A Gaia House online retreat with Ajahn Amaro and Laura Bridgman
Monday, 5 April, 4pm – 7pm
This retreat is open to all, including beginners and those with experience. Please join us.
Teachers:
AJAHN AMARO is abbot at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire, UK. Having studied Psychology and Physiology at the University of London, spiritual searching led him to Thailand, where he went to Wat Pah Nanachat, a Forest Tradition monastery established for Western disciples of Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah, who ordained him as a bhikkhu in 1979. During the 80s and 90s he resided at Chithurst Monastery and Amaravati, before moving to California in 1996 to establish Abhayagiri Monastery, where he was co-Abbot with Ajahn Pasanno until 2010, when he returned to Amaravati. He has written a number of books, including an account of an 830-mile trek from Chithurst to Harnham Monastery, called Tudong – The Long Road North, republished in the expanded book Silent Rain. His other publications include Small Boat, Great Mountain (2003), Rain on the Nile (2009) and The Island – An Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings on Nibbana (2009) co-written with Ajahn Pasanno, and a guide to meditation called Finding the Missing Peace.
LAURA BRIDGMAN began her Dhamma practice in her early teens, and eventually ordained as a nun with Ajahn Sumedho in 1995. She was resident at Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries for eighteen years until moving out to live as a solitary nun in 2010. She has spent extended periods of time with the Burmese teacher Sayadaw U Tejaniya. In 2015 Laura left the monastic tradition to pursue the Diamond Heart (Ridhwan) spiritual path alongside her Vipassana practice. There is much over-lap as it incorporates Buddhist principles and practices.
Retreat description
In this retreat we will reflect on the value of sangha; how spiritual friendship can illuminate our awareness, and how our practice can support the good things in our communities, and help us to respond wisely and compassionately to the areas that need rebuilding.
Schedule
All times shown are in British Summer Time (BST)
4.00pm — Introduction, reflections and practice instructions
4.45pm — Sitting meditation
5.00pm — Dhamma reflections
5.50pm — Comfort break
6.00pm — Q&A
6.45pm — Final guided meditation
Using Zoom
This online retreat will use the Zoom platform. For support with learning how to use Zoom, please click here to read the guidance we’ve put together on our website. Please read the first section, ‘Using Zoom’, before registering.
Enquiries
If you have any questions regarding the retreat, you can send an email to info@gaiahouse.co.uk We will respond as quickly as possible, but we have a reduced team during this time so we apologise if you have to wait longer than usual.
Dana/generosity
None of your registration fee goes to the teachers. Gaia House teachers rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood. There will be an opportunity to make a dana offering to your teachers at the end of the event.
Click here to read more about the practice of dana.
Dana can be offered to the teachers via the Gaia House website by clicking here. Please click on Teacher and then specify that your donation is for ‘Ajahn Amaro and Laura’ in the notes section on the checkout page.
Ajahn Amaro and Laura Bridgman are kindly offering their dana for this event to support Gaia House during this time of financial vulnerability.
With deep appreciation for your generosity.
Well-being guidelines - please click here to read before booking Before you book, please read these guidelines about mental well-being and silent retreats: Meditation retreats can be very nourishing; however, as they require sustained meditation practice, they also need some stability of psychological health. If you have recently (within the past year or so) experienced significant trauma or psychiatric illness, or if you are currently experiencing acute emotional distress such as serious depression or anxiety, it may not be the best time for you to participate in a retreat. The teachers might not be able to give you the kind of individual psychological care you need at this time. A setting with more opportunities for interpersonal engagement may be more appropriate.
Registration
Illuminating Community
To register for this retreat:
- Please look at the rates listed below and enter the amount appropriate to you in the amount box.
- Then complete the registration form.
- Please read our Booking & cancellation conditions before completing your booking.
Rates:
Registration is on a sliding-scale. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you are able to. Your generosity is vital in supporting Gaia House to sustain its Dharma offerings for the benefit of all. We are committed to ensuring that our programme is available to everyone who wishes to participate. If our registration band is too high for you, you can enter the amount you are able to pay.Registration: £5 — £15 (or the amount you are able to pay if this is too high)
Dānanandi Sangha: £0 As a regular donor to Gaia House you are contributing already. Thank you.
A note on dana/generosity
None of your registration fee goes to the teacher(s). Gaia House teachers rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood. There will be an opportunity to make a dana offering to your teacher(s) at the end of the event.