The Heart that Abides in Emptiness
Residential retreat
Friday, 7 June – Saturday, 15 June (8 nights)
With Yanai Postelnik and Leela Sarti
Spaces available Experience required The Buddha’s teachings are essentially pointing to the emptiness at the heart of all experience. Insight meditation cultivates the pathway for this voyage of discovery. Through the simple and direct meeting of each moment with wakefulness, sensitivity and curiosity, we open ourselves to profound transformation. With courage and care we can learn to empty the heart – releasing our entanglement in the emotional dynamics of personal history, while still honouring our unique journey and individuality. Realising the emptiness of all things facilitates the settling, the healing and the awakening of our human heart, and recognising their interconnected nature calls for our compassionate engagement with the world.
Experience required
This retreat is suitable for experienced meditators who have previously attended at least one week-long meditation retreat in silence.
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).
Teachers
YANAI POSTELNIK first encountered the teachings of the Buddha while travelling in Asia in 1989, and has been teaching Insight Meditation and Buddhist practice internationally for 30 years. Yanai is much inspired by the forest tradition of Thailand, and the transformative power of the natural world. He is a member of the Gaia House Teacher Council, and a Core Faculty member of Insight Meditation Society, Massachusetts. Since 2018 Yanai has devoted a significant amount of his time to activism and nonviolent civil disobedience, calling for an appropriate response by government, to the climate, ecological and social justice crises of our time. Having grown up in New Zealand, with parents of European and Asian heritage, Yanai lives with his wife Catherine McGee in Devon, England.
Listen to one of Yanai Postelnik's Talks given at Gaia House on 02.09.2013: The Art of Unknowing (Duration 61:05)
LEELA SARTI has been a student of the Buddha's teachings and practices for over 30 years. She lives with her family in Sweden and in addition to teaching Insight Meditation retreats supports students individually in her practice in Stockholm. Leela is also a teacher in the Diamond Approach tradition.
Listen to one of Leela Sarti's Talks at Gaia House. 19.10.2015: Bowing to Instinct and Embracing Desire (Duration 51:54)
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