Insight Meditation Retreat with James Baraz and Jill Shepherd
James will be leading 2 Insight Meditation events in Melbourne and in 1 event in Sydney during his visit to Australia in December 2014.
This page has details for the Melbourne events. For the Sydney event with James please visit the SIM website
Melbourne Schedule
Dharma Talk and Meditation hosted by Melbourne Insight Meditation
When: December 1, 7.15pm - 9pm
Venue: Ceres, Brunswick
Cost: $5 plus Dana for the teacher.
There are no bookings for this talk, you just show up.
For details about getting to Ceres and other events hosted by Insight Meditation teachers in Melbourne please visit the Melbourne Insight Meditation website and join their email list
Silent Meditation Retreat in the Yarra Valley
When: Dec 2014
There are now 2 options for the residential retreat
December 3-10, stay for the whole 7 days
December 3-7, 4 day option. Arrive Dec 3 with everyone else and depart after lunch on Dec 7.
Venue: Casa Pallotti
Cost:
7 Days: $540 + Dana for the teachers.
4 Days: $380 + Dana for the teachers.
Note: Please send us an email to check for availability as the retreat is filling up.
Click here to email the retreat manager
Can't make this retreat but are interested in hearing about other similar events? Click here to join our email list
This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity and depth of practice. Traditional instructions will be combined with a spirit of loving kindness and silent sitting and walking meditation, dharma talks, and interviews. This is a good retreat for both beginning and experienced students.
If you are new to Insight Meditation retreats this is a brief outline of how a daily schedule will proceed. A typical day might start at 6am or earlier with meditation and some exercise/yoga, then breakfast, then there's a work period where we look after our retreat environment, then meditation instructions from the teachers, then sitting & walking meditation till lunch. After lunch there's a rest period and then more sitting/walking meditation till dinner, another rest and then sitting/walking till bed. There will be a talk by one of the teachers generally in the afternoon or evening. During the day there will be opportunity for meeting with teachers individually for more personalised support as needed.
James' bio:
James Baraz has been teaching Insight Meditation (vipassana) since 1978. He is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. James started the Community Dharma Leader program, the Kalyana Mitta Network program and is teacher-advisor to the Spirit Rock Family and Teen program. He teaches throughout the US and Internationally. He's been teaching the popular online Awakening Joy course (www.awakeningjoy.info) since 2003. James is co-author with Shoshana Alexander of Awakening Joy (Bantam), which is based on the course.
Jill Shepherd bio:
Jill Shepherd began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and since that time has lived and worked at several meditation centres and monasteries in the US, Australia, England, and Thailand. She spent seven years on staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts, where she offered weekly meditation classes at a nearby men’s prison. She is currently a student in the IMS / Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein, and divides her time between the US, Australia and New Zealand, teaching vipassana and brahma vihara retreats and offering ongoing study and practice groups focused on bringing the dharma into daily life.
Volunteers Needed
We rely totally on the good will of organisers and volunteers to make a visit like this happen. If you would like to assist in any way with James' visit, please send us an email and let us know how you might be able to help. Specifically we are looking for assistance with
- Promotion of the visit
- Lifts to the retreat venue for people without cars and/or people coming from interstate
If you are interested then please email us
Thanks!
Please note: For anyone coming from interstate or overseas, we will endeavour to arrange for lifts from Melbourne city to Casa Pallotti before the retreat and then back to the city afterwards. We cannot guarantee a lift but we will try. Shuttles run from Melbourne airport to the city every 20 minutes.
DANA ~ Dana is a Pali word (the language used at the time The Buddha lived) which means the practice of generosity, or offering. DANA is a completely different way of relating to what is offered. Rather than a commercial transaction, DANA expresses the love and appreciation for what has been received. The daily rate you pay for the retreat covers food costs, Airfares and travel costs, basic bills, organisational costs, printing and any other set up costs for the retreat. Nobody receives any kind of salary. The DANA boxes that are put out at the end of each retreat support The Teachers and the tradition itself. DANA is not tips, it is not a token gesture, it is a vital resource that allows these retreats and tradition to continue.
This is a living tradition that is thousands of years old and we are now the holders of this tradition. The generosity of countless people over the centuries has brought us to this point now where we can offer this retreat on the basis of Dana. When you come to our retreats you are being nourished by the generosity of people who came before you. Your generosity now is the resource that enables us to continue to offer retreats in the future so other people may also benefit and keep the tradition alive.
Bookings
There are spaces available for the retreat.
1. Please read all of the Retreat practical information. All booking and payment info is in that document.
Click here to download the Retreat booking and practical information
Questions about the Retreat
Contact Anton 0412 018962 for all enquiries about Insight Meditation or visit
Do you have Practical questions about the retreat
eg, about food or sleeping arrangements.
Read the practical info first. All booking and payment info is in that document.
Click here to download the retreat booking and practical information
Click here to email the retreat manager
or email the retreat manager: insightretreats @ gmail.com
Please note: We only accept Retreat registrations with full payment.
Giving of service ~ In the spirit of generosity we ask that everyone who comes to our retreats, contributes time each day towards the running of the retreat. Typically this is approx 1 hour. This may be anything from washing up, veggie chopping, cleaning or something else connected with running the retreat. We thank you in advance.
What is Insight Meditation?
From Spirit Rock website......"Insight Meditation (known as vipassana in the Buddhist tradition) is a simple technique which has been practiced in Asia for over 2,500 years. Beginning with the focusing of attention on the breath, the practice concentrates and calms the mind. It allows one to see through the mind's conditioning and thereby to live more fully present in the moment. Its presentation through Spirit Rock Meditation Center is non-sectarian, although the ethics and traditions of Buddhist psychology are included for guidance.
Insight Meditation (known as vipassana in the Buddhist tradition) is a simple technique which has been practiced in Asia for over 2,500 years. Beginning with the focusing of attention on the breath, the practice concentrates and calms the mind. It allows one to see through the mind's conditioning and thereby to live more fully present in the moment. Its presentation through Spirit Rock Meditation Center is non-sectarian, although the ethics and traditions of Buddhist psychology are included for guidance.
The taking of the precepts of harmlessness is the beginning of Buddhist life generally and the retreat experience particularly. This creates an atmosphere of safety in which each person can explore her/his own inner states and mental processes. The practice develops clarity of seeing which allows grasping, judgment, and fear to fall away. One discovers and cultivates qualities such as compassion, equanimity, wisdom, joy, and moral integrity.
The ultimate aim of the practice is the ending of suffering in the discovery of an unconditioned and complete freedom. Insight meditation retreats are designed for both beginning and experienced meditators. Daily dharma talks and instruction in meditation are given, and individual and group interviews are arranged with the teachers at regular intervals. A typical daily schedule starts at 5am and ends at 10pm. The entire day is spent in silent meditation practice with alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation. Meals are vegetarian and are prepared with health and nutrition in mind. Lunch is the main meal of the day, and a light tea is served in the late afternoon. The combination of this regular schedule, group support, silence, and instruction provides a beneficial environment for developing and deepening meditation practice."
There are a number of resources available on the internet that may help you get a sense of Insight Meditation if you are new to it. Here's a couple (and there are lots more)
www.dharmaseed.com has a large number of talks and guided meditations that can be downloaded. It's really helpful if you offer a donation for any talks you download.
www.accesstoinsight.org has English translations of the talks (Suttas) of the Buddha. Not so easy reading but more of a resource if you are the sort of person who likes to go to the source!
Please keep in mind that at the very core of all that you read and hear in Insight meditation, is the invitation to explore what is offered and see for yourself if it is true or not.