2-7 July 2024
5 Days of Meditation
at the Old Monastery
A drive through the pouring rain on Tuesday afternoon brought me to the Old Monastery, mud brick accommodation near Stroud.
I unloaded in the damp chill to my assigned room along the brick corridor. After a short wander through the foggy dusk we had soup and chatted with other retreatants. Following was a short talk by our teacher Simon Power, formerly Buddhist monk Bhante Akaliko. His talk focused on the retreat theme The Next Step. This talk and following dhamma talks and sitting sessions were held in the cosy ‘library’.
The following days we welcomed sparkling sunshine to warm us as we walked in meditation on the roads and paths surrounded by the tall forest stretching to the clean skies. I stopped numerous times over the days to reflect on the work/accomplishments of the nuns who constructed the mud brick buildings. The beauty of the environment, plants, trees, flowers and the sounds of birds and frogs provided a perfect backdrop to our meditation efforts.
Over the five days, in addition to knowledge and guidance on Buddhist principles, Simon treated us to a range of creative activities – writing poetry, sketching, craft – to supplement our meditative exploration of self. Every afternoon we stretched and explored yoga postures – sometimes helpful in waking up a drowsy meditator after lunch.
As with all retreats my efforts brought up lots of various emotions/mindstates – agitation, peace, focused calm, anxiety and so on. Simon encouraged letting go and kept us tuned to training the mind.
Our early lunch was always welcome and yummy from a local café. Some participants chose to take the eight precepts which meant this was the last meal apart from cheese and chocolate (apparently allowed?). We were very well looked after with home-baked cakes and lots of teas and real coffee. We were a harmonious team with everyone helping out on their chosen task. One kind practitioner elected to be the bell ringer and woke especially early to encourage us to start the day with 6:30am meditation. With several long sits, walking meditation and the afternoon program, 9pm found many of us ready for bed. The ambiance of the retreat was a light and kind outlook on each other and all living beings.
I'm sure the five days will leave me with a deepened practice as well as dhamma friends.
Thanks to Simon, Jen and Fiona and all others who made this such a worthwhile time.
— Kathy
30 March – 1 April 2024
Watagans Weekend
Online retreat with Pascal Auclair
I took three days over Easter to join a Canadian online retreat, camping on private property bordering Watagans NP.
I had been looking for an opportunity to learn more from Pascal Auclair after being really inspired by his talks and meditations on Dharmaseed. He mostly teaches in French so when I found this English/online retreat offered I was very excited as it meant I could ‘self retreat’, alone and in silence, as well as receive live instruction from one of my favourite teachers!
The retreat, hosted by BC Insight Meditation in Vancouver was being offered both in-person and online, which meant as long I was willing to get up early I could fully participate in the schedule along with a beautiful group of 50-60 online and in-person meditators.
I scoured Hipcamp for a private campsite close to home and found a promising looking place in Martinsville. It turned out to be perfect, totally secluded with walking access into the National Park. There was enough coverage to run zoom off my phone, a pot belly stove which was great for the chilly early morning sits, a covered area exactly the right length for walking meditation. I felt safe and at ease.
Quietness was rewarded with wildlife visits, a wombat grazed in the paddock in front morning and afternoon, joined at times by half a dozen wallabies and many varieties of smaller native birds around the site all day.
My husband and kids were keen to see the campsite so they drove me out on the Friday and we spent a lovely afternoon and evening exploring together, cooking damper and toasting marshmallows. They packed up and left me alone in time for the start of the retreat on Saturday which was an introductory talk and sit 12-3pm. This was about 5-7pm Vancouver time.
I find Pascal Auclair such an engaging, gentle and joyous teacher, I knew after the first talk and sit that I had set myself up for the possibility of deep letting go into peace.
Afterwards, I made myself some dinner on the ozpig, collected some more firewood, watched the wombat grazing, the sun set, the stars twinkle in as the sky darkened and then retired ready for an early start.
Schedule
- 2.30am – Rise and light fire
- 3.00am – Meditation instructions
- 3:15am – Sitting and walking meditation
- 6.30am – Breakfast
- 7.30am – Sitting meditation
- 8.00am – Q&A
- 8.30am – Walking meditation
- 8.45am – Dhamma Talk
- 9.30am – Walking meditation
- 10.15am – Guided metta
- 11:00am – Lunch
- 12:00pm – Rest
- 2:00pm – Bushwalk
- 5:00pm – Dinner
- 8:00pm – Bed
Feel what you feel.
I zoomed into the retreat, listening, sitting and walking as the misty dark faded into dewy dawn. We were directed to notice the sensations at the sense doors, to play with continually coming back to this in our imperfect way.
For the next few hours we continued to practice with as much continuity as we could. Pascal reminded us of what the Buddha said when he came out of his ‘retreat’.
