Retreats

The focus of this retreat is on realistic and practical understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist meditation with an emphasis on personalising the practice and using it in everyday life. This was previoulsy offered as a residential retreat but due to Covid restrictions it will now be online. Michael Dash has been a Buddhist practitioner for over twenty years, studying in Australia, Thailand and Burma, where he trained in satipatthāna vipassanā meditation in the Mahāsī tradition. He also has led the Centre’s regular group sits in Sydney and is a professional counselor.

This integrated process is for people interested in the foundations of Buddhism and its relationship to meditation & life. All sessions are online via Zoom. It consists of three events, starting with a group weekend, a 1-to-1 discussion, and a follow-up day, over the course of a month. Meditation will be central, but explored in its Buddhist context as a foundation for living. The format will allow us to experiment with integrating meditation into our everyday lives, while appreciating the Buddha’s core messages. This process is open to complete beginners and more experienced meditators.

Lesley Lebkowicz has practised with Western teachers and Burmese meditation masters in the Mahasi lineage of Insight Meditation in Burma, Nepal, the United States and Australia since 1983. Her main teachers have been Michele McDonald, Sayadaw U Pandita, John Hale and Sayadaw U Vivekananda. Lesley’s teaching focusses on developing a loving gentleness towards our own minds and on the importance of exercising autonomy and responsibility for our own development. This retreat is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced meditators.