All our in-person events have now been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Please keep an eye on this page on our website for the latest notifications from Bristol Insight. Things are unfolding rapidly and the well-being of our sangha and the wider community are our principle concern. At this time we aspire to act according to the principles of the dharma with non-harming, kindness, compassion and equanimity. Where events are cancelled we will aim to offer online alternatives where possible to maintain our sense of community and mutual support.
Tuesday Sitting Group
We are offering an online Tuesday sitting group using Zoom.
If you wish to participate in these online sessions then please email bristolinsightmeditation@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
The session will open at 7:15pm for a 7:30pm start.
We will begin with a meditation session of about 30 minutes followed by a short break. Then in the second half we will have our Cultivation of Practice sessions. This part of the Tuesday evening sitting group invites us to engage in a variety of activities that aim to deepen our practice in the company of others. These activities may include movement, reflection, discussion, mindful sharing in pairs or in small groups. Here are the May events:
5th May: Poetry and prose. Please bring a poem or inspiring prose to share.
12th May: Feedback on Jenny Wilks’s retreat
19th May: Tips on Practice
26th May: How to use Zoom after lockdown and coming out of Covid19 (as individuals and as a sangha/ community)
We will finish about 8.45.
All are welcome.
Bristol Insight Virtual Self-led Retreat Saturday 6th June 10.00am-17.00pm
Perhaps more than ever, we’re all profoundly aware of the power of community and the human need for connection. Confined within small spaces and juggling various unexpected stresses and strains, there’s a need to find some kind of spaciousness. Insight meditation can help us achieve that.
We’re using Zoom for a morning get-together and a facilitated end-of-day sharing session. We hope as many of you as possible will join us from home at the times listed below. These sessions will be FREE. You don’t have to complete a full-day to take part, please feel free to dip in and out as works for you, knowing that others all over the South West are with you. We just have a hunch it can be powerful when we come together in this way. Please see the suggested schedule below.
10:00 – Start the day with us via Zoom. For the Zoom link and password for this retreat please contact Chris on Self-led Retreat
Zoom works on computers, tablets and smartphones. For the latter two, you’ll need to download the ‘Zoom Cloud Meetings’ app in advance from your app store. If you’re using a computer, please allow a few minutes to set up as Zoom first needs to download and install a small client to run. Simply follow the on-screen instructions.
10:30 – Sitting practice
11:15 – Walking/free practice
12:00 – Dharma talk
13:00 – Lunch (feel free to maintain silence if it’s practical)
14:00 – Walking/free practice
14:15 – Sitting practice (indoor or outdoors if possible)
15:00 – Walking/free practice
15:30 – Sitting practice
16:15 – Join us via Zoom for reflections on the day
17.00 – Day ends
For more information, please contact David Ringsell on david@talk-it.biz
With loving kindness from the Bristol Insight Self-led Retreat Team.
Chris Cullen’s retreat (21/3/20)
We had our first on-line retreat with Chris Cullen with over 30 participants online. We much appreciate Chris’s heartfelt response to the present unfolding situation and his offerings for practice at this time. You can listen to an audio recording of this online retreat with Chris Cullen here:
Bristol Insight WhatsApp group
We also have set up a WhatsApp group to help us keep in touch. If you wish to join this group then click on this link Join group
Dharma resources to help us navigate these turbulent times
Zohar and Nathan have recorded some talks and meditations “to help us all respond to coronavirus and it’s effects.”
Coronavirus and the support of the Dharma – Part 1 by Zohar Lavie
Guided meditation: “Coronavirus and the support of the Dharma – Part 2” by Zohar Lavie
Guided metta meditation from Nathan
There’s a good online talk relating to responding to the virus from Jack Kornfield
https://mailchi.mp/jackkornfield/welcome-930478?e=46ffb10a31
Gaia House online practice opportunities
While we cannot gather in person, Gaia House will be creatively exploring how we can support and nourish each other. In the coming days and weeks, we will let you know what online practice opportunities we are helping to coordinate.
Online Sitting Group
Our Online Sitting Group meets every Monday, 8-9pm (UK BST).
The group is facilitated by Gavin Milne and guest teachers.
The next meeting will take place on Monday 25th May, with Laura Bridgeman – 8pm to 9.15pm.
The group is suitable for all levels of experience, although some familiarity with Buddhist teachings and prior experience of either an evening course or a retreat will be assumed.
You are welcome to join on any dates that suit you, although we ask you to attend for the whole of each meeting.
Click here to find out more and join a meeting.
Gaia House Online Dharma Hall
Gaia House is opening an online Dharma hall: a new space for connection, reflection, and refuge. A place where we can share the Dharma and practice together, supporting us to meet our lives and our world in these times.
Schedule for week commencing 25th May:
Tues 26 May 7:30pm Jiva M
Wed 27 May 11:00 am Gary B
Thur 28 May 11:00am Yanai P
Fri 29 May 7:30pm Gareth Fysh-Foskett
Sat 30 May 5:00pm Nathan G
Sun 31 May 9:30am Jenny W
The sessions will last between 1 hour 15 mins and 1 hour 30 mins.
The sessions will be held by Gaia House teachers and Community Dharma Leaders. Each online meeting will include some meditation, an exploration on a theme that connects Dharma practice with the current situation, and some time for interactive sharing with the community online.
We will give more information about teacher schedules going forward.
We hope this can be a space that supports us all to turn towards what is difficult, and find ways to respond to ourselves, others and the world with compassion and wisdom.
The meetings will be held via the easy to use Zoom platform. To join any of the meetings click here.
Dana is invited both for Gaia House (the ‘General Fund’) and for the teacher running the session. To offer Dana related to this offering, please click here to visit the Gaia House website where you can make a one off donation. Please note that you will need to click on the ‘Add to basket’ button for both the teacher and for Gaia House. To ensure that Teacher Dana reaches the teacher, please specify in the notes section on the checkout page the name of the teacher you are offering to. Thank you for your generosity.
May our practice together support the welfare of all beings.
Registration is now open for our:
Mahasi Home Practice Retreat, 11-13 May
With Bhante Bodhidhamma
Registration
To register for this retreat, please click here and complete the registration form at the bottom of the page.
You will then receive an automated email response with information about participating in the retreat and instructions for how to join the online sessions.
If you do not receive the automated response in your inbox, please also check your junk/spam folder.
Retreat information
On the retreat web page you’ll find a full retreat description and detailed schedule, information about offering dana to the teachers and to Gaia House, and guidance for using Zoom, which is the online platform that will be used to host the retreat sessions.
Click here to open the retreat web page.
Bodhi College Online – Early Buddhism for today
Bodhi college are offering an ongoing series of online talks and practices entitled “Thinking Out Loud: Conversations on Early Buddhism”.
Sangha Live
Sitting Together, Staying Home
These are unique times. Now more than ever people are seeing the value in connection and building communities online. It’s perfectly natural to feel fear and anxiety. Yet, we have a supportive antidote to self-isolation. Every weekday until the COVID-19 lockdown ends we are going to be running live online meditation sessions.
Online offering from Bhante Bodhidhamma
Bhante Bodhidhamma is offering a Lockdown Evening Meditation every evening from 8-9.30pm (BST).
To connect click here
Spreading the Karuna virus
“In the beautiful Karaniya Metta Sutta (on loving kindness), the quality of protecting others from harm (even as a mother would protect her only child) is greatly emphasised. I would therefore gently encourage everyone to keep well informed and take as many value-aligned precautions as personal conditions allow. Let’s learn from other nations and each other, and do our best to collectively spread the Karuna (Compassion) Virus to all beings, instead!” – Venerable Canda