weather events and doubtless brutal regional conflicts about the value of not being attached to my view of (even some comments about the house being too hot!) Gaia House or my opinion of what should happen. We live together on a planet of now more than seven fuelled by resource scarcities. and we continue to look at ways of improving the Discerning when to speak and when to listen is an billion human beings (and rising), and with all the immense House infrastructure. and almost overwhelmingly complex challenges that we Now, if climate change is a Human Rights issue, it must ongoing learning process giving me new perspectives then be an ethical issue; and if it is an ethical issue, it must on Right Speech. Diana Parratt (and other species) are facing, we might wonder whether humanity is equipped, practically or philosophically, to be a Dharma issue, because the Dharma path is based THE GAIA HOUSE TRUSTEES meet such unprecedented and elaborately interacting on ethics (síla), and should also have as a measure of its fruit the expression of ethical care. (Many of us feel that it Pictured below, left to right: Peter Gingold, Trevor Dunkley, Michael Jeffries, Peter Mallard, Diana Parratt, Sean Williams, Andy Power issues as climate change, massive species extinctions, (Director), Justin Andrews and Sarah Hamilton. depletion of resources, unsustainable consumerism and would be an ethical issue even if no humans at all were runaway economic systems and all the suffering that these affected but only non-human nature, that the circle of moral already cause and will cause in coming years. consideration needs to expand to include a deep valuing of the natural world, in and of itself. But, for now, we’ll just Of course, the responses of the heart and the beauty consider the human-to-human moral questions.) and necessity of empathy and compassion are all vitally important in relating to all this, but I have explored those We should perhaps pause here already, as it can be aspects at length a number of times elsewhere, and in hard not to feel turned off considering all this. Talk of what follows, I would like to try to emphasise instead the such enormous human and non-human misery, such qualities of clarity and unflinching honesty. I hope you can irretrievable loss, the powerlessness and inertia we feel ponder this article within a larger context of necessarily and witness can feel burdensome and oppressive. And in diverse approaches to these themes. the West, ‘morality’ can often bring with it a habitually and So then, although it’s nearly impossible, because it’s historically associated sense of heaviness and repression, entangled with all the others, let’s try to tug at just one or possibly even guilt, which is rarely helpful. Naturally we thread of this daunting knot of our times, from a Dharma may rather want to hear and think about things that make perspective: us feel good.

4 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 5 Most Buddhists may want to look to the teachings of the is supposed to uproot. Shouldn’t we then expect modern Buddha for direction. But the Buddha did not live and Dharma to be vigorously and emphatically addressing teach in a fossil-fuel-based, industrially globalized world of these manifestations of delusion and greed in ourselves seven billion people with an awareness of the disastrous and in our societies, and particularly the ways they fuel cumulative effects of their actions on countless present and the almost incalculable present and future suffering of future lives. The moral precepts he taught, beautiful and global warming? The Dalai Lama is effectively saying he vital as they are, were commensurate with the nature of his does not see much substantial evidence of this yet within society at the time, and simply may not be, as they stand, , and he feels it needs to change. complete enough, wide enough for our age. We may Our modern Dharma must include environmental ethics as need to look elsewhere for additional guidance. equally as any other of the traditional ethical guidelines. The Dalai Lama recently met with scientists, philosophers My hope is that these can become integrally woven into and religious leaders from around the world at the Mind the vision that we have of what the Dharma is and involves. and Life Conference convened to discuss the global Just as most practitioners might expect, say, ethics around environmental crisis. He stated his opinion that religions, sexuality to be manifest in a ‘Dharma life’ and certainly including Buddhism, East and West, have become a teacher’s life, so we might also expect environmental “part of the status quo, part of the problem, and need ethics, kindness and care to have comparable importance. to become instead part of the solution.” Recognising that And their absence from any ‘Enlightenment’ or ‘path the multiple environmental crises have many of their roots of wakefulness and kindness’ would similarly call into in unquestioned economic thinking and untrammelled question for us, on a gut level, the authenticity, reality and consumerism, he went on to say that Buddhism and other fullness of that ‘Enlightenment’, that ‘wakefulness’ and that religions “need to challenge greed and consumerism in the ‘kindness’. world much more deeply, and need to start contemplating Visibility matters here. The perception of all those who and addressing larger socio-economic and environmental come to, or even consider coming to, Gaia House issues in their teaching.” matters. As in other areas of modern moral concern in our “Where is the joy?” we might ask, from lives that might rather than shut us down. How will you and I keep truly We humans have known about climate change for a culture, it is important to communicate a moral message feel already burdened with busyness, complexity and alive in our own hearts and minds and in the Dharma while now; at least since the first IPCC report in 1990. To loud and clear – to be transparently and visibly diverse, for demands. “Can’t someone talk about this in a way that community an open investigation into what síla means for the Dalai Lama’s statement we could add that this knowing instance, and not institutionally racist or institutionally sexist. inspires?” But maybe, given the perhaps unparalleled us in this modern age? exactly how we are causing devastating climate change Gaia House has done remarkably well in recent years in complexity, diversity and obscurity of the psychology It seems a crucial first step that we do. Because if climate and our concomitant lack of appropriate responses to terms of the carbon footprint of the building itself, and this underneath our collective inertia and inadequate responses curtail emissions are, from a Buddhist point of view, almost crucial work is to be celebrated. Great credit is due to all to the climate emergency, the task of inner transformation change is fundamentally an ethical issue, and so a Dharma issue, I wonder further if it behoves me, as a Dharma classical examples of the work of delusion and greed, two those involved. Now the Gaia House teachers would also will call for, and call forth, a whole spectrum of voices and of the root afflictions that Dharma teaching and practice like to get involved. emotional pitches and timbres, and some of them simply teacher, to demonstrate moral leadership here in one way won’t be joyful or easy. We can learn, though, to simply or another. Reflecting on what forms that might take, two include it all in what we ask the heart to hold, what we paths immediately suggest themselves as indispensable. train the mind to contemplate. Firstly, what I say, write and teach must speak deeply to the síla aspects of these issues. Surely, from somewhere, A few years ago, in a stab to remove talk of crisis from somehow, the fires of ethical concern must be lit. In a world contemporary environmentalism, someone made the nightmarishly slow to address the moral and practical interesting point that Martin Luther King Jr., in the ethical challenges of climate change, a sufficiently large segment struggle of the Civil Rights movement, inspired by raising of humanity must venture beyond spoken platitudes to his dream as a vision. He did not proclaim “I have a raise the essential moral questions to a primary place in nightmare”; that wouldn’t have fired the imagination. But, society’s discourse. And secondly, I have to express more as James Gustav Speth wrote in response, ‘he did not than words that sound good. In order to be real, ethics need to say it. [African-Americans in the 1960s] were need to materialise, to be made manifest in behaviour as living a nightmare. They needed a dream. But we, I well as speech. We may need care here, however: to be fear, are living a dream. We need to be reminded of the too rigidly prescriptive in terms of behaviour tends to make nightmare ahead.’ What does it mean to wake up from many people feel understandably nervous and deprived this dream? of a degree of freedom. Unskilful rigidity tends to inspire Whatever our reaction to hearing or reading about the little support, or, at worst, may even end up provoking a environmental situation and its moral aspects, somehow defiant backlash. If we let go, though, of such inflexible New wood-burning each of us needs to find his or her ways to hold such ‘rules’, we must still find ethics to guide us, and what these boiler at Gaia House pressing ethical questions so that these questions open us, might be is still open for our exploration.

