Samita ASBL

Online retreat 13-15 November: Voices of Awakening – Poems of the First Free Women with Ayya Anopama and Nicola Redfern

Ayya Anopama and Nicola Redfern will offer an online retreat including Insight Dialogue on the weekend 13-15 November 2020, hosted by Tilorien Monastery’s iSangha.

Using the poems from ‘The First Free Women’ which are based on the Therigatha, the world’s oldest collection of women’s literature, we will be exploring the struggles and moments of awakening of the very first nuns at the time of the Buddha. These women came from all walks of life and their realizations took many forms. Investigating these teachings connects us with the challenges and doubts, as well as with the perseverance and profound compassion embodied by these courageous women. Their lived experience and insights are deeply and immediately relevant to our own lives as practitioners today.

From the forward by Bhikkhuni Anandabodhi, spiritual advisor of Tilorien Monastery: “For me, these poems have been an invitation to bring light to the hidden corners and the broken parts, to the confused parts and the angry parts, to all the parts that have been pushed aside. Because it’s only when we bring everything onto the Path that the Path can truly transform us”

In this retreat we will come together to practice silent meditation as well as Insight Dialogue, bringing together the wisdom teachings of the Early Buddhist Nuns and the power of meditation in relationship to support deep insight. 

We warmly welcome practitioners of all gender expressions to join us. 

 

To find out more about Ayya Anopama and Nicola Redfern, see: https://www.samita.be/en/monks-nuns/ayya-anopama/  https://insightdialogue.org/teachers/9001/nicola-redfern/

About Insight Dialogue

Insight Dialogue is a relational meditation practice designed to help us be awake in our everyday lives. It brings together meditative awareness, the wisdom teachings of the Buddha and the power of relationship, to support the development of liberating insight and compassion while investigating present moment experience.

Time of Retreat: The retreat starts on Friday 18.00 and ends on Sunday 18.00 (CET) 

Prerequisites: prior meditation experience. This can include a consistent silent/solitary meditation practice or prior experience with mindfulness or meditation courses and retreats. Participants are asked to commit to participating for the entire retreat so we can weave a deep sense of community together.

Limited Space: Due to the nature of online practice there is a limited number of places available. People will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. 

Registration: please complete the “Voices of Awakening” registration from (you will receive a confirmation email upon submission; if this doesn’t arrive, please check your junk mail and if it isn’t there, get in touch using Tilorien’s contact page) . 

Dana: This retreat is offered out of generosity. If you feel moved to engage in this circle of generosity and would like to support the teachers and Tilorien Monastery in spreading the Dhamma you can make a donation by following this link and stating “Online Retreat: Voices of Awakening”: https://www.samita.be/en/donations

A similar retreat based on the poems will be offered by Ayya Anopama and Nicola Redfern in the US Time Zone 19-22 November. To find out more, see: https://insightdialogue.org/programs/10310/voices-of-awakening-poems-of-the-first-free-women-us-time-zone/

For more information about Tilorien Monastery and the iSangha, see: www.tilorien.org and www.tilorien.org/en/iSangha

For more information about Insight Dialogue, see: www.insightdialogue.org