The Gentle Art of Patience
Residential retreat
Thursday, 4 July – Sunday, 7 July (3 nights)
With Laura Bridgman and Venerable Canda Theri
Spaces available Suitable for all The Buddha described patience as the highest spiritual quality, yet many of us find it challenging, even unappealing.
Modern society so often emphasises immediate gratification through an act of will. We then bring this pressure to our meditation practice and use too much force, making the path harder than it needs to be. On the contrary, the Buddha encouraged us to focus on the causes for happiness and peace – the careful laying down of conditions that allow beautiful qualities of the heart to ripen, in their own time.
Developing such a patient, kind and gentle attitude enables us to stay with experience long enough to discover its beauty and depth. We learn to find contentment here and now, instead of being caught in restless seeking.
Additional Practice
Laura Bridgman and Martine Batchelor are offering an online course in May/June 2024, exploring patience and other qualities (known as the Paramis) in the context of human relationships, which is designed to complement this residential retreat. For more information see here.
Suitability
This retreat is suitable for all levels of experience.Teachers
LAURA BRIDGMAN was a Buddhist nun in the Theravada tradition from 1995 to 2015. Her main teachers within this school have been Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Sucitto and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She has been offering retreats since 2007, most recently mainly at Gaia House where she is also the staff support teacher. Her practice orientation is the Buddha’s teaching of the Five Spiritual Faculties (trust, balanced effort, mindfulness, composure and wisdom). Alongside her Vipassana (Insight) practice she is a student of the Diamond Approach (Ridhwan).
VENERABLE CANDA THERI encountered the Dhamma in 1996 in India and practised intensive meditation, sitting and serving scores of Vipassana retreats, before ordaining in Burma in 2006. She took full 'bhikkhuni' ordination with her teacher Ajahn Brahm in Australia in 2014 and for the last eight years, she and Ajahn Brahm have been developing the UK charity Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project, which will support Britain's first Forest Monastery for women wishing to train toward bhikkhuni ordination.
Venerable Canda Theri now has a little Vihara in the beautiful city of Oxford, close to the River Thames. Besides running the charity and monastery, she teaches extensively and spends 3-4 months a year in solitary retreat. Venerable Canda Theri loves the Dhamma and her offerings are richly informed by the compassion and pragmatism of the Early Buddhist texts. She emphasises kindness and letting go as a way to deepen stillness and wisdom - a work in progress!
Rates
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 rates are too high for you, we invite you to apply for support from our Financial Assistance and Bursaries Fund (FAB Fund).
Accommodation
This retreat will be offered in a mixture of shared and single rooms. Some single rooms are available to book in advance for those that need them to come on retreat. If these are still available, you will be able to select this option. Some single rooms are also held for people to request, but these cannot be guaranteed. These will be allocated in the days leading up to each retreat so we cannot let you know in advance. Priority will be given to those with specific medical needs.
Extend your retreat
If you have previously been on a residential retreat of a weekend or longer at Gaia House, you are welcome to join us a day earlier than the retreat start date. All retreatants are welcome to stay an extra night at the end of the retreat. There is an additional cost of £73 per night.
Please note, retreat conditions will still apply from arrival:
- Observe silence
- Follow the daily schedule
- Practise meditation
Camping
In addition to our in-house accommodation, we can offer a few camping places during the warmer months.
There are a limited number of camping places available, please email reception at info@gaiahouse.co.uk to check availability, please don't forget to include the retreat you wish to book in the email.
- Each retreatant needs to bring their own tent (small one/two person tents only).
- Toilet and bathroom facilities are shared with the in-house occupants.
- Please note: In poor weather we cannot accommodate campers in the house.
Dana/generosity
None of your registration fee goes to the teacher. Gaia House teachers rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood. At the end of the retreat, there is an opportunity to make a dana offering to your teacher(s), the residential community team and Gaia House. We are deeply grateful for your generosity.Click here to read more about the practice of dana.
Gaia House and covid-19
We hope to make everyone's retreat at Gaia House as supportive as possible. Please click here for further information on how we are creating as supportive and safe a retreat environment.Arrival and departure times
- Arrive for registration between 2.00pm-4.45pm on the opening day.
- Depart after 12.30pm on the final day (or 1.30pm if staying for lunch).
Please note:
- We will need everyone to commit to the full duration of their retreat.
Cancellation terms & conditions
We have now updated our Booking Terms and Conditions which includes cancellation information, please click here. Please take time to review these before you book.Before booking
In support of your retreat, two weeks before you arrive, we will send a list of questions about your physical, mental health and dietary needs. This will help us to support you during your retreat. If you are unsure whether or not to book due to needing specialist support due to significant physical or mental health needs, including checking availability of our only ground floor bedroom (also wheelchair-accessible), please email retreatmanager@gaiahouse.co.uk.
For more information on our retreats please check our frequently asked questions page.
Well-being and silent retreats
This is a silent retreat: apart from during individual or group meetings with the teachers you will be invited into silence for the duration of the event.
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.
- If you are currently under the care of a mental health professional, please discuss your attendance with them. You should be in a relatively stable period of mental well-being and have adequate psychological resilience.
- If you have any questions about this, please contact Laura using the email address, retreatmanager@gaiahouse.co.uk