To attend this retreat you will need to have been regularly meditating for at least two years and regularly attend retreats, a centre or a group within the context of the Triratna Buddhist Community. You must also be comfortable with extended periods of sitting meditation, Buddhist devotional practice and spending most of the retreat in silence.
Sangharakshita says we should be aware of our minds at all times – but how do we do this? And what are the benefits to our practice? How do we really engage with mindfulness in a way that doesn’t feel contrived and ‘added on’, leaving us feeling stiff and unnatural? How can we connect with awareness that is completely natural, unfabricated and uncontrived? During the retreat we will explore mindfulness as a path to wisdom. We will work with awareness and right view to 'watch the mind' in all its guises. The focus will be on how we use mindfulness as a support to clear seeing, and the end of suffering.
We will look at the role of receptivity in mindfulness and the 'wise' or 'unwise' attention we bring to every aspect of our experience. We will be looking at how continuity of mindfulnes
can touch and transform our experience through simple presence and intelligent awareness, developing both steadiness of mind and heart and insight into the nature of all things.
The retreat will mainly be in silence with input and meditation reviews.
Vajradevi has been meditating for over 30 years and was ordained in 1995. She regularly leads meditation workshops and retreats based around the Satipatthana Sutta and has explored approaches to awareness with the Burmese teacher, Sayadaw U Tejaniya and with Joseph Goldstein.
Check out Vajradevi's blog for more info: uncontrivedmindfulness.net and her new book https://bit.ly/UncontrivedMindfulness
Covid-secure requirements
We are no longer asking each retreatant to take a lateral flow test before travelling to Rivendell, but we are asking that they bring a test with them in case they fall ill whilst here.
We want those that come to Rivendell to be confident that we are making their stay here as safe as possible.
Concession information
Rivendell has a concessionary rate available for most of its retreats. If you are in need of further financial assistance to help enable you to come on retreat here, please do consider writing to our office team via bookings@rivendellretreatcentre.com explaining your circumstances.
Cancellation policy
All deposit amounts are non-refundable and non-transferable in all circumstances.
If you wish to cancel your place on a retreat, we require a minimum notice of 4 calendar weeks before a retreat is due to take place.
If you cancel more than 6 calendar weeks before a retreat is due to take place you will receive a refund of all but the deposit amount, if you have paid in full.
If you cancel between 6 and 4 calendar weeks before the retreat is due to take place and we can't replace you, you will be required to pay half the total cost of the retreat.
If you cancel less than 4 calendar weeks before the retreat is due to take place then any refund will be at Rivendell’s discretion, depending on the circumstances.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel, as there may be other people waiting for a place on the retreat to become available. The refund amount will still depend on whether we can fill your space.
Prices for this event are: £399 - £379 (Conc)