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Published: April 13th 2009
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“We are fortunate to be born as humans, fortunate again to have come in contact with the teachings of the Buddha and again fortunate to be able to attend this retreat” was part of my recollection of Sayadaw’s Dhamma talk on Friday night.
I certainly felt fortunate that I could attend the meditation retreat from Thursday afternoon through to Saturday afternoon. I would have liked to have stayed for the full 5 days, but other things in life also demanded some attention.
On Saturday there were more than 50 people in attendance. Meditating with a group of people is so different to practicing solo at home - perhaps the concentration of others helps to magnify your own?
The centre has improved so much in the 12 months since it relocated to Smithfield. The female Yogis were all accommodated in the dorms, while the men were given comfortable accommodation in two caravans. The paved dining area, located off the side of the meditation hall, is such a nice area overlooking the garden. Having the cooking area separated from the eating area really helps the Yogis maintain their mindfulness during meal times.
Now that the lawns and gardens are
becoming well established it is so easy to maintain concentration while doing walking meditation outside, it was wonderful. The “Banana Walking Path” is obviously a favourite walking meditation path for all the Yogis and was well used by all. Plus, the garden benches in that area are great for continuing sitting meditation outdoors. One thing I love about the banana plants is when a gentle breeze blows through them the noise made by the swaying leaves sounds like soft rain falling - it’s so calming!
Daily Routine at the Centre
The daily routine at the centre starts at 4am and continues until about 9pm. Breakfast is at about 5am and lunch at about 11am. Throughout the course of the day the Yogis alternate their practice between sitting and walking meditation, plus continual mindfulness throughout the waking hours while carrying out any activities other than the set practice. Starting and ending each day chanting the Metta Bhavana (the cultivation of loving kindness) is such a wonderful thing to do!
I must admit that I still find it incredibly hard work to sit for a long time, developing concentration while walking is still so much easier for me. Yep,
sitting is hard work and it hurts - my back ached, my neck burnt, my legs get numb and sometimes I can get through all that and begin to relax and concentrate. Maybe one day it will get easier - I will keep trying until it does.
Thanks
Katherine took the time to produce a booklet of the chanting done at the centre in both Pali and English. Yong, Masdi and Ohnmar also helped with this, which I really appreciated - it was so good to be able to follow the morning and evening chanting plus understand the meaning. Their efforts definitely contributed to helping less experienced Yogis like me get more from the retreat - many thanks to them. Lucky for me I got the version for "middle aged blokes going blind" with the big print!
On leaving the centre on Saturday afternoon I thanked the people in the kitchen area who looked after me so well during my short stay. Without the volunteers who prepare meals, etc the Yogis would not be able to spend 100%!o(MISSING)f their time meditating - so they play such a big role in helping us.
Many thanks to
Banana Walk
walking meditation area all those at the Panditarama Centre - my life has been so much richer and more fulfilled thanks to you all. Through the advice and encouragement of the people I have met there it has certainly helped increase my desire to continue my solo practice. In fact, even at home when I meditate it is so good to know that there are so many other people doing the same - it really encourages me to continue.
Does anyone know if Sayadaw's talk on Friday night was recorded? I took in as much as I could but to be able to hear it again would be great as he covered so many important points.
(PS: thanks to Masdi for the majority of the photos!)
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Ohnmar
non-member comment
Very short 4 days of Meditation retreat has passed. On Behalf of PSMCI, I would like to express our gratitute to your great participation. This retreat is the most successful in this centre history. We have to admit that the facility in the centre may not be sufficient enough to meet the Yogis needs. The committee is trying to do our best and improve to support yogis. We hope you could still benefit from the clear understanding the state of mind from meditation practice and bring home the practice too. To improve the centre for yogis please feel free to give us any suggestions. May you and your family be well and happy.