6 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 7 Hopefully, as mentioned, we can begin to communicate that we make, individually, collectively, or institutionally as a widely this message of environmental ethics (and the retreat centre, are effectively, in part, statements of valuing Dartmoor Walking and Meditation associated Human Rights ethics) and their centrality in the some things over others. How many tonnes of personal SANGHA NEWS Retreat Dharma. In addition, and as a very modest start, we have carbon emissions, above what I need to survive (what with Yanai Postelnik made a number of small requests to the Gaia House Trust are termed ‘luxury emissions’), can I justify, even if it’s ‘for Sponsored all night meditation (please see the Teachers’ Corners in this Newsletter for the Dharma’, knowing that any extra I emit might mean a at Gaia House Camping at Gidleigh Village hall, Chagford, South details), recognising at the same time that in the longer term future human being will not have even enough to survive Devon, 28 September – 1 October a bigger shift in the way teachers and teachings are offered A group of practitioners have undertaken to stay up (‘subsistence emissions’)? We need to be clear and honest Following the richness of our first walking retreat at internationally may well be needed. We know that on their through the night at Gaia House following a meditation here what we are deciding and implying matters more than Easter, this silent retreat will again offer a special own these measures hardly represent a significant shift, schedule, not only as a way of stretching ourselves in the lives of certain others. Of course this is not a simple opportunity to cultivate mindfulness and practise the but, without knowing exactly what the next steps might involve practice, but also to raise money for people in Somalia ethical problem. We cannot trace a direct one-to-one Dharma, while exploring the beauty and wilderness or require, we hope this will be a genuine beginning. who are experiencing what the director of Oxfam has causal connection between, say, that flight I took, and a called “the worst food crisis of the 21st century”. The of Dartmoor. Following in the tradition of the Buddha, We also recognise that the vague hope that from somewhere particular person’s misery and hunger through drought. But idea of sitting through the night as a sponsored activity is we will support our hearts to deepen in wisdom and there will arrive for us a technological fix to rather effortlessly we do know that there is a connection. And just because a merging together of attention to the inner world whilst compassion, while walking together in a range of remove the whole problem is an illusion and a part of the ethical problems like this may feel dishearteningly complex offering a vigil for a world where people are dying for landscapes, sitting in meditation, and spending time dreaming, the being asleep. and unfamiliar, that does not mean that we shouldn’t try to lack of food and water, as well as offering help in a around the campfire. feel or think our way through them. Because what could I practical way through sponsorship. Further information or booking contact Faith: say to convince this future person that I am making a morally As you read this, we will have already done the 07952157585 or [email protected] right choice? The fact that they are not yet born or are still Waking up will involve sacrifices all-night meditation, but it’s not too late to be too young, far away or poor to know or complain can take involved. If you would like to undertake your own BuddhaDharmaSangha Summer for everyone. some of the stark discomfort of it away, but it still exists as all-night sponsored meditation in aid of this cause, Camp a moral dilemma given what we now know. Reflecting on And this may be difficult. perhaps with your local sitting group (as the sitting the ways we do things from the perspective of caring for Yanai Postelnik, Catherine McGee, Brad Richecoeur group in Brighton did), feel free to email me on future human beings can feel uncomfortable to say the least, and Kirsten Kratz [email protected] for ideas about and such contemplations may not be completely welcome We, and indeed the network of Dharma centres, have long structuring your evening, sponsorship forms, etc. Dartmoor National Park, Devon - 18-26 August inclusions into my practice, especially if I have come to been accustomed to having relatively easy access to a great Also, it’s not too late to sponsor the all-nighters in You are warmly invited to participate in the 11th meditation and the Dharma understandably seeking inner deal of all kinds of things (and not just obviously material retrospect. The Just Giving webpage will stay open for annual BuddhaDharmaSangha camp. We combine simplification and the calming of agitation. These pressing things), and somehow we, like most people, expect this some time yet, and the money is very much needed. Insight Meditation, Qigong and Inquiry with the questions are not simple, however, and it may well be that abundance to continue. As individuals, and as institutions See www.justgiving.com/allnightsit. The money goes transformational quality of the natural world. As well as a degree of agitation accompanies earnest and engaged like retreat centres, we must admit that we might have the directly to the Disaster Emergency Committee’s East space for formal practice with mornings in silence, there inquiry and reflects a healthy ethical sensitivity. same reluctance that can be witnessed at the inter-national Africa Appeal. is also time to enjoy being in nature and with others, level to give up and have less when we might not see others We don’t know exactly what will be asked of us as teachers I want to offer a really big thank you to all those walks on the moor, nights around the campfire, star doing the same. Perhaps we fear we may miss out relative or as a retreat centre in the coming months and years, but who have given so generously, for all the messages gazing, songs, stories and more. to others, or lose our standing or status. if we are too quick to refuse to consider certain possibilities, of support, and to those who took up the challenge For more information or to book call Brad: Of course, it can be a lot more uplifting and attractive to talk changes, and sacrifices that would make a difference, we of staying up all night to meditate and raise money. 0845 3305086, [email protected] or of community projects that we can feel enthusiastic about, might also need to inquire a little more searchingly, lest we It’s shown me that, as a community of practitioners, visit www.qigong-southwest.co.uk e.g. the installation of the biomass boiler, and this is hugely be then not too far from President Bush Sr. ‘explaining’ the we can accomplish wonderful things together. important psychologically (and obviously practically). But it’s US refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol by stating that “The Insight Meditation Retreat also true that the biomass boiler involves no loss at all for American Way of Life is not up for negotiation.” at Gayles, in the South Downs, with Yanai Postelnik anyone. It seems harder to enthuse over pending sacrifices. We do not want the Dharma and Gaia House to mimic We need, however, to be able to be moved to action in the 14 – 16 September the wider failure of governing bodies to change anything absence of the emotion of enthusiasm. There are anyway An opportunity to spend the weekend in contemplative really significant, so we ask for your feedback, ideas and other potential sources and channels for our enthusiasm: silence, with full instructions for Insight Meditation and support. In the midst of almost certainly the defining issue in re-visioning together how Gaia House operates within opportunities to discuss your practice with the teacher. of our time, and as we move together towards a very the system of international Dharma teaching for instance, in Suitable for beginners and experienced meditators. uncertain future, what do, what will contemporary Dharma spirited protest at Government policies, and perhaps, even, Gayles retreat is a small centre situated in beautiful teachings counsel, model and express? in civil disobedience. countryside on the South Downs, near Eastbourne and easy to reach from London. Bringing all this into the scope of what Dharma practice Rob Burbea, Gaia House Resident Teacher means may not be easy or comfortable for any of us. It can November 2011 For further information or booking, contact Roz be difficult and unsettling when one dwells on these ethical Robinson: 07721 023 845 or 07969 749 829 or visit questions. We might realize how many of the decisions Many thanks to Robert Brodrick and Chris Cullen for helpful www.retreattogayles.co.uk feedback and editing of this article.

