About Vipassana (Insight) Meditation:

Vipassana or Insight Meditation is a practice from Southeast Asia. It is a simple and direct, moment-to-moment investigation of the mind/body process through calm and focused awareness. Seeing life as a constantly changing process, we can begin to accept pain, fear and joy and all aspects of life with increasing equanimity and balance. While it may not change your life, Insight Meditation can change your relationship to your life.

About Winnie Nazarko:

Winnie Nazarko has been a student and practitioner of Buddhism since 1981, and was authorized to teach in 1996. She has a background in community organizing and human services leadership, and has a special interest in how meditative practices can strengthen human capacity to address social, political, and environmental issues. She was the project director for Insight Meditation Society’s development of the Forest Refuge, a retreat center for experienced meditators doing extended self-retreat. She completed a year-long silent retreat at the Barre, Massachusetts facility in 2004.

About this Silent Vipassana Meditation Retreat:

This workshop/retreat is intended for those with a regular mindfulness meditation practice who have done at least a 5-day residential silent meditation retreat.

The workshop elements of this retreat will take place during the last half of Saturday and Sunday; silence will be suspended for discussion during this part of the retreat.  The rest of the time we will be in silent vipassana retreat.  The so-called "Noble Silence" of the retreat fosters a sense of solitude and helps to provide a space for quieting the body-mind.  It provides an atmosphere that supports and facilitates the inner unfolding of insight and the deepening of the meditation.

As a contribution to that, we ask that you refrain from reading, writing, journaling, using the telephone or other forms of communication during the retreat, which includes communication with other retreatants, either by notes, eye contact or body language. Although this may seem challenging, it will allow you to be in community with others in a supportive, respectful way.

You are invited to arrive at the retreat between 2:00 and 5:00 pm on Friday, June 15 to join the other retreatants for supper at 5:30. The retreat itself and the silence will begin at 7:00 pm. Please take care of all personal matters before then, including any telephone calls, so that you can have an uninterrupted retreat. This gift of silence is broken at the end of the retreat with the support of the teacher.

Please read this article for more information, click here.

Contact Address

Dharma Retreats
c/o Mark Brett
149 Rosslyn Avenue South
Hamilton, ON L8M 3J3
Tel: 905-545-7302
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