Uncontrived Mindfulness – From Awareness to Wisdom – with Vajradevi – a 9 day retreat in silence

Awareness is crucial to Insight, but a dhamma perspective is even more important. Without ’Right View’ informing what we’re aware of, we run the risk of reinforcing ’wrong views’. Wrong views are naturally present in the unenlightened state, but we can train ourselves to become aware of those ideas and distortions through learning to watch our minds. Mind watching reveals how we are relating to whatever is happening in experience, whether it be a thought, an emotion or an arising through one of our senses.

We can relate to experience with acceptance, interest and impartiality. Or we can resist and proliferate around what is happening, seeing a painful state grow before our eyes, feeling that we are seemingly powerless to stop it. All of our dukkha; our dis-ease, dissatisfaction and disappointments come from this resistance.

We can see Right View as a ’curative’ perspective. It helps us see how we cling and how through that clinging we create our own suffering. Mindfulness and Right View give us tools to relate to ourselves in ways that don’t create further suffering for ourselves or others. We have freedom from fixed views and wise attentiveness in the palm of our hands.

The Retreat

There will be talks and led meditations, using the framework of the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha’s primary teaching on Mindfulness. To facilitate turning inwards the retreat will mainly be in silence, with an opportunity for ’talking meditation’ towards the end of the retreat.

We will meditate using all 4 postures (walking, sitting, standing and lying down). The emphasis however, is on continuity of awareness outside of formal practice times. You will receive encouragement to stay present to whatever is happening, and whatever is needed, in any moment. This is a receptive and flexible approach to awareness with kindness as an implicit thread running through it, and understanding and wisdom, a potential in every moment. There will be opportunities to talk about your practice in group meditation reviews.

Warmly Welcome!

Vajradevi started meditating in 1983 in London, after travelling in Asia. She was ordained into the (non monastic) Triratna Buddhist Order in 1995 and has worked within many ’Right Livelihood’ settings in this western Buddhist tradition, including managing a vegetarian restaurant, and setting up a retreat centre in the Spanish mountains. Her interest in practising and then teaching mindfulness with a strong insight dimension, emerged over 20 years ago. To further her practice she has studied with the meditation teachers Joseph Goldstein and Carol Wilson. Since 2007 she has spent over a year on retreats in Burma and Europe with Sayadaw U Tejaniya and considers him her primary meditation teacher.  Vajradevi’s style is relaxed and natural, and encourages both receptivity and precision of observation, in learning to watch the mind.  You can read her meditation blog at www.uncontrivedmindfulness.net

Vajradevi encourages the participants to read her book ”Uncontrived Mindfulness” before and during the retreat. The book can be bought either from her website or through different online-bookshops (Adlibris and Bokus in Sweden).

Date: Friday the 6th to Sunday the 15th of May 2022

Location: Oshofors is located in the village of Olofsfors, which is located in a triangle formed by the towns Avesta, Norberg and Hedemora.

Oshofors is easily accessed by train from Stockholm or Arlanda Airport to Avesta Krylbo; travel time is approx. 1,5 – 2 h from Stockholm and 1:15 h from Arlanda (for train tickets: www.sj.se).
From Avesta Krylbo, a taxi can be arranged. For more information, see: http://www.oshofors.com/Maps.asp

Price and accomodation: 4.200 SEK (basic fee) plus additional fees (0, 800 or 1.600 SEK) depending on your chosen accommodation.

Please choose a preferred accommodation type below. The price difference (additional fee) will be payed on site when you arrive (by Swish or cash). Note that you cannot be guaranteed your preferred accommodation, due to the limitation of certain room types. Please send an email to vipassanagruppen@gmail.com if you have special needs.

Basic – Option 1 – shared room ”Gurdjieff” – accommodation in a double-room, separate toilet & shower: 4.200 SEK. Option 2 – single ”Gurdjieff” (separate toilet & shower): 5.000 SEK (basic fee + 800)

Option 3 – shared double-room in a bigger apartment with kitchenette, toilet & shower: 5.000 SEK (basic fee + 800)
Option 4 – single bed in an apartment with small kitchenette, toilet & shower: 5.800 SEK (basic fee + 1.600)

Register here

Registration: Register via the link above and pay the registration fee of 1.000 SEK. The remaining fee (3.200 SEK) must be paid no later than three weeks before the retreat starts (by the 15th of April). You can also choose to pay the full amount directly. Additional fee for options 2 – 4 is to be payed on site upon arrival.

The registration fee is not refundable, while the remaining fee is refunded if cancellation occurs no later than three weeks before the start of the retreat. In the event of corona-related cancellation, based on a current request from the Swedish Public Health Agency, the entire fee will always be refunded.

Note: The retreat fee covers food and accommodation as well as travel expenses for teachers and staff. The Buddhist tradition invites everyone to generously give a donation, dana, for the teachers and for the staff; this is done in cash or Swish (a Swedish payment app) at the end of the retreat.

Info: vipassanagruppen@gmail.com