8 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 9 “Nothing is so beautiful as Spring – Spring When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush” Gerald Manley Hopkins certainly demonstrates A further wildflower area is taking shape in the back so beautiful and is responsible for many of the enthusiasm for the whole package of Spring, weeds garden, thanks to the two retreatants who recently lovely touches you’ll have seen around the garden: included. Best to accept that you’ll never fully created the marvellous winding stone path, and the the hand painted signs, the sweet pea wig-wams, eliminate them, and why would you want to when ‘forest garden’ pond that was more like a swampy and the improvements to the mosaic to name just a they are so “long and lovely and lush”, bog has been relined and re-landscaped by recent few. Thanks also to Catherine who has sent much so juicy and green and so generously giving me work yogi John S. and sown with wildflowers by advice, seeds and support for the a purpose for spending my days out in the Spring work yogi Isla. wildlife projects. sunshine, transferring them to the perennial weed Sometimes people ask me whether it is a lot of work heap to make rich, dark compost. I’m now enjoying to manage the gardens on my own. The answer the delights of my second Spring co-ordinating the “What is all this juice is, of course, that it’s not because I am not on my Gaia House garden. As I move into my last six own. Not in the least! The number of unseen hands and all this joy? months here, I’m finally getting used to the amazing that have tended to this garden, while on retreat, reality that it is actually my job to watch the changes or as volunteers, friends or other is practically A strain of the earth’s sweet being the seasons bring and involve myself in the rich uncountable. I’ll go way over my ‘word count’ if I Coordinator news pageantry of beauty and decay, life, death and individually thank the many yogis who volunteered in the beginning re-birth as it unfolds in this wonderful place. As we move through 2012 (where did it go?), the ever to help in the garden during their retreats but I can I’m deeply appreciative of the privilege I’ve been changing cycle of coordinators rolls on. We said au guarantee that the garden will reward you with it’s In Eden garden. – given in being supported to spend my time tending revoir to Pascal, who finished his second period of service glow next time you visit. I would like to mention to this sparkling environment. Of course I haven’t felt Have, get, before it cloy,” having wooed us all with his cooking. And that’s not all: by name those dedicated volunteers who have like this all the time: I must confess that this winter 2am meditation? Check. Walking to Hay Tor and back in made up the garden team this year: that’s John C., Wishing you all some of the ‘earth’s sweet being’ in I’ve had days of low motivation where I’d much time for lunch? Check. With many thanks to Pascal for his our garden expert, who has recently completed this fresh time of new beginnings. service to Gaia House. rather stay in bed than go out there and get cold, a heroic pruning job on all the apple trees. Tom, and it’s a big relief that Spring has finally “turned her Yours from the weed heap, Anni Mustonen leaves us this spring to take up a PhD. who is always willing to do the heavy and less angel eyes upon our western isle” - and with gusto. Emma Ever-willing, thoroughly organised and always on glamorous work and must be one of the most hand with a friendly smile, Anni will be greatly missed. It’s not just me who’s having a good time out there, committed and supportive volunteers the garden has With excerpts from Spring by Gerald Manley Many thanks for everything you’ve offered to Gaia House enjoying “all this juice and all this joy”. The rooks ever met, and Jane K., who has made the garden Hopkins and To Spring by William Blake and the people here, Anni. are squabbling, the squirrels are scampering, the Pictured below from left to right: Mark Ovland, Emma Burleigh, Tony Mone, Juha Penttila, Anni Mustonen, Brian Watson, rabbits are lolloping and all the birds are singing at Ray Richardson takes over from Pascal in the kitchen, Trish King & Ray Richardson having worked previously as a counsellor and undertaking once. Retreatants are relaxing out there too, soaking a 3 month retreat prior to arrival. Ray is proving to be up the sun, and this week I’ve seen a peacock something of a master chef - look out for his lasagne. butterfly investigating the primroses and a bumble Also arrived is Susanne O’Brien, taking over from bee with knee pockets packed with pollen gathered Anni in Household. Susanne brings much experience, from the flowers of last winter’s bolting kale. having worked at the Barn Retreat Centre, and an This Spring we’ve a few projects in progress to infectious sense of enthusiasm. Welcome both. support bees and other small creatures. The area Coordinator Positions around our new wood burning boiler house is becoming a wildlife sanctuary. The banks have If you are interested in offering service to Gaia House been sown with wild flower seeds that have been as a coordinator, there are positions becoming patiently watered and weeded by several kind available this year. We are looking for a Maintenance yogis who’ve visted on retreat during this hot Coordinator to start in the autumn, and for a Reception weather, and we’ve also gained an impressively Coordinator to start at the end of the year. Please email deep and round pond created by garden volunteer [email protected] for details, or call (and ex Household co-ordinator) Tom C. Newts and 01626 323881 to speak with Sarah. tadpoles have already taken up residence there with Rachel Davies a little help from Richard, our Gaia House builder. Retreat and Outreach Manager

10 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 11 Instant Communication

Martine Batchelor The people at the other end of the phone are only doing their jobs, something you might not want to have to do yourselves to earn your living. At the same time you do not need to feel obliged to listen and buy a product you When my family first bought a phone in 1965, the third ring they would open their heart to whoever have no use for. Then you have it was a major event. It was a new and foreign was ringing and then they would unhook the phone to strategize and think up creative object in the house. Not a simple object like a and answer. If they were further away from the ways of dealing with phone sales. fridge or a cooker but one that offered instant telephone they would breathe deeply on each ring. I try to be polite, thanking them for their calls communication. In those days whenever the phone but tell them that unfortunately I do not need their I find this technique interesting at the level of rang, a real commotion occurred. The ring of the products. phone seemed to be demanding instant response. redirecting our reflexes. When we hear the phone All at once everyone used to leave whatever he or ring, what do we do? Do we jump and run, even Are we startled when we hear the phone ring? she were doing to rush to answer it. Nowadays with our hands full of soapy water? We don’t have We could be lost in daydreams and fantasies. when we hear the phone ring we are more likely to rush to answer the phone. We can take our time. A phone call will actually bring us back to the to leave the answering machine on to check who In the same way we would appreciate if someone present moment. Then it acts as a meditation bell is calling. From a foreign object to a convenience took their time to breathe and cultivate a good by enabling us to come back to