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Published: October 13th 2008
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When my friend Ohnmar sent me a text to check on some events that were on at the Panditarama Meditation Centre on the 12th, the events page of their website stated "It's a big day 12th October". That statement was certainly true, the program of events included:
5am to 8am - fruit offerings,
10am to 12am - ceremony closing the month long meditation retreat,
1pm to 3pm - paying respect to seniors,
6pm to 10pm - 1000 candles lighting ceremony.
Unfortunately, I did not make it until 1pm, but I was lucky enough to catch a dhamma talk by Sayardaw U Pannathami which reminded us of some of the key elements of Vipassana meditation. He also thanked people who had been involved in the month long meditation retreat. This was the first retreat held at the new centre at Smithfield.
The ceremony paying respect to seniors (those over 75) was really beautiful. It was so nice to see people of all ages joining together to respect the seniors who were present. While listening to some of the seniors make speeches I was reminded by my own thoughts what a lucky generation I was born into ... some of
these folks who ranged from 75 to 95 (or so) would have seen a lot more turmoil in their lives than I could imagine. After all, I was born well after WWII, was about 12 when the Vietnam War ended (or American War - depending on your perspective), etc. Plus, the collective wisdom of this small group of seniors would take many lifetimes for one person to arrive at. They certainly deserve all the love and respect in the world!
The lighting of 1000 candles was again, a beautiful ceremony. It was so nice to watch the children playing with sparklers, then lighting candles. There seemed to me to be a great balance to the day, with the seniors and the children mixing together.
Meditation Retreat
One of the ceremonies today was the closing of the first meditation retreat held at the new centre at Smithfield. During the month many people attended the centre, devoting as much time as they could to meditation practice. My mother and I attended the retreat for three days.
Sayardaw commented to me not long after we arrived that three days was probably not long enough. At that time I thought
it would probably be enough for a start. At the end of the three days I had to admit to myself that he was right, it took me that many days to be able to sit comfortably and to stop some of the chatter inside my mind. At least it was a start.
For a centre that is located in the heart of suburban Sydney it was very tranquil. Living in the mountains I am used to peaceful nights that make sleep easy. Mostly when I visit the suburbs for a night I find things a bit noisy compared to home, but I was pleasantly surprised. Even during the day the area around the centre is surprisingly quiet. The main sounds I recall hearing were the small birds that were visiting the gardens around the area.
Compared to meditating at home, doing so at the centre seemed much more focused. I think this was due to a combination of things like ... being with other people who have the same purpose, the fact you do not have to bother yourself with matters such as cooking meals. Plus, I think the meditation hall has a lot of positive energy
collecting there. Maybe this is the positive energy the people have put into renovating the hall?
The other Yogis in attendance were very helpful and caring. I know my mother got a lot from our short visit, as did I. I am very thankful to those who showed us such kindness and who helped us gain some insight into mindfulness.
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Cho Mar
non-member comment
Thanks for sharing
Hi Rob, Thank you for sharing your experience and photos. I have missed out the day events but now I can see all photos of day events. Cheers Cho