Thailand Meditation Retreat News

Karuna Meditation Center is happy to be offering two regularly-scheduled events that are open to the local community on a drop-in basis.

Daily Meditation & Talk

Every day except Saturday, at 3:30 p.m. there is a guided meditation followed by a brief talk about a subject relevant to meditation and daily living, followed by open discussion.  The event ends at 5:00 p.m.  There is no fee but donations are welcome.

Yoga & Meditation

Every Monday and Thursday morning, at 10:00-12:30, there is a group yoga session, followed immediately by a one-hour meditation session.  The yoga is taught by an excellent teacher with plenty of experience and a great sense of humor. The meditation session is not a guided meditation, so if you need instruction before the session, contact us (sarah@meditate-thailand.com) ahead of time to arrange a time.  There is no charge for meditation instruction; we ask a donation of 150 baht to help cover the cost of the yoga instructor.

We’re working on getting a map posted.  Meanwhile, email me if you want to come, and I’ll send you a map and directions.

Concurrently with other activities at Karuna Meditation Center, a three-year retreat is being held for a small group of practitioners who have dedicated this period of their lives to the study and practice of Buddhist meditation.  Special regular teachings are given to this group.  Recently, a teaching was given on “The Four Efforts”.

The Four Efforts were discussed by Geshe Chekawa, a 12th-century Tibetan master, who commented on four things as being of great importance to each meditator in each session.  These are:

1.  Does the intention of the practice align with the motivation for practice?

2.  Understanding and having confidence in the method.

3.  Knowing and recognizing the variety of effects that practice can produce.

4.  Accepting the results of your practice.

The teaching that was given explains these four points in detail and discusses how they relate to meditation and to life.  To download a .pdf file of the transcript of this talk, click Four Efforts (PDF).