ourselves and what to possibly a nuisance, the phone has become an intention when we phone them. The more we give in surrounds us. Or we could have been suffering great integral part of our daily life. to the myth that things must happen instantaneously, distress due to a shock or a loss. If we are in pain the more impatient we are likely to become, with all and cannot leave home, it can offer instant access As the voices race through the telephone wires, the irritations and stresses this implies. A meditative and support. Someone even a continent away can instant communication takes us over and seems attitude towards instant communication would see be there for us. to hurry us along. We start to live our life on the benefit of the communication but play and the phone: organising, planning, plotting, experiment with what instant means. A warm voice contacts us. We are listened to and and complaining, even raging. Now with mobile we can share our feelings. We realise that we phones, we have instant mobile communication. The phone can become a tool of awareness and are part of a wider and caring world. A phone In these circumstances, the phone can actually stop even compassion. At the beginning we have to ring could even be the cause of our awakening in us from being able to be on our own, to be present become conscious of how we use and respond to the same way as the sound of a pebble striking a to what surrounds us, to respond to the concrete the telephone in our daily life. We might have a bamboo pole was for a monk. situation in front of us as we are glued to one ear cool and calm attitude or our response might stress listening to somewhere else. us. If we have already a calm attitude, we can Long ago in China, a monk wanted to become expand it by cultivating a compassionate attitude awakened at all cost. He tried so hard to sit Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, as well. If we have a stressful response, we need in meditation day and night for many years. suggests a whole practice around the phone in to allow ourselves to respond in a different way. But nothing would work. He felt obstructed order not to be rushed off your feet and also to We are not stuck; we can change and transform. from all fronts. Finally he decided to be more present to yourselves. It was fascinating A very simple expressed intention can make a big give up putting in so much effort. So while staying a month with friends in America who difference to the way we respond. he went to a hermitage to live a used this technique to watch them answering the simple life while cultivating a phone. They were very busy people, who gave The first thing is to realise that when the phone rings garden to produce his food. a lot of themselves and had many responsibilities. we can meditate, walk slowly and reach for it. A few months later, as he was Whenever the phone rang, they would wait three The second thing is to have a more open squatting in the field hoeing rings before answering even if they were next to and caring mind because this is beneficial for away, he hit a pebble that flew the phone. The first ring, they would use as a bell you and others as well. Nowadays there are off and struck a bamboo pole. of awareness and stop to be fully present to this numerous double glazing proposals or new When he heard the ‘ping’ it moment – standing in the kitchen by the phone. deals being touted over the phone. We can put created, he was awakened to his The second ring, they would breathe deeply and on the phone down harshly or we can answer kindly. own being and truth.

12 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 13 Where do you see the long lineage of Insight Meditation and Buddhist theory and practice and these secular teaching programmes converging? Teacher’s Corner Mindfulness-based Approaches At the Gaia House Teacher Council meeting in When asked to state the essence of his teaching, November, we discussed our desire to embody the Buddha responded – I teach just one thing. There is An interview with Christina Feldman and express fuller and more appropriate responses suffering and there is the end of suffering. It is a statement to the contemporary challenge of global climate that has informed students’ practice in traditional settings change. We recognise that this will be an ongoing In the past 20 years there has been an increasing interest in mindfulness in western society. over centuries, it is equally the heart of mindfulness taught discussion, and one that will require much careful in non-traditional settings. To find the end of struggle and consideration in a number of areas. Programmes such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-based anguish we need to understand its causes, to see directly Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) are being taught to help people to cope with stress and for ourselves how our personal worlds are born and As a very small beginning we have agreed to work help reduce the risk of recurrence of clinical depression. In this article Christina Feldman shaped moment to moment. The teachings of compassion, towards reducing our environmental impact with the following measures, which are currently being healing and kindness are timeless, the motivations that will be commenting on the issues from a Buddhist perspective in a brief question and reviewed by the Trustees. answer format. bring both dharma students and professionals to this path. The Buddha’s teaching over centuries has always been We hope to reduce the amount of teacher air miles. in a dialogue with the range of cultures it moved into. Especially in the case of shorter retreats, we will Why do you think there is an upsurge How might mindfulness be helpful in managing It is a dialogue that continues today with western science – give preference to UK-based teachers and avoid air in Mindfulness-based Approaches in the everyday life and emotional problems? I believe it is a dialogue that is mutually enriching. travel where practical. West in recent years? We would also like to offset the carbon emissions People, in every walk of life, reach a point when they What part might retreat centres such as of all teachers’ flights travelling here by air. We are It is difficult to find any organisation or structure in acknowledge the futility of utilising endless strategies to Gaia House play in this emerging interest? aware of the highly questionable ethics of offsetting our culture today that is not being impacted by the avoid or suppress the difficult that is part of our lives. and that this therefore does not really represent teaching of mindfulness. In schools, prisons, hospitals, Loss, sadness, disappointment, grief are part of living in Over the last few years I have taught on the post-graduate a solution, but regard it more as a transitional businesses and mental health centres mindfulness is being a world of changing conditions that we cannot control. programme in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy at measure. taught and applied both by professionals and clients. It is a world that can be reacted to with fear, depression Exeter University. Mostly I co-teach with Willem Kuyken, Whilst our core programme will remain based 2500 years ago the Buddha taught mindfulness as one or anger – reactions that only compound the difficult. It is a Psychology Professor and founder of the Exeter MBCT of the pivotal practices that enables us to change the programme. I teach core Buddhist psychology as I would around direct contact, we will look into and equally a world that can be responded to with mindfulness, experiment with new ways of offering teaching that shape of our mind, be more awake and present in