Retreat Title: Simply Being - and the 'mandala of uselessness'
Led by Tejananda
‘You don’t have to justify your existence by doing things which are useful’
Sangharakshita
This retreat started as ‘just sitting’, morphed into ‘pure awareness,’ then ‘formless meditation’. So why yet another change? ‘Simply being’ is a quality of receptivity that can be recognised in the activities of our life, not just in formal meditation. The retreat is about recognising and exploring this.
How do we go about it? Well, probably the most enjoyable way is by discovering our fundamental uselessness!
We’re very attached to the notion that our lives ‘should’ be useful, purposeful and meaningful. Yet ultimately these are just figments of the human mind. On one level these notions are fine – they are part of what defines us as human beings rather than just your average monkey. But our deep emotional beliefs about who we are and what we ‘ought’ to be cause trouble – duhkha, suffering, pain, stress.
The ‘mandala of uselessness’ is simply being: being what we really are, inseparable from nature itself which is undivided and ungraspable. It’s also pointed to by the five jnanas or ‘undivided-awarenesses’ which make up the dharmadhatu-mandala – a useful ‘map’ which we will be exploring in our immediate experience. And it all points us back to ‘just this’ – what is here already, unnoticed: simply being.
(See also 14 – 26 February, ‘Simply Being and the mandala of uselessness’ for Order members)
This retreat is suitable for people who have been meditating for at least 3 years
Start Date: 5th Aug 2014
End Date: 16th Aug 2014
Price: £440 (Full Price)
(Concessions are available for those unable to afford the standard rate. Please contact us.)
Sorry, this retreat is now full. If you would like your name to be put on a waiting list please contact us.