I'm doing another meditation retreat

[Husseinisdoingfine]

Hey all.

I received an acceptance letter for my second retreat. From December 20 - 27, I'm embarking on a Brahmavihara Meditation Retreat. Its hosted by Buddhist Monks from Taiwan, and I'm really excited. 

Here's the description from my acceptance letter:

Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Empathetic Joy, and Equanimity Meditation, collectively known as Brahmavihara (Divine Abidings), sometimes known as Appamanna (Four Immeasurable Minds), is one of the oldest and most popular meditation methods during Buddha's time. According to the Path of Purification (Visudhimagga), the practice of Brahmavihāra is considered as one of the three universal practices that all cultivators must be trained on; as it eliminates ill will, calms anxiety, and fosters harmony in a community. Not only does this method helps to develop samadhi (concentration), but also resolves interpersonal issues making it the most suitable method for laypeople. This method also accumulates experience and skills that serve as a bedrock for insight meditation (vipassana).

Original text in Chinese: 

四無量心（慈、悲、喜、捨），亦名四梵住，為佛教最早與最根本的禪修方法之一。根據《清淨道論》的說法，佛陀所教導的禪修方法中有三個必修法門，四無量心便為其中之一，因為它可以消除惡意，平息焦慮，並促進團體的和諧。這個方法不僅能增長修行者的定 (samadhi)，也能幫助解決人際關係問題，使得它成為最適合在家人士修習的禪修方法；此外，它所培養的禪修技巧以及經驗能在進一步作為修行內觀 (vipassana) 的基礎。

醍醐寺特別強調四無量心禪法，因為其不但是所有修行者的基礎法門，也是在修行道路上最關鍵的禪修方法。此禪修營是醍醐寺禪修的必修課程，並為學習其他禪修法門前的先決條件。

 

And here's the schedule:

 

Dharma Talks are basically classes. The monk is in front of the room and all of the student are sitting in front of him in rows of tables taking notes as he lectures us about the Dharma.

Edited Monday at 06:28 PM by Husseinisdoingfine

[Husseinisdoingfine]

First retreat:

 

[Yimpa]

Nice! Glad you discovered something that works for you.

[UnbornTao]

Nice.

[Salvijus]

Happy gains :] 

[Natasha Tori Maru]

Very cool - I like hearing from users after the retreat. 

I still remember when you got back from your previous one.

Bouncing off the walls

 

[integration journey]

Nice. Tell us how it goes  

[AerisVahnEphelia]

None of those things are anything more than fancy decorum and a nice pretense, a hobby for rich, bored people.

Even if you get high from meditation, then what? Your body returns to homeostasis at the cost of that high, and you become addicted to chasing a state of mind while losing more of your precious lifetime.

Edited 23 hours ago by AerisVahnEphelia

[Natasha Tori Maru]

2 hours ago, AerisVahnEphelia said:

None of those things are anything more than fancy decorum and a nice pretense, a hobby for rich, bored people.

Even if you get high from meditation, then what? Your body returns to homeostasis at the cost of that high, and you become addicted to chasing a state of mind while losing more of your precious lifetime.

This must hurt you to be so this way

[Thought Art]

Looks so cool! Remind me to look into a retreat centre and set a date for my own 1-2 day sit for practice.

[Michal__]

3 hours ago, Thought Art said:

Looks so cool! Remind me to look into a retreat centre and set a date for my own 1-2 day sit for practice.

There is basically only Goenka in my country and they have rejected me because of my psychiatric  meds

[Husseinisdoingfine]

7 hours ago, AerisVahnEphelia said:

None of those things are anything more than fancy decorum and a nice pretense, a hobby for rich, bored people.

Even if you get high from meditation, then what? Your body returns to homeostasis at the cost of that high, and you become addicted to chasing a state of mind while losing more of your precious lifetime.

Don't be such a downer, this is spiritual work. 

Even Leo has done this.

https://www.actualized.org/insights/hawaii-retreat-intro

https://www.actualized.org/insights/solo-retreat

https://www.actualized.org/insights/solo-retreat-notes-feb-2019

https://www.actualized.org/insights/hawaii-solo-retreat-feb-2018-videos

[Husseinisdoingfine]

Sincere question for experienced meditators and people who have done more than three retreats in their lives:

Do you recommend fasting during meditation retreats? If so, for how long? My retreat is 8 days.

Do you recommend bringing instant coffee? I like to start my day with a nice cup of joe. What about caffeinated tea? Such as black tea. 

[Natasha Tori Maru]

 

2 hours ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

Sincere question for experienced meditators and people who have done more than three retreats in their lives:

Do you recommend fasting during meditation retreats? If so, for how long? My retreat is 8 days.

I cannot speak to the retreat side of the question, but I have many years or consistent meditation behind me.

Fasting enhanced the depth and ease of my meditation practice.

The longest I have done is 3 days fasting, combined with meditation.

I found it very beneficial

[Salvijus]

10 hours ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

Sincere question for experienced meditators and people who have done more than three retreats in their lives:

Do you recommend fasting during meditation retreats? If so, for how long? My retreat is 8 days.

Do you recommend bringing instant coffee? I like to start my day with a nice cup of joe. What about caffeinated tea? Such as black tea. 

There's no food after lunch in your timetable. That will give you 18h of fasting per day. That's enough fasting. They'll have tea there.