our in any other setting; together Willem and I explore how compassion and investigation. Mindfulness teaches us to involve less travel. For example, we will explore lives and understand what it means to be less governed this teaching converges with contemporary psychological pause, rather than to flee, to befriend rather than reject, how online teaching could enhance our provision by the habitual and impulsive patterns of greed, hatred understanding. It is clearly understood in the contemporary to be present in our lives rather than abandon them. by offering set periods or day retreats online, and delusion that create suffering. These same core mindfulness world that teachers of mindfulness need to be Learning it is possible to let go of the extra layer of reactivity, perhaps via Skype or similar platforms. teachings now have gone beyond the traditional settings deeply rooted in a personal practice and an understanding the optional suffering, enables us to meet the moment as it of monasteries and retreat centres and their benefits of the origins and applications of mindfulness as part We intend to allocate time at every Gaia House is, rather than being lost in our ‘shoulds’. explored in a more secular world. They are teachings that of insight traditions, if they are to embody mindfulness. Teacher Council Meeting to the continuing speak to the human story that can feature so much struggle During their training students undertake a minimum of two exploration of our Dharma responses to the climate and confusion, just as it features the timeless longing to find What do you see as the challenges of intensive insight meditation retreats. What Gaia House crisis. the end of struggle and confusion. What the cultivation teaching mindfulness in secular settings? and other dharma centres offer are the opportunities for of mindfulness teaches is that it is possible for any human mindfulness teachers to learn, to practice and to deepen being with sincerity and commitment to find a way of In the face of struggle and confusion we are prone to their own understanding and develop the skilful means to being in their life that is guided by understanding, ethics, want to find ‘quick fix’ solutions. The path of mindfulness bring that inner transformation into their professional lives. kindness and inner balance. is not one of these, it is a practice of a life time that asks There are currently three Universities in the UK offering a for boundless patience and dedication. It is not always range of training/courses in MBSR/MBCT/MBA up to easy to convey that mindfulness is not just a technique but Masters Level. For further details see their websites a path that is as deeply challenging as it is rewarding. In the Buddhist tradition wise mindfulness is part of a multi- Bangor http://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness dimensional path that begins with ethics and culminates in liberating insight, rather than mindfulness being an end Exeter http://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/ in itself. It is an ongoing exploration to find the skilful postgraduate/taught/pgmindfulness/ means to convey the depth and breadth of this path in http://exeter-mindfulness-network.org secular settings in a language that doesn’t alienate the very people this practice can benefit so deeply. Oxford http://oxfordmindfulness.org/

14 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 15 Your feedback please! Focus on Retreats... Hello I am the latest addition to the Gaia House team. page I would like to invite you to ‘like’ our official page. I moved down from Oxford to work at Gaia House Our Facebook page provides a useful forum for the Training the Mind, Touching Heaven & Earth – and to realise a long-held ambition to live in Devon. It’s Gaia House community to connect in the world beyond Freeing the Heart Meditation and Qigong a lovely time of year for new beginnings here, as the our physical space, and to share experiences and countryside around us launches into spring, and I am very reflections. We expect to see the activity on Facebook Martin Aylward and Vinny Ferraro @ Seale-Hayne Yvonne & Max Weier happy to be embarking on my new work life in such an grow over time, so I would like to encourage all our Tues 12th – Sun 17th June 2012 Sat 1st – Wed 5th Sept 2012 inspiring environment. Facebook yogis to get involved. Retreat Code: 12174 Retreat Code: 12161 When I told my friends and family about my new job there I am mindful that communication is a two-way process Cost: £350 (£298) £420 Cost: £193 (£164) £232 were quite a few questions about what my job might involve; which involves listening as much as talking, so I am very Following our impulses and reactions, we find This is an invitation to relax, open and surrender our as Communications Manager in a silent retreat centre! keen to hear your thoughts about how we communicate So to set the record straight, my responsibilities will be putting ourselves pulled and pushed around by life. Dharma body/mind to a deeper experience of life. The more with you. As a starting point, I am interested in your views practice invites us to liberation from our inner embodied we are and the brighter our awareness together the newsletters and programme, managing the on our newsletter; for example what do you think about phone and IT systems, updating the website, coordinating patterning, through really engaging our own mind, is, the more we feel at home in ourselves, in the the content, layout and style and what areas of news and daring to explore and liberate our own heart, world, in the cosmos. the advertising and assisting with the dissemination of would you particularly like us to cover? Please get in touch our Dharma talks. I will also be helping Gaia House meeting life deeply from the inside out. The retreat Group-meetings and will complement with your thoughts via whichever communication mode keep up with new forms of communication, as we strive will unfold both traditionally and experimentally, the sitting meditation and Qigong sessions. you prefer, new or old! I am working at Gaia House to be as accessible as possible to all sectors of our offering silence and interaction, teachings and Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays when I can be contacted Please note: this might be Yvonne’s last retreat with diverse community. exploration, opening to the sweet relief and vast by telephone on 01626 323 881 and my email is possibilities of our own freedom of being. Gaia House. On the subject of newer forms of communication, I would [email protected]. like to thank everyone who has ‘liked’ us on Facebook. To clear up any confusion, some of you have ‘liked’ us on I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Awakening Wisdom Who do you think you are? the (Unofficial) Gaia House Facebook Page, set up by Charlotte Johnston and Compassion Alan Lewis one of our community, but now that we have an official Communications Manager Fri 7th – Sun 9th Dec 2012 Caroline Jones & Paul Burrows Retreat Code: 12170 Sat 4th – Fri 10th Aug 2012 Cost: £118 (£100) £141 Retreat Code: 12158 An investigation of the sense of self in everyday life. Cost: £266 (£226) £319 Committed Dharma Practitioners Programme Please see our website for further information. commencing Spring, 2013 During this retreat we will explore ways of practising that help us to live with greater sensitivity, simplicity The CDPP is an extended programme integrating to coming to love learning what they have to offer. and joy. We will deepen our understanding of the study and practice of the Dhamma that is rooted The course had the added bonus of introducing me to a rich and kindness, mindfulness and concentration, discovering in the Buddha’s teaching of the path to liberation. diverse community of teachers and students.’ (Willem Kukyen, for ourselves the path of freedom in each moment. The programme provides opportunity to study the 2011-12 participant). texts (pariyatti), develop and cultivate our experiential understanding of the teaching (patipatti) and investigate Modules and Retreats: Meditation and Mindfulness how they apply to our meditation practice and daily life, The modules, held in the beautiful setting of Sharpham Martine Batchelor & Jake Dartington and understand what is meant by realisation (pativedha). House, will offer an in-depth exploration of the teachings It offers a number of different, yet interwoven strands within of the Buddha. They will include sustained blocks of Fri 24th – Wed 29th Aug 2012 its framework – teaching, discussion, community, reflection teachings and discussion, and times for questions each day. Retreat Code: 12160 and investigations applied in our daily lives. Students will Retreats will be held at Gaia House and will have a study Cost: £230 (£195) £276 have previous experience with dharma practice, and the practice format. programme is an opportunity to learn and practice together. ‘The programme has been practical, challenging This retreat will give us the opportunity to explore One of the intentions of this extended programme is to and inspiring. The suggested readings and reflections two important qualities for developing mindfulness: encourage participants to embed the teaching in every concentration and investigation. There will be area of their lives: have woven the course modules into daily life and offered sustenance in meeting the ‘good, bad and ugly’ on periods of sitting and walking meditation inspired ‘When I first considered the Committed Dharma Practitioner a moment-to-moment basis. The course has been enriched by the Vipassana tradition, which will enable us Programme I wondered how I would fit it into a busy life. by the patience and generosity of the teachers, and by the to cultivate tools of mindfulness that we can then I asked a Gaia House teacher who knew me and the CDPP. dedication and tenacity of fellow students.’ (River Wolton, apply in our daily life so that they can become the She had previously said of the busyness “you need to do 2011-12 participant) ground for our life, and bring more spaciousness less;” but now of the CDPP programme she said, “absolutely, and alertness to all that we live and do. you should do the CDPP.” Over the two years I have found Please email [email protected] for more many aspects of my life transformed by what I have learned. details and an application pack, and the course will be I have gone from seeing Pali and the suttas as impenetrable open for applications later this year.

16 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 17 Some time ago I realized that what I found Instead of trying to justify the belief that “life is A Secular Buddhist most difficult to accept in Buddhism were those suffering”, one seeks to embrace and deal wisely beliefs that it shared with its sister Indian religions with suffering when it occurs. Instead of trying Hinduism and Jainism. Yet when you bracket off to convince oneself that “craving is the origin Stephen Batchelor those beliefs, you are left not with a fragmentary of suffering”, one seeks to let go of and not get and emasculated teaching, but with an entirely tangled up in craving whenever it rises up in adequate ethical, philosophical and practical one’s body or mind. From this perspective it is framework for living your life in this world. irrelevant whether the statements “life is suffering” Thus what is truly original in the Buddha’s teaching, or “craving is the origin of suffering” are either I discovered, was his secular outlook. true or false. Why? Because these four so-called “truths” are not propositions that one accepts as I am a secular Buddhist. It has taken me years exceptionally fortunate as English speakers not only And when you bracket off the quasi-divine a believer or rejects as a non-believer. They are to fully “come out,” and I still feel a nagging tug to have a complete translation of the Pali canon, attributes that the figure of the Buddha is believed suggestions to do something that might make a of insecurity, a faint aura of betrayal in declaring but one which is continually being improved. to possess and focus on the episodes in the canon difference in the world in which you coexist with myself in these terms. As a secular Buddhist my The second of these fields is that of our increasingly that recount his often fraught dealings with his others now. practice is concerned with responding as sincerely detailed understanding of the historical, social, contemporaries, then the humanity of Siddhattha and urgently as possible to the suffering of life in political, religious and philosophical conditions Gotama begins to emerge with more clarity “Enlightenment,” therefore – though I prefer the this world, in this century (our saeculum) where that prevailed during the Buddha’s lifetime in 5th too. All this supports what the British scholar term “awakening” – is not a mystical insight into we find ourselves now and future generations century BCE India. Thanks to scholars like Richard Trevor Ling surmised nearly fifty years ago: that the true nature of mind or reality, but rather the will find themselves later. Rather than attaining Gombrich, we are beginning to see more clearly what we now know as “Buddhism” started life opening up of a way of being-in-this-world that nirvana, I see the aim of Buddhist practice to the kind of world in which the Buddha taught. as an embryonic civilisation or culture that then is no longer determined by one’s greed, hatred, be the moment-to-moment flourishing of human Together, these two fields provide a fertile soil for mutated into another organized Indian religion. fear and selfishness. Thus awakening is not a life within the ethical framework of the eightfold the project of rethinking, perhaps reimagining the Secular Buddhism, which seeks to articulate a way state but a process: an ethical way of life and path here on earth. Given what is known about dharma from the ground up. of practicing the dharma in this world and time, commitment that enables human flourishing. the biological evolution of human beings, the thus finds vindication through its critical return to As such it is no longer the exclusive preserve emergence of self-awareness and language, My starting point is to bracket off anything canonical sources, and its attempts to recover a of enlightened teachers or accomplished yogis. the sublime complexity of the brain, and the attributed to the Buddha in the canon that could just vision of Gotamas’s own saeculum. Likewise, nirvana – i.e. the stopping of craving embeddedness of such creatures in the fragile as well have been said by a brahmin priest or Jain – is not the goal of the path but its very source. biosphere that envelops this planet, I cannot monk of the same period. So when the Buddha Above all, secular Buddhism is something to do, For human flourishing first stirs in that clear, bright, understand how after physical death there can be says that a certain action will produce a good or not something to believe in. This pragmatism empty space where neurotic self-centredness continuity of any personal consciousness or self, bad result in a future heaven or hell, or when he is evident in many of the classic parables: the realizes that it has no ground to stand on at all. propelled by the unrelenting force of acts (karma) speaks of bringing to an end the repetitive cycle of poisoned arrow [M. 63], the city [S. 