Seven-day Vipassana Meditation Retreat 2011

Information and booking

To book in for this retreat you can contact YBAT 1

at 02-4552525 (Automatic 10 lines) ext. 4209. Fax 02-413-0780 or 02-413-3131



For information in English, you can contact Acharn Helen at 02-511-0439.
Please phone between 10.00 and 17.00 pm,
(You can email: dhamma.art@gmail.com or fax: 02-512-6083

Please print out and fax this slip to 662 (from outside Thailand) or 02 512-6083 in Thailand. Alternatively, you can copy the questions below to an email, answer them and send them to dhamma.art@gmail.com at least five days before the starting date of the course
you would like to attend.

General information about the practice

Insight (Vipassana) meditation forms the basis of these retreats,
but there will also be sessions on Metta (Loving Kindness) practice.
Emphasis will be placed on the integration of the spiritual dimensions of being with those of the physical,
in everyday life. Meditators keep eight precepts (see below) while on the retreat.
Instruction will be in English with some Thai translation as necessary.

Standing, walking, sitting and lying down meditation sessions will be held in groups and as individual practice.
Vegetarian food and single room accommodation will be provided.

A Dhamma talk

First day

Intervening days

Last day

11.00 Registration
12.00 Lunch
1.00 Orientation and welcoming ceremony
2.00 Break
2.15 Taking 8 precepts and Initial instruction
3.15 Break
3.30 Walking and sitting meditation
5.30 Fruit drinks and break
6.30 Evening chanting and Dhamma talk
7.15 Break
7.25 Group practice
9.30 Rest

5.00 Private practice
7.00 Breakfast
8.30 Group practice with follow-up instruction
10.00 Break
10.15 Private practice
11.30 Lunch
12-30 - 2:30 Rest
2:30 Private practice with 'sorb arom' = meditation reports with the teachers during the afternoon.
5.30 Fruit drinks
6.30 Evening chanting and Dhamma talk .
7.15 Break
7.25 Group meditation session in the main hall/private practice
9.00 Rest

5.00 Private practice
7.00 Breakfast
8.30 Group practice with follow-up instruction
10.00 Break
10.15 Private practice
11.30 Lunch
12.30 - 2.00 Rest
2.15 Closing ceremony
3.00 (approx) Retreat ends

Additional Details for Insight Meditation Retreats

* You will need to apply for retreats at least seven days in advance.

* For seven-day retreats, you will need to arrive at the centre between 11.00 and 12.00 noon on the first day.

* Food is Thai vegetarian.

* If you have white clothing, this is ideal for a Vipassana retreat. If not, any light-coloured, undistracting, conservative clothes may be worn.

* Meditators are expected to keep the eight precepts, which include not eating solid food after midday. We will provide fruit juice in the evenings.

* Much of the retreat will be silent. You should not read, watch TV or listen to the radio or recorded music.
Mobile phones must be turned off for the duration of the retreat. Urgent messages may be left with the centre staff and you will be informed if they are essential. Certain sessions, e.g. meditation reports, are not silent.

* Payment must be in cash (Thai baht) given on arrival at the centre.

* There is a map to the House of Dhamma, which can be accessed at www.houseofdhamma.com/special
plus directions for those who wish to go by the mini van.

A note about Buddhist Meditation

Within Buddhist Bhavana (mental development), there are two main branches of practice. These are termed Samatha (Calmness meditation) and Vipassana (Insight meditation). These practices complement each other and may be practised together or separately.

Although it is certainly possible to develop the power of concentration without going through a process of purification and letting go of non-beneficial tendencies of mind, this can lead to an unbalanced attitude which could possibly promote selfish tendencies rather than reduce them.

For this reason, the meditation courses and retreats conducted by meditation masters from the House of Dhamma stress Vipassana (Insight meditation) in order to build a firm foundation of concentration and energy, overseen by Sati (Bare awareness). Sati enables the meditator to know what is real in each succeeding present moment.

The Pali term ‘Vipassana’ comes from two Pali roots: Passana – which means ‘knowing’ or ‘seeing’ in the colloquial sense of “I see what you mean” and ‘Vi.’ which means ‘clearly’. During Vipassana practice, the meditator goes on a profound ongoing experiential journey which enables him or her to let go of any detrimental tendencies of mind and to come to know truth directly. The roots of unsatisfactoriness are seen and experienced directly and non-judgmentally. Through this process of Insight into our true nature, the ignorance that perpetuates those roots, is gradually reduced until we are released into the sacred freedom of being whole and holy.

As a general rule, most methods of calmness meditation work more satisfactorily in a quiet place, away from the demands and cares of the world. A period of withdrawal from worldly involvement may be necessary and this time can be quite prolonged. The benefits may fade as conditions change.

A quiet, undisturbed place is always conducive to ‘Bhavana’ in all its forms. After initial training however, Vipassana can be practised anywhere, whatever the circumstances, and it does not depend upon withdrawal from the everyday world.

Vipassana can lead to the permanent removal of those obscurations that cloud the mind and cause us to experience life as unsatisfactory. It can be practised virtually anywhere and by anyone who wishes to do so. For these reasons, Vipassana training is emphasized on retreats arranged by YBAT together with the House of Dhamma.

The eight precepts
(Taken during the retreat)

The five Precepts
(Taken when leaving the retreat)

I observe the precept of not killing
I observe the precept of not stealing
I observe the precept of living a chaste life
I observe the precept of not telling lies
I observe the precept of not taking intoxicants or drugs
I observe the precept of not eating solid food after noon
I observe the precept of not having anything to do with dancing, singing, music, unseeming shows, the use of garlands and perfumes or things that tend to beautify and adorn.
I observe the precept of not using high and luxurious seats and beds

I observe the precept of not killing
I observe the precept of not stealing
I observe the precept of not indulging in sexual behavior, which could harm others or myself
I observe the precept of not telling lies
I observe the precept of not taking intoxicants or drugs, which are conducive to heedlessness