Perth Insight Meditation Group Inc.

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Perth Insight Meditation Group Inc.

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Shaila Catherine 9-day Retreat at Jhana Grove

Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Free the Mind

DATES


17 - 26 March 2023                                      

DETAILS

Mental restlessness is an insidious and pervasive hindrance that most practitioners struggle to overcome. We can develop skills to work with distracting thoughts such as obsessive planning, worrying, fantasizing, judging, and ruminating. By freeing the mind from habitual distractions, we are nurturing concentration and inclining toward a liberating understanding of emptiness.

Participants will be encouraged to develop mindfulness-based meditation practices as the backdrop for cultivating the sequence of strategies that remove distracting thoughts. The progressive instructions for dispelling distractions are based on the teachings in two discourses in the Middle Length Discourses (suttas 19 and 20). 

This retreat is not suitable for beginners and attendees need to have completed at least one 9-day silent retreat in the Buddhist tradition.

The retreat will include group meditation instructions, dharma teachings, and either group or individual consultations with the teacher. 

Suggested preparation: Please begin reading Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind by Shaila Catherine, and the following two discourses prior to the retreat. You may wish to bring a print out of these suttas to the retreat for your personal reference.

https://suttacentral.net/mn19/en/bodhi

https://suttacentral.net/mn20/en/bodhi

For more information on Shaila Catherine.

FEES

   

Standard registration                                     $750


Partial scholarships are available for people who are in situations of financial hardship. To apply please fill in this form. 

COVID

 

COVID is still an issue and precautions  will be followed. Further details will be provided closer to the date.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER


21 - 26 April 2023. Jhana Grove, Serpentine, WA

NON-PIMG Retreat Ven Panadure Chandaratana Thero

5 day residential meditation program

Ven Chandaratana is Deputy Abbott of Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya. The retreat will be conducted in English and a Sinhala  recording of the Dhamma talk (same Sutta) will be played after the live Dhamma talk.  

To find out more and register
7 - 16 July 2023. Online retreat to suit the WA time zone.

NON-PIMG Retreat Patrick Kearney

REMEMBERING THE PRESENT (Online retreat)

 "Mindfulness" translates the Pāli word sati, which literally means "memory." Why is memory so important to the Buddha's way of practice and realisation?  

To find out more and register

November 2023 - PIMG retreat

Patrick Kearney

10 - 19 November 2023

Jhana Grove

Information available mid-year

Retreats planned for 2024

Ariya Baumann

Watch this space

Watch this space

Details coming

Watch this space

Watch this space

Watch this space

About Our Retreats

What to Expect

This is a precious time for mindfulness practice and a rare opportunity to cultivate and deepen wisdom and compassion.


PIMG retreats are taught in the Theravada tradition using Vipassana (Insight) techniques. The teaching is based on the Satipatthna Sutta (4 Foundations of Mindfulness) as taught by the Buddha, emphasizing continuity of mindfulness and refinement of precise open awareness. In addition, the meditations on the four Brahma Viharas (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity) may be taught throughout the retreat.


In order to support your practice, the retreat will be held in Noble Silence, and retreatants are asked to refrain from visual, verbal and written communication with one another and from reading, writing letters or making phone calls (except in an emergency situation). Please turn off your mobile phones for the duration of your stay and leave behind your laptops, iPods, iPads and other communication devices so that you can commit to your retreat wholeheartedly and reap the benefits of that commitment. By leaving at home the many activities and communications that worldly life entails, you offer yourself the gift of stillness.


Intensive meditation practice in this style is a powerful experience. It is necessary for the teachers to have a clear background for each person attending so that they can offer the most supportive guidance possible. You will be requested to fill out a Retreat Application Form on your arrival. Only the teachers will have access to this information.


What to bring

Comfortable, loose-fitting clothes. Your own meditation cushion, or bench, and mat. Toiletries and towel, insect repellent, hat and fly net for hats, watch (silent), alarm clock, and shoes that slip on easily. You will also need to bring all bedding.


Meals

Nutritious vegetarian meals will be served throughout the retreat. Breakfast and lunch are the main meals of the day with a light evening meal. Those wishing to practise on 8 Precepts (which require refraining from eating after lunch) will be provided with fruit juice at teatime. We will attempt to accommodate special dietary needs such as gluten free and dairy free however if you have a medical condition which requires a special diet beyond this, please bring along the special items you need.


Schedule

Schedules can vary but generally the day begins early with a group meditation at about 5.30am with the last scheduled sit at about 9.30pm. Most sittings are 45 minutes in length and alternate with periods of walking meditation. Interviews with the teachers are conducted over the course of the retreat. There is usually a Dhamma talk each evening.  The retreats are designed for both the beginner and experienced meditator, and will include daily meditation instructions. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions about practice each day.


