Retreats
 
Meditation Room

The meditation retreats that are offered at Passaddhi are residential and in silence.

All the meals are lacto-vegetarian (i.e. dairy products included), with organically grown vegetables from the garden. Wheat/gluten free, dairy free and sugar free diets can be catered for if necessary. Please indicate this on the booking form.

The schedule for each retreat may differ, depending on the teacher and on the length of the retreat. Weekend retreats are usually taught by Marjó, and will have a slightly less formal structure than the longer retreats, which are taught by teachers invited by Marjó. See teachers for more information.

Retreats at Passaddhi

Retreats at Passaddhi 2012

16-19 March St. Patrick's Day (Bank Holiday weekend) lovingkindness (metta) and mindfulness (vipassana) with Marjo.

4-7 May (May Bank Holiday weekend): loving kindness and mindfulness retreat with Marjo.

1-4 June (June Bank Holiday weekend): vipassana with with Bhante Bodhidhamma. For more information on Bhante Bodhidhamma please visit www.satipanya.org.uk

10 - 19 August: Loving kindness/metta with Visu Teoh.

21 - 30 August: vipassana with Frits Koster.

31 August - 9 September: vipassana with Visu Teoh.

14 - 23 September: vipassana with Venerable Sister Ariya Nyani.

It will be possible to stay on between these retreats, so that it can be a 10, 20, 30 or even 40 day retreat. A great opportunity to deepen your practice without having to travel to Burma or other long-term retreat centres. All are welcome!

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All retreats at Passaddhi will be in silence, residential in shared accommodation (with the option of a private room at a local B&B), and with vegetarian meals (including home-grown organic vegetables). Part-participation is usually possible. The retreats are offered on a donation basis, because Marjó and the other teachers at Passaddhi have been inspired by these meditation practices, and want to make them available to as many people as possible. It is left entirely up to the generosity of the participants how much they wish to contribute to support the centre and the teachers. A booking fee applies to keep a place, as Passaddhi can only have about 12 retreatants at any one time. If you are not sure what is an appropriate amount to give for retreat costs and/or for the teacher, please contact Marjó.

Please see here for more information on what it means to come on retreat.
 
Retreats taught by Marjó elsewhere 2012
2012

18 February: non-residential retreat (metta and vipassana) at An Cuige, Dundalk.

Info and bookings: Dolores Whelan: 042 9371901 or eolas@doloreswhelan.ie

19 February: loving kindness meditation at the Sanctuary, Dublin

Info and bookings The Sanctuary: 01-6705419 or enquiries@sanctuary.ie

25-26 February: non-residential retreat (mindfulness meditation) at Castalia, Ballytobin, Callan, Co. Kilkenny.

Booking with Marjó 027-60223 or moosterhoff@eircom.net Cost: by donation.

24-25 March: non-residential loving kindness retreat at Oscailt, Ballsbridge, Dublin.

Information and booking: Oscailt 01-6603872 or info@oscailt.com, or with Marjó Cost: € 120 for both days, € 65 for one day.

5-9 April (Easter): mindfulness and loving kindness silent retreat at Bobbio Retreat Centre, Wicklow from 7 pm on Thursday 5 April - 2 pm on Easter Monday 9 April

Information and booking: Marjo 027 60223 or moosterhoff@eircom.net

Cost: € 300 for (vegetarian) food and accommodation in single rooms. The teachings are on donation basis.

14-15 April: non-residential mindfulness retreat at Croi Nua, Salthill, Galway.

Information and booking: Marjó 027 60223 or moosterhoff@eircom.net. Cost: by donation.

29 April: loving kindness meditation at the Sanctuary, Dublin

29 June - 1 July: loving kindness meditation at Esker House, Athenry (residential retreat)

Information and booking with Esker: 091 844549 or eskerret@indigo.ie or with Marjó Cost: € 200 all in.

28 December-1 January silent 5-day vipassana/mindfulness and loving kindness meditation retreat at Teach Bhride, Tullow, Co. Carlow

Booking with Marjó 027-60223 or moosterhoff@eircom.net

Cost: € 300 for (vegetarian) food and accommodation in single rooms. The teachings are on donation basis.

We start 6 pm on Wednesday Dec 28, and finish with lunch on Sunday Jan 1.

Suitable for both beginners and non-beginners.

During every retreat group guidance is given, as well as the opportunity to have individual talks with the teacher. Sitting meditation is alternated by walking meditation. The walking meditation is done outside on the patio or in the garden, weather permitting. We also practise mindfulness meditation in the standing and reclining postures.

Participants of a retreat are asked to observe the Buddhist precepts of:

  • not intentionally taking or harming the life of any living being,
  • not taking what is not given, being trustworthy, not acting acquisitively,
  • refraining from sexual behaviour that is harmful (on retreats this means no sexual activity at all),
  • avoiding false, abusive or malicious speech (on retreats this means observing noble silence),
  • not using intoxicants/drugs (on retreats this includes tobacco),

These are guidelines, not commandments, that help to facilitate waking up to what is here and now, and have been observed over the centuries by all who aspire to living a life of impeccable ethics. These five basic ethical guidelines also help to create a safe environment for the participants and facilitators on the retreats.

The retreats are an opportunity for continuous practice of vipassana (insight) meditation and metta (lovingkindness) meditation. It is not appropriate to see the retreats (and this is particularly the case on 10-day or longer retreats) as a time to go on hikes in the mountains or for walks on the Beara Way (although sometimes the teacher may recommend going for a long walk). Participants are expected to stay from the beginning until the end of the retreat, unless otherwise arranged beforehand. At times it is possible to do part of a longer retreat. Contact Marjo for details.

Dana
Dana (generosity) is the basis of all spiritual work. Dana is a Sanskrit and Pali term meaning ‘generosity’, ‘giving’ or ‘gift’. It is directly related to the Latin word donum, and the English words donor and donation. At the time of the Buddha, his teachings were considered priceless and thus offered freely, as a form of dana.

The early teachers, mainly monks and nuns, received no payment for their instruction, and in turn the lay community provided as their dana the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter and medicine.

Today this is still the case in Southeast Asia, and all meditation centres and monasteries provide instruction free of charge, as well as the food and accommodation. In the Theravada retreat centres in the West all teachings and meditation guidance is also offered freely.
Rainbow

The act of giving itself is of enormous benefit to the giver, for it opens up the heart, helps us let go of attachment and places value on the well-being of others. It generates a thought-moment that is free from greed and anger, and full of lovingkindness.

Dana plays an important role in the spiritual life of Buddhists. It is the first of the ten paramis, or qualities of character that we can perfect in our lifetime. When the Buddha would give a discourse, he would almost always begin with the importance and benefits of generosity.

The retreats at Passaddhi are offered on a donation basis. However, there is a booking fee/deposit. Because we can only have about 12 people on retreat at any one time (accommodation is limited), this deposit is to ensure that people don't pull out at the last minute. Of course in case of emergencies this deposit will be refunded. The rest of the retreat costs is by donation. This money is used for food, accommodation, administration, and teachers' travel costs, as well as for the upkeep and development of Passaddhi, so that others can benefit too. When Marjó is teaching elsewhere, she also works on a donation basis, trusting that enough will be given to support her in her work and spiritual development, and to enable her to continue teaching and go on retreats herself. Please bear in mind that organising and teaching retreats is her only source of income.