- Life is really hard
- We make it worse by clinging, including clinging to ‘I’
- We can train to stop clinging so much
- We can realise that there is really nothing worth clinging to because it’s all changeable, unsatisfactory and impersonal
After the retreat concluded for the day I ate lunch, had a good nap and then I ventured into the National Park, following a ridge line a few kilometres straight up to meet Slippery Rock Road.
Alone in the bush, it’s easier to touch into the peace, to feel what you feel without adding any judgement.
Sunday evening was much the same as Saturday, I ate a good meal, felt the day retreat and the night advance. I sat in silence and appreciated this opportunity to rest in awareness. In the morning I rose at 2am, set the fire roaring and enjoyed a tea in the firelight before zooming in. I could feel the time drawing to a close, just a few more precious hours until the final talk and goodbyes. I noticed agitation creep in of concern about low batteries, about packing up and getting home, but with just enough enough awareness to be okay with that, of course my love, of course it’s like that.
— Melinda
28 December 2025 – 1 January 2026
Wat Buddha Dhamma
5 Day New Years Retreat
Deep in the heart of the Dharug National Park, willy wagtails, honey eaters and resident monks are ready to meet you where you are.
A group of 24 meditators spent five quiet days at Wat Buddha Dhamma in Ten Mile Hollow, Wiseman’s Ferry. The ‘Wisdom of Stillness’ retreat is offered annually and led by Ajahn Khemavaro.
On the first evening Ajahn asked us to keep a simple attitude for the retreat ‘Nowhere to go, nothing to do, happy to be here.”
We were asked to keep noble silence but with an attitude of kindness and curiosity when the impulse to speak arose in ourselves and others.
We were invited to take the time to rest and be at ease, to follow the schedule as long as it was helpful and conducive to ease.
We sat in slience in the sala for the hour before bed, surrounded on all sides by the cool dark bush with it’s night noises and scents. Walking back down the path by torchlight, silent, together.
Raking not reiki
We followed a simple schedule for three full days.
Alarms set for 4am we rose in the dark. Each of us a bobbing point of light in the darkness as we made our way by torchlight up to the Sala for chanting and meditation. Refreshed from the first sit of the day we walked back down the hill at 6am for coffee and porridge. (Some of us report they only did this once, and instead rose at 5:30am to the breaking dawn to make an unauthorised coffee in their room.)
We were allocated raking for the work period so at 7am we walked out as a small team onto the fire trails which loop around the Wat to rake them in preparation for fire-season. There may have been initial confusion for those that heard the work period was to do reiki, and were relieved to find the actual work was something much more practical.
Lunch meditation
After the work period we eagerly made our way to the kitchen where the bell was rung for lunch at 10am. Lunch is layed out and offered to the monks first as alms, the monks give a blessing chant in return.
The tables were laden so generously with delicious food it was hard not to pile the plate with more than was possible to eat.
After lunch was free rest time, for showering, reading or walking. One of us, exhausted from a busy December at work, chose to nap solidly everyday from lunch until the afternoon meditation at 2pm.
Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Happy to be here.
Afternoons
The afternoons and evenings were a time to deepen into stillness. There was a guided meditation or interviews with Ajahn Khemavaro, and a break for tea at 5pm, but other than that we were provided with ideal conditions for meditation. Alternating sitting in the sala, walking meditation barefoot on the stone surrounds or walking in the bush. Each evening we collected again for chanting and a Dhamma talk before heading off to bed around 9pm.
New Years Eve Party
New Years Eve was a really special event – a meditation party!
After the evening Dhamma talk we were invited to continue sitting and walking in the dark until 11pm when we embarked on a special paritta chanting – reciting the Itipiso (Buddha recollection) chant 108 times continuously. It was delightful to share this not only with the retreatants but also with the Vietnamese devotees and retreat cooks. It took an hour to complete the chanting, bringing us to midnight and hugs to welcome in 2026, what a beautiful way to begin the year!
…crunch of shoes walking on dirt path, donning Bunnings sun hat and work shoes, leaning into raking the paths – pushing the bark back into the bush and giving the earth a nice little tickle at the same time.
Reflections
During the retreat, my mind took me in and out of being present – and of feeling positive to the place. Since returning home, I realise it was glorious. And I am more able to come back into my body, more open and positive to all people, and more able to hold my thoughts and assumptions, as well as my fears, lightly. It is lovely. At the same time, I get excited about what this could mean for my day to day and then I am off again, away from exactly this moment and lost to daydreaming.
…….
The quiet safe space, along with mild sunny weather allowed me to settle quickly into the rhythm of the retreat and to be present in an easful way most of the time.
I’m so grateful to my fellow retreatants for their commitment to silence and respect on this retreat.
I loved the pair of peacocks that have taken up residence at the Wat, they were really funny and entertaining. I loved meeting the other participants over lunch after our silence was lifted. I loved breathing easy with lungs full of fresh eucalyptus air and I loved falling into bed at night having done a lot of wholesome physical and mental activity and sleeping like a baby.
I apologise to my travel companion for talking for three hours straight in the car ride home.
— Rosemary and Melinda
Newcastle Insight Meditation 