Caution

If you are receiving medical, psychiatric treatment or counselling it is your responsibility to seek professional advice concerning the appropriateness of this retreat for you. Although meditation is beneficial for most people it is not a substitute for medical or psychiatric treatment.  An intensive retreat may not be suitable for persons with psychological or psychiatric disorders.  If you are currently receiving treatment for any psychological or psychiatric disorder, or have a past history of mental health disorder, you should obtain professional advice prior to participating in the retreat.


Special Needs

If you have any mobility problems or medical conditions which would affect your ability to take part in the retreat, please inform us as soon as possible and we will make arrangement to accommodate you if possible. Please bring any medications you require.

Dana

Make an Offering

Teachers do not charge a fee for leading retreats, but have chosen to follow the ancient tradition of offering the Dhamma freely and trusting in the generosity of those who receive it for their livelihood. Retreat fees are for costs associated with organising a retreat. This includes teacher's airfares, accommodation associated with the retreat, the cost of food and the cooks, room rental, and teacher support. Teacher dana is provided by voluntary donations given by students at the end of each retreat. There is no “correct” amount to offer as dana. Each yogi is free to offer according to their individual circumstances.


Dana is an ancient Pali word meaning “generosity”, “giving” or “gift”. It is directly related to the Latin word donum and through this to such English words as donor, donate and donation. Dana is intrinsic to the 2,500 year-old Buddhist tradition. Going back to the days of the Buddha, the teachings were considered priceless and thus offered freely as a form of dana. The early teachers received no payment for their instruction and, in turn, the lay community saw to it through their voluntary generosity, their dana, that the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter and medicine were provided for these monks and nuns.


Many yogis ask for guidance on the amount of dana to give. When giving dana to lay teachers we may want to reflect on the generosity they practise by devoting their lives to the Dhamma. Lay teachers share with all of us the ever increasing costs of daily life,and it is through our generosity that they are able to continue offering this precious gift. You are welcome to donate according to your means but as a guide, we suggest an amount of between $25 - $75 per day. The upper amount is not a limit and if you are able to exceed this limit it will aid the spread of the Dhamma, particularly during these times of increasing costs and exchange rate variations.


Please note that PIMG does not have EFTPOS facilities available, however dana can be paid by Direct Debit either to PIMG's bank account or to the teacher's bank account. Details will be provided to yogis when they register for a retreat.


Beyond the practical dimension, dana also plays a crucial role in the spiritual life of a Dhamma practitioner. It is the first of the ten paramis, or qualities of character, to be perfected. The act of giving itself is of immeasurable benefit to the giver for it opens up the heart, diminishes for a moment one’s self-absorption, and places value on the well-being of others. The simple gesture of offering a flower, an act of service, a kind thought or a simple meal is, in fact, a sincere form of practice.


Every retreatant has the opportunity to contribute to the smooth and efficient running of the retreat by doing some small job every day. You will have the opportunity to sign up for your “yogi job” on arrival.

Scholarships

Everyone is Welcome

All the retreats organised are completely non-profit. However, due to generous Dana we are able to offer partial scholarships for retreats. This is to ensure no one is denied an opportunity to practice. 


 Click HERE for the Scholarship Application Form. 

Past Retreats

Patrick Kearney - Nov 2022

Patrick Kearney - Oct-Nov 2021

Patrick Kearney - Nov 2022

Held at Jhana Grove 

Ariya Baumann - July 2022

Patrick Kearney - Oct-Nov 2021

Patrick Kearney - Nov 2022

Online retreat. 

Patrick Kearney - Oct-Nov 2021

Patrick Kearney - Oct-Nov 2021

Patrick Kearney - Oct-Nov 2021

Online retreat

Ariya Baumann - March 2021

Patrick Kearney - November 2020

Patrick Kearney - Oct-Nov 2021

Online retreat. 

Patrick Kearney - November 2020

Patrick Kearney - November 2020

Patrick Kearney - November 2020

This was PIMG's first online retreat (conducted via Zoom). It was a great success.

Alexis Santos - December 2019

Patrick Kearney - November 2020

Patrick Kearney - November 2020

Held at Jhana Grove.

Ariya Baumann - July 2018

Kamala Masters - December 2017

Kamala Masters - December 2017

 Held at Jhana Grove. 

Kamala Masters - December 2017

Kamala Masters - December 2017

Kamala Masters - December 2017

 Held at Jhana Grove. 

Patrick Kearney - May 2017

Kamala Masters - December 2017

Patrick Kearney - May 2017

 Held at Jhana Grove. 

© 2021 Perth Insight Meditation Group Inc.