7-Day Retreat – Practice Directed and Undirected
with Patrick Kearney and Emma Pittaway
December 3 - 10, 2023
Program is fully booked
The Buddha taught directed and undirected practice as twin aspects of satipatthana, establishing mindfulness. In directed practice we aim mind at an object and hold it there. In undirected practice we pull back, so mind is neither aimed nor held. When this happens, the Buddha says the practitioner is happy and their mind is unconstricted, freed (SN 47.10 The bhikkhunis’ quarters). In this retreat we will explore both directed and undirected practice, as essential aspects of the craft of meditation.
Teachers
Patrick Kearney
Patrick Kearney is an independent dharma teacher in the lineage of Mahāsī Sayādaw of Burma, his principal teachers being Paṇḍitarama Sayādaw and John Hale. He has also trained in the Diamond Sangha lineage of Zen Buddhism. His original teacher was Robert Aitken Roshi, and he is now studying with Paul Maloney Roshi. Patrick has a particular interest in the Buddha’s teachings before Theravāda or Mahāyāna were thought of. He studies Pāli and seeks to bring his understanding of the early texts to the practice of dharma in the contemporary world. For further details see his website.
Learn more about Patrick Kearney
Patrick Kearney is an independent dharma teacher in the lineage of Mahāsī Sayādaw of Burma, his principal teachers being Paṇḍitarama Sayādaw and John Hale. He has also trained in the Diamond Sangha lineage of Zen Buddhism. His original teacher was Robert Aitken Roshi, and he is now studying with Paul Maloney Roshi. Patrick has a particular interest in the Buddha’s teachings before Theravāda or Mahāyāna were thought of. He studies Pāli and seeks to bring his understanding of the early texts to the practice of dharma in the contemporary world. For further details see his website.
Learn more about Patrick Kearney
Emma Pittaway
Emma Pittaway has trained primarily in the lineages of Mahasi Sayadaw and Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, her teachers being Patrick Kearney and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She has practiced for over twenty years in Burma, Thailand, India, Nepal and Malaysia, as well as here in Australia. Inspired by the forest lives of the Buddha and his followers, Emma draws on the natural world to support the development of wisdom. She studies the early teachings of the Buddha and seeks to apply them in a way that supports flexibility and independence in meditation. Emma began teaching in 2019 and is a regular…
Learn more about Emma Pittaway
Emma Pittaway has trained primarily in the lineages of Mahasi Sayadaw and Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, her teachers being Patrick Kearney and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She has practiced for over twenty years in Burma, Thailand, India, Nepal and Malaysia, as well as here in Australia. Inspired by the forest lives of the Buddha and his followers, Emma draws on the natural world to support the development of wisdom. She studies the early teachings of the Buddha and seeks to apply them in a way that supports flexibility and independence in meditation. Emma began teaching in 2019 and is a regular…
Learn more about Emma Pittaway