12:65], One is then freed to pour forth into the world like committed in this or previous lives. rebirth and death in order to attain nirvana, I take the raft [M. 22] – as well as in the Buddha’s sunlight. such utterances to be determined by the common presentation of his four “noble truths” as a range For me, secular Buddhism is not just another metaphysical outlook of that time rather than of tasks to be performed rather than a set of A longer version of this article is available on our modernist reconfiguration of a traditional form reflecting an intrinsic component of the dharma. I propositions to be affirmed. website at www.gaiahouse.co.uk of Asian Buddhism. It is neither a reformed thus give central importance to those teachings in Theravada Buddhism (like the Vipassana the Buddha’s dharma that cannot be derived from movement), a reformed Tibetan tradition (like the worldview of 5th century BCE India. Shambhala Buddhism), nor a reformed Zen lineage (like the Order of Interbeing). It is more Tentatively, I would suggest that this “bracketing” radical than that: it seeks to return to the roots of of metaphysical views, leaves us with four the Buddhist tradition and rethink Buddhism from distinctive key ideas that do not appear to have the ground up. direct precedents in Indian tradition. I call them the four “P”s: In exploring such roots, the secular Buddhist finds herself excavating two fields that have 1. The principle of conditionality been opened up in the past century by modern translators and scholars. The first of these fields 2. The process of four noble tasks (truths) consists of the earliest discourses attributed to 3. The practice of mindful awareness Siddhattha Gotama, which are primarily found in the Pali canon of the Theravada school. We are 4. The power of self-reliance

18 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 19 One Day Retreat Information 2012 London Insight Meditation

5 May John Peacock – study day - Stephen Batchelor (20 May) will spend an afternoon Brighton Cambridge St Anne’s Church, Soho in dialogue with the leading radical Christian theologian

27 May Bhante Bodhidhamma 12 May Martine Batchelor 13 May Martine Batchelor - King Alfred’s School Don Cupitt, discussing the issues that engage them both and taking questions from the floor. Like Stephen’s, 29 September Martin Aylward 20 May Stephen Batchelor and Don Cupitt – Buddhist- 26 May Bhante Bodhidhamma Christian dialogue - Friends’ House, Euston Don’s work in shaping a contemporary approach to spiritual practice has inspired many, but also attracted great criticism For information and registration: 1 September Christina Feldman 26 May Locana – focusing workshop – from some traditionalists. This unique event will be chaired www.bodhigarden.org Avonmouth House 17 November Yanai Postelnik by Madeleine Bunting of the Guardian. For more info, Email: [email protected] 10 Jun Vinny Ferraro - King Alfred’s School see www.londoninsight.org/dialogue. Venue: Friends Meeting House, 23-24 Jun Akincano - King Alfred’s School A focusing workshop (26 May) led by Locana and 12 Jesus Lane, Cambridge will introduce this technique of awareness, enquiry and 8 Jul Jenny Wilks - King Alfred’s School Bristol Time: 10am - 5pm, registration 9.30 am transformation as an adjunct to conventional insight practice. 9 Sep Stephen Batchelor - King Alfred’s School 5 May Brad Richecoeur Meditation Cost: £8 in advance/ £10 on the day + John Peacock and Mark Williams 10 Sep Caroline Jones and Paul Burrows – (21 September) will also meet in dialogue, to consider the and Qigong teacher dana 6 week evening course rich but controversial relationship between Buddhist practice 2 June Ajahn Kovida Awareness and Insight Concessions: students, unwaged, retired £5 21 Sep John Peacock and Mark Williams – and mindfulness-based therapies. Madeleine Bunting will again chair. 8 September Caroline Jones dialogue: Buddhism and the mindfulness Contact: Advance booking by cheque for £8, movement – Friends’ House, Euston The Kindness of Mindfulness Saturday Insight is a new weekly drop-in group payable to DeMarrais/Retreats, to 22-23 Sep Ajahn Sucitto - King Alfred’s School led by Paul Burrows. It meets at 10.30 at a beautiful 3 November Christina Feldman Contentment Liz DeMarrais, 9 George Street, Cambridge venue in Covent Garden. Paul is shaping an evolving 6-7 Oct Yanai Postelnik - workshop: the contemplation programme for the group, responsive to both the interests of 1 December Bhante Bodhidhamma Mahasi CB4 1AL of death regulars and the needs of those dropping in occasionally. day retreat Further information: May 26th retreat - 21 Oct Bhante Bodhidhamma - Guest teachers assist Paul or lead the group when he is Venue: St Michaels on the Mount Parish Hall, tel. 01353 659 082 King Alfred’s School unavailable. Please contact [email protected] for further information. Old Park Hill, off Perry Road, Bristol All other retreats – tel. 01223 460 966 3 Nov John Peacock – study day – BS2 8BE. St Anne’s Church Soho Prices for events are kept as low as possible: the fee for day 5 Nov Caroline Jones – retreats in 2012 remains unchanged (£14 in advance, You can book online at 6 week evening course £17 on the door). Concessions are available, and no-one www.bristolmeditation.org.uk where you will Oxford is excluded because of inability to pay. Teachers receive 17-18 Nov Christina Feldman – also find further information about only expenses, but at our events we warmly invite you to 26 May Chris Cullen King Alfred’s School day retreats. offer them dana (a voluntary contribution to their livelihood). 8 September Stephen Batchelor 9 Dec Rob Burbea – King Alfred’s School There is a network of sitting groups in and around London 20 October Bhante Bodhidhamma For further details please see www.londoninsight.org linked with us, including study groups with particular themes. Please see www.londoninsight.org/community/ Sheffield 1 December Yanai Postelnik New events are added all the time. Please register on our sitting-groups for more details. website to receive email updates on all our events. 26 May Sangha day Venue: Headington Parish Hall Contact details: Day retreats mostly take place at King Alfred’s School, 6 - 8 July ‘The Path of Freedom’ residential Time: 10am–5pm, registration from 9.15am [email protected] retreat in the Peak District a lovely venue in Golders Green, where we have the use Cost: £10 (£5 concessions) of the grounds for walking meditation as well as a spacious 07954 472771 1-8 September (3 days + 4 weekday eves). hall for sitting. It is easily accessible from central London www.londoninsight.org Contact: see Days run from 10am to 4.30pm, with registration from Caring and Presence: a retreat for those who www.facebook.com/londoninsight 9.30. Please bring a contribution to a shared work supporting and caring for others. www.oxfordgaiahouseretreats.co.uk Twitter: @londoninsight vegetarian lunch. (for booking form, information about the 8 September Metta – day-long linked to London Insight Limited is a registered charity in England above retreat but open to all. retreats, contacts for sitting groups). John Peacock’s study days (5 May and 3 November) will focus on the Sutta Nipata, which contains some crucial but and Wales (charity registration number 1145212) and a Further info: For other enquiries, ring Brigid or David on neglected texts that are among the oldest in the Pali Canon. company limited by guarantee registered in England and www.sheffieldinsightmeditation.org.uk 01608 811940 They are therefore hugely useful for helping us to recover the Wales (company number 06444448). Registered office: Buddha’s teaching in its original form. 68 Devonshire Road, London, E17 8QJ.

