Self Development Retreats: Part Five - An Interview with Sukhacitto Bikkhu
Always wondered what it'southward like to join one of the self evolution retreats at New Life? In the fifth and final installment of a series of posts on the recent Insight Dialogue meditation retreat, nosotros interview the leader of the retreat, Sukhacitto Bikkhu.
How did you lot showtime teaching Insight dialogue?
Viii years agone, I was invited to join a retreat with an Insight Dialogue instructor, Gregory Kramer, in Switzerland. I joined another retreat two years later. I had actually powerful experiences during these retreats and was very struck past the meditation technique. So I joined more retreats, and started introducing the Insight Dialogue (ID) meditation to practitioners in Deutschland with the permission of Gregory Kramer. About three years ago I started teaching, and this year I had the privilege if education ID with Gregory Kramer because he wanted to support me with my didactics. At present they have adult a structured teacher training plan to maintain the high levels of instruction.
Please explain the differences betwixt traditional silent meditation and Insight Dialogue meditation.
In principal, the foundation of ID is the same as traditional meditation. The traditional silent meditation arroyo is mainly concerned with our mind and body, or you might do loving kindness meditation to develop pity. However, very little traditional meditation practice is directly related to other human being beings. ID helps us to explore the relationship with others and the mutuality of our experiences by speaking and listening and exploring the dhamma practice together with a meditation partner.
What's the special thing most ID?
In a traditional meditation, yous tin be caught in your own experience for a long time, you lot can get absent-minded minded, sleepy, etc. But when yous meditate with a meditation partner, the presence and calmness of the other person can help you to be more focused, mindful and calm. Basically, the mutuality and the mirroring can be a tremendous support in terms of the quality of mindfulness, sensation, as well equally calmness and clarity which may be developed. With a meditation partner, you tin can't hide and this helps y'all to exist more nowadays.
How can people stay in topic instead of just chatting?
Of course, I cannot control that. Commonly the interruption of the bell brings back people's awareness and helps to bring the chat back to the topic. But sometimes people only wonder off the topic, and I cannot preclude that. It'due south not always easy to bring your meditation partner back to the topic if he/she really talks off the topic. Sometimes I pick upwardly the conversation while I walk around, then I give more physical guidance for the side by side meditation session to remind people to actually stick to the topic.
How do these benefit ourselves and those around us and how can it help people with habit or suffering from low?
The purpose of this meditation is the aforementioned equally the traditional vipassana meditation, which is to proceeds insight, that's why it'due south called insight meditation. It encourages the development of understanding, and enables us to see things changing. This practice can do good our lives in many means and tin can bear on how we interact with others.
The development of natural kindness and pity seems to be quite a mutual feel for people practicing insight dialogue. Because people really see or hear the suffering going on with the other person, information technology's non then difficult for people to connect. Fifty-fifty though I don't have much feel working with those who suffer with habit or depression, I assume it can be very helpful because information technology opens your agreement and connection to other people. This is the do good which every meditator has, but I could imagine this is specially beneficial for people with habit or depression.
What do you like the most about ID meditation?
Information technology's simply so beautiful to meet how people connect and communicate with each other. But at the aforementioned fourth dimension, those who are not used to this meditation tin find information technology very challenging to meet someone new and talk intimately. Information technology tin can exist quite difficult for some people to do that at the beginning, but ordinarily, if people keep practicing ID meditation, information technology gets easier. You can actually see changes and transformations in people, those who started the ID meditation feeling insecure feel more comfortable by the end of the retreat. Also, the energy of the group changes over the days in the retreat, it is and so beautiful to witness.
What's the most challenging affair about ID meditation?
The well-nigh challenging thing is to encourage people to open and accept when people run across the existent difficulty during the meditation. I usually stress the importance of friendliness and patience again and once more during the meditation.
Can people who join the retreat keep practicing ID meditation continuously?
At that place is an encouragement if people want to continue their practice, they tin connect with people regularly to practice ID meditation. There is besides an online community where yous can practice online ID meditation. More often than not people are encouraged to connect with others from the retreat and keep on practicing together. In everyday life, you lot tin also exercise ID meditation by observing how you collaborate, and applying the guidelines of ID meditation.
How do yous choose topics for contemplation?
It can be from traditional dhamma teaching, only you can basically choose anything. Gregory Kramer and myself apply the context of Buddhist teachings.
What is your impression of New life Foundation and the ID meditation retreat which has just finished?
Information technology is a very interesting place. First of all, the group who joined the retreat were a very interesting mixture of people. Some of them were residents, some volunteers, and in that location were also participants from outside of the community. In the by, participants of the retreat were mainly females, but in this retreat we had even numbers of males and females, it was a nice balance. I was very impressed past the dedication of all the participants, peculiarly residents because their different backgrounds. Because many of them don't take a Buddhism background, it was a bit different from teaching in a monastery surround or in the retreat centre. The natural surround was quite beautiful here, and also the meditation hall was very overnice. I really enjoyed my stay in New life Foundation during and after the retreat. Thank you.
Upcoming retreats at New Life Foundation include:
Alter Your Mind, Change Your Globe: A Mindful Yoga Retreat with Kim Roberts, thirteen-17 February 2013
The Hungry Ghost Retreat: Putting the Buddha Back Into Mindfulness with Vince Cullen, 11-15 March 2013
For more details come across the Retreats page of the website or email retreats[at]newlifefoundation.com
* Many thanks to Sukhacitto Bikkhu for his teachings, and Tomoko for this interview and invitee post
Source: https://www.newlifefoundation.com/th/interview-sukhacitto-self-development-retreats/
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