VIPASHYANA RETREAT
CVM, Copenhagen (Dec 04 - 06 2015)
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Vipashyana practice is an expedition into the reality of our minds, an expedition to gain insight into the nature of reality.
Why is this practice so important? If we investigate closely we can come to appreciate that much of our mental suffering and distress comes from our distorted way of viewing ourselves and the world around us.
For example, we often see things as rather stable and unchanging and as a result often get frustrated and upset when things change. Now we all intellectually appreciate that things are changing from moment to moment however this is not how we normally experience things. Hence we are experientially out of sync with reality. We are fighting and struggling against reality and as a result we suffer.
And our distorted way of viewing things also tends to lead to craving and attachment to the things we like and aversion to the things we don't like. Which in turn often leads to frustration when we don't get the things we want, dissatisfaction when they don't live up to our expectations and due to our aversion the level of our discomfort and suffering that we experience increases.
Vipashyana practice is about correcting our distorted way of seeing things, not just intellectually but also experientially. So that we can be completely in sync with reality and thereby not induce any suffering.
Our weekend expedition into the nature of reality begins on Friday night with an introduction where we will look at three main ways in which we distort reality. And how these distortions lead to various types of suffering.
Then over the weekend we will investigate in detail how to correct these distortions. How to correct the distortions of seeing things as stable and unchanging, seeing ourselves as an autonomous self and seeing things as existing independently. And not just correcting these distortions intellectually but also how to cultivate this in meditation so it becomes our lived experience in daily life. And thus radically altering our perception of ourselves and the world around us and as a result reducing and eventually eliminating our suffering and enabling us to lead a more rewarding and fulfilling life.
As a balance and complement to our insight practice we will be supplementing it with the practice of tong-len (giving and taking), a very powerful method to cultivate loving-kindness and compassion for ourselves and others.
This weekend is suitable for both beginners and those already established in vipashyana practice.
Why is this practice so important? If we investigate closely we can come to appreciate that much of our mental suffering and distress comes from our distorted way of viewing ourselves and the world around us.
For example, we often see things as rather stable and unchanging and as a result often get frustrated and upset when things change. Now we all intellectually appreciate that things are changing from moment to moment however this is not how we normally experience things. Hence we are experientially out of sync with reality. We are fighting and struggling against reality and as a result we suffer.
And our distorted way of viewing things also tends to lead to craving and attachment to the things we like and aversion to the things we don't like. Which in turn often leads to frustration when we don't get the things we want, dissatisfaction when they don't live up to our expectations and due to our aversion the level of our discomfort and suffering that we experience increases.
Vipashyana practice is about correcting our distorted way of seeing things, not just intellectually but also experientially. So that we can be completely in sync with reality and thereby not induce any suffering.
Our weekend expedition into the nature of reality begins on Friday night with an introduction where we will look at three main ways in which we distort reality. And how these distortions lead to various types of suffering.
Then over the weekend we will investigate in detail how to correct these distortions. How to correct the distortions of seeing things as stable and unchanging, seeing ourselves as an autonomous self and seeing things as existing independently. And not just correcting these distortions intellectually but also how to cultivate this in meditation so it becomes our lived experience in daily life. And thus radically altering our perception of ourselves and the world around us and as a result reducing and eventually eliminating our suffering and enabling us to lead a more rewarding and fulfilling life.
As a balance and complement to our insight practice we will be supplementing it with the practice of tong-len (giving and taking), a very powerful method to cultivate loving-kindness and compassion for ourselves and others.
This weekend is suitable for both beginners and those already established in vipashyana practice.
SESSIONS
DAY 1
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DAY 2
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DAY 3
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