20 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 21 Redruth [email protected] Lancashire Richmond [email protected] Elaine McCormick 01209 315266 UK Sitting Groups Lancaster [email protected] Geraldine Worthington 0208 546 5525 This is the latest UK sitting groups register. If your name Penzance [email protected] Tony Butterfield 01524 65123 Sussex and details are not featured here and you run a sitting Lee 01736 799170 London Area Brighton [email protected] group in the UK, please do let us know and we can Derbyshire Abbie Mead 01273 248753 add you to this feature of the newsletter. Please keep Ham area Derbyshire [email protected] Gaetan Louis de Canonville 0208 789 1992 us up to date with your plans so that we can ensure we TYNE-AND-WEAR always publish the most up to date information. Billie Riley 0115 944 3034 EAST London [email protected] Josephine Doorley-Petersson 0208 534 3151 NEWCASTLE [email protected] Keep in touch via email on [email protected]. Devon SE21 [email protected] Walter Young 07508 055643 Avon & Somerset Exeter [email protected] Stella Chapman 0208 6939251 Mary Booker 01392 496079 Wales Bristol [email protected] Midlands Cardiff [email protected] Gordon Adam 0117 908 0494 Exeter Birmingham [email protected] Tim Blanch 01656 841625 Anne da Costa 01392 874386 Bristol [email protected] Anantacitta 0121 420 3268 Llandrindod, Wells [email protected] Plymouth [email protected] Julia Wallond 0117 939 4361 Knowle/Solihull [email protected] David Cooke 01597 860327 John Pollex 01752 224902 Julia Evans 01564 777605 Bristol www.bristolchan.co.uk Tenby [email protected] Mike Masheder and Pat Simmons 0117 977 4683 Dorset Norfolk Nina Pope 01834 871012 Frome [email protected] Colehill [email protected] Norwich [email protected] Dan & Eva Lupton 01373 464564 Wiltshire Steve Wilkens 01202 880661 Jacqui McCarney 01603 613798 Glastonbury [email protected] Swindon [email protected] Poole [email protected] Norwich [email protected] Devin Ashwood 01749 813969 Hugh Carroll 07949 605519 Jason Miller 01202 718524 Sam West 01603 760776 Taunton [email protected] Weymouth Stoke Ferry [email protected] Worcestershire Lindy Booth 01278 455830 Sati Sati 01305 786821 Carol Hunter 07917 420716 Worcester Wells [email protected] Northumberland Sally Dean & Robert Wilkins 01905 352065 Sally Lever 01749 674842 Essex Haltwhistle [email protected] Colchester [email protected] Chris Blain 01434 322176 Yorkshire BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Mike McKenna 07729 428970 Sheffield [email protected] MILTON KEYNES 01908 300557 Chelmsford [email protected] Nottinghamshire River Wolton 01433 631350 Helen Stephenson 07548 366601 Esther Spencer 07719 558078 Nottingham [email protected] Jake Dartington 07989 979929 Berkshire Gloucestershire Newbury [email protected] Cheltenham [email protected] Oxfordshire Susan Millington 07958 574524 Ivan Hatrany 01242 514280 Oxford [email protected] Overseas Reynold Greenlaw 01865 249820 Cambridgeshire Forest of Dean [email protected] Jane Spray 01594 861404 Sitting Groups Cambridge [email protected] Scotland John & Jackie Teasdale 01223 460966 Hampshire Glasgow www.glasgowzen.org.uk If you run a group outside the UK and wish to feature John Fraser 0141 339 3888 in the overseas sitting groups register, please email Peterborough [email protected] Aldershot [email protected] [email protected] for more information on how Glasgow [email protected] Barbara Reid 01733 252322 Sarah Wiesendanger 01252 318064 Grace Boyle 07849 738411 to feature in our bi-annual newsletters. Cumbria Portsmouth [email protected] Edinburgh [email protected] Ireland Brian Attridge 02392 863266 Di Tyrer 07519 256489 Kendal [email protected] County Donegal [email protected] John Gerrard 01539 729793 Southampton [email protected] Aoife Valley + 353 (0) 86 304 2893 Jilly Cooke Somerset Cornwall Taunton [email protected] Hertfordshire Annie Fisher 01278 457245 Malta Callington [email protected] Mellieha [email protected] Sheran & Paul Murray 01579 370142 Potters Bar 01707 644309 bath [email protected] Vanessa Hope [email protected] Karen Smith 07726 340270 Michael & Tess Hoey 215 203 39 or 992 774 97 Helston [email protected] Sophie Muir 01326 221651 KENT Surrey Australia Redruth Maidstone [email protected] East Molesey [email protected] Tasmania [email protected] Vanessa 01209 214031 Lawrence Hamer 07984 954398 Charmian Taunton 0208 979 8597 Brian Board & Monika Heisswolf +03 6295 0487

22 gaia house news | spring 2012 +44 (0) 1626 333613 www.gaiahouse.co.uk 23 West Ogwell, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6EW [email protected] www.gaiahouse.co.uk insight meditation in the buddhist tradition +44 (0)1626 333613 Registered Charity No: 900339