View Schedule & RegisterEvent
DescriptionCategory: Contemplative Retreat Already Registered? Prepare for your Group Retreat
Want to offer Service? Volunteer to be the Course Manager!
Get 10% off by booking all 3 Retreats. To purchase the Ven. Antonio Satta 3 Retreat Package please email office@vajrapani.org or give us a call +1-800-531-4011.
Retreat Overview“Of all the retreats I have ever attended, this one with Ven. Antonio was by far the best….a real experience with non-conceptual insight into the mind…” —Retreater from 2010
Ven. Antonio shares: 2. 'Meditation for the sake of generating the view' - where one seeks to generate the view through meditation. In Insight Meditation one adopts the latter approach. In order to generate the view that is based on meditation, one first trains in the practice of shamatha and then in the practice of vipassana. With shamatha we calm our confusion; with vipassana we understand why we are confused. In the basic or 'Early Buddhism', shamatha is based on non-attachment, while vipassana is aimed at understanding its nature. In the Mahayana or the 'New Wisdom School' shamatha is based on single pointedness while vipassana is aimed at understanding ultimate nature, particularly the nature of the mind, or more precisely, the non-finding of the mind. In the 'Early Buddhism' type of practice one feels, FINDS and taste the mind. Having understood what the mind is (on a basic level) then one can begin to investigate it.
The practice of Vipassana, as taught in early buddhism helps us to understand what 'an elephant is,’ what the body and mind are and what the world is. We may think that we could live in this world without being affected by it, if only we understand its illusion like nature. For those who have not reached that level yet though, the Buddha thought the practice of detachment - the essential method that teaches to experience the world with mindful-awareness dispassionately as it is, so illusion has a foundation (the world). As it is said in some Mahamudra texts "I prostrate to this very ordinary mind..................... So what we call 'early and later buddhism' is nothing more than a gradual development of an individual’s mind experiencing the world and then transcending it."
Requirements to attending these events: Students should be prepared to maintain full silence for the duration of the retreats, be able to sit on a cushion without a chair for the entire retreats (a few exceptions can be made with prior approval), and maintain the strict discipline of the retreats.
More information on Retreat Discipline and guidelines.
What to bring: Students may bring their own personal cushions (we can also provide) and a meditation shawl for the gompa. Nothing else will be needed while in the meditation hall. Teacher Bio
Venerable Antonio Satta was born in Italy in 1956. He was first introduced to Tibetan Buddhism at Lama Tsong Khapa Institute, Italy. After meeting Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Italy he took ordination in 1979. He has studied Buddhism and the Tibetan language from various teachers, including 4 years at Tharpa Choeling Switzerland with Geshe Rabten and 4 years at Nalanda Monastery with Geshe Jampa Tegchok. Since 1991 he has been living in Australia, first translating and teaching at Vajrayana Institute, Sydney, then teaching and tutoring for the Buddhist Study Program at Chenrezig Institute. Over the last 16 years Ven. Antonio has been concentrating on leading Vipassana and basic Mahamudra retreats as a way to introduce students to the practice of meditation. PricesTo ensure maximum convenience and that most of your money goes to Vajrapani Institute, we encourage payment of deposits by CC and balance payments via Check or Cash on arrival. Small third-party processing fee’s apply for CC transactions.
FULL RETREAT COMMUTER PRICE: 180$ Includes Lunch and Teaching costs only
Schedule
Cabin Package DealFive Cabins are being made available for students who want to stay in between group retreats to practice under the guidance of Venerable Antonio Satta. Students will have the opportunity to receive individual instructions from Venerable Antonio Satta.
Program FAQCan I attend less than the full retreat? Can I attend as a commuter? No partial attendance will be allowed. A special exception has been made by Ven. Antonio to allow commuters for these weekend retreats, but you must attend every session of your chosen weekend retreat, including registration, orientation and the first night's introductory talk with Ven. Antonio. See retreat philosophy.
Which Ven. Antonio Retreat(s) should I attend? In deciding which weekend retreats to attend, please keep in mind the following:
I would like to attend all 3 retreats but can only do a "Cabin Package Deal (link to tab)" for the first 2 retreats. How do I register? All "Cabin Package Deals" must be booked by calling our Main Office, 800-531-4001, x1. Priority for "Cabin Package Deals" is given to those who book all 3 retreats and who do a cabin stay in between the 3 weekend retreats. For those who would like to book 2 retreats and who do a cabin stay in between 2 weekend retreats, they will be waitlisted for the "Cabin Package Deal" and will be notified about their booking 1 month prior to the Shamatha Retreat. When there is no cabin stay in between retreats, you may register online for your chosen weekend retreat.
Yes, you can. To be added to the wait list for cabins, please call us How many cabins do you have? EventList powered by schlu.net |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||



This retreat is part of a three weekend series in which one will learn to integrate the Early Buddhism approach of generating the correct view of the true nature of the mind, with the New Wisdom School (Mahayana-Mahamudra) view. These weekends are structured for students to first meditate together in a conducive environment (starting with the first weekend), then during the week practice at home alone, returning back each weekend to develop the next progression of the practice together.
Finding the mind, for those who wish to understand its empty nature, is very important, because as it is said - If one does not know what an elephant is, how can one then negate the existence of the elephant on a particular spot.
