The nature of life is to change. Whatever has the nature to arise, has the nature to change and to cease. We become aware of this as we develop mindfulness and concentration in our lives.

We slowly begin to realise that if we do not grasp, do not attach ourselves to the world being the way we want it to be, we will not be so disturbed by change and loss. An aid to meditation that we can adopt fairly easily, is to constantly bring our minds back to the ordinary things of life. We can become aware of the ordinary experiences that we go through during our waking time.

They might be exciting, happy, boring, frightening, ho-hum, interesting, important, repetitive, one-off, desired or completely random. They may happen in the morning, afternoon, evening or night. We can gradually learn to rest our attention on those mental or physical events that we experience, without clinging or pushing away, without rejecting or preferring, just allowing each thing to pass away and a new experience to arise.

With this practice, calmness and peace of mind will naturally arise.

Venue: Seraph, 15 Heytesbury Street, Dublin 8 (near Camden Street) Map (http://www.seraph.ie/)

Date: Saturday, June 9th - Sunday, June 10th, 2018

Time: 09:30 - 17:30

Fee: No fees - Anonymous donations only. Donation baskets will be located in the room near the fireplace.

Donation to IST: Any donation made to the IST will be used to cover the cost of retreats and events that IST organizes throughout the year. The IST organizers are all volunteers and do not financially benefit from the IST funds.

Donations for the teacher. It is a Theravadan Buddhist practice that monks and nuns do not touch or use money. Any donation that we get for the teacher will be transferred to the English Sangha Trust.

Lunch: We will share a vegetarian lunch at about 12 noon on both days. Please bring some pre-prepared food to share.

Registration: Please click here (or contact us at info@irishsanghatrust.ie)

• In order to make a secure booking, please complete the online booking form.
• Remember to pre-register before evening on the Friday preceding the retreat. Please do not assume there will be space available at the last minute.

On the day:

• Please be seated in the meditation hall at least 5 minutes before the session. Comfortable clothing is recommended. Dressing in layers is also a good idea.
• Please bring some food for a shared vegetarian lunch, if you wish to join us for the midday meal. 
• Refreshments, CDs and Dhamma books are available for free distribution.

Ajahn Ariyasilo