Teachings
The day includes a guided meditation and teaching session. In addition, there are several sessions in which you practice in a self-directed manner. To make best use of your time here, we recommend that you attend as many sessions as you can, and participation in the morning guided session is expected.We provide crystal-clear instruction, guide you through how to practice and then allow you space to develop a practice on your own. This is intentional - as to realize the benefits of meditation, you need to develop a regular habit of daily sitting - even if it is only for a brief period (30 minutes or an hour). Your time is designed to instill good practice habits and highlight the reasons for doing so. That way you can continue to progress in your meditation when you leave and return to your regular life.
You will receive initial instruction (scheduled on arrival or the next day) and have a chance to tune your practice through a meditation interview (or several) during your stay. This is invaluable, as to read about or study meditation is a necessary start in your practice, and being face to face with an experienced retreatant who is dedicated to their practice, and is just like you with struggles and successes, can have a value beyond anything you have thus far experienced. That is one reason for the center - the experience of a "Dharma Friends" community and resultant personal benefit.
Functional silence is also expected while on the grounds of the center, as this practice gives chance to look more deeply within. We suggest that while this may be uncomfortable or foreign at first, it is well worth the effort to fully experience the richness of our being. After a little practice, it is easier than you might imagine and it's interesting to see how not talking can be fun and certainly different than our normal habit of speech.
Audio teachings are available from the Mindfulness Meditation Centers website. Click here for audio teachings (you will need to register first).
The audio teachings are an important aspect of your continued meditation experience because when you leave the center you can continue learning and practicing at your discretion and emailing our meditation instructors for guidance.
Many of our teachers have been Buddhist monks or nuns at some point in their lives and have had trainings in Theravadin, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism. All teaching and communication is in English, and our teachers are from western countries and speak English fluently.
Resident TeacherTobias Warzinek
Tobi's spiritual path began in the year 2002 when he entered the Center of Higher Tibetan Studies in Switzerland. He spent nearly 7 years in and close to an authentic monastic environment studying Tibetan Meditation, Language, Philosophy and debate as well as Rituals. During this time he also absolved several meditation retreats under the guidance of some of the greatest contemporary masters of Tibetan Buddhism. He continues his studies under them until today. Tobi is the founder of the Phuket Meditation and Retreat Center and works there as the main spiritual consultant and counselor. He teaches meditation in Phuket on a daily basis since August 2009. He also works as a spiritual consultant and life coach for Spa and Detox Centers such as Evason Six Senses Spa, Atsumi Healing Retreat or Atmanjai Wellness Center on Phuket."Imagine humanity would have spent all its energy on cultivating happiness, peace and satisfaction individually. The conditions for such an endeavor are perfect. We all have the potential to achieve lasting happiness. Our physical situation allows us to do so. We have had wonderful teachers who told us exactly how to proceed on this way. Yet still it seems that other things are more important?"
Visiting Instructors
Michael Gregory
Michael Gregory is the founder of the Summit Dharma Center and has been actively practicing Buddhism for more than twenty years. During the last ten years he has taught almost daily to hundreds of students in Asia and America and more recently has expanded his teaching and friendship to students, both lay and ordained, in Europe, South America, and Africa, leading well over a hundred meditation retreats on almost every subject matter related to Dharma. He has led hundreds of students on meditative pilgrimmages through Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and throughout India, further connecting them with their studies and practice.He was ordained as a monk for almost five years by H.E. Gylatsab Rinpoche at Rumtek monastery in Sikkim and has received the vast majority of empowerments of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages including the Dam Nga Dzod from H.E. Gyaltsab Rinpoche and the Rinchen Terdzod from H.H. Penor Rinpoche. He is also fluent in written Tibetan and is casually proficient in colloquial Tibetan language. Gen-la has received a degree in Buddhist Studies from the Naropa Buddhist University as well as from the University of Virginia. He has also undergone several ninety-day retreats in Thailand and Burma in the Theravadin tradition.
Sue Carr
Having completed a two-year ordination period as a nun and having traveled to various Buddhist sites, including Sikim, Northern India, Tibet and Burma, Sue has a wealth of interesting stories from the perspective of a western woman. She enjoys confronting her own cultural beliefs as she travels and explores various parts of Asia.Sue is also interested in hospice, children's dharma and outreach programs for different areas of the Dharma community. While in Thailand, she teaches English to local Thai people, while continuing her long-term retreat, which is in its third year.
As a meditation practitioner, she has completed multiple 30- and 90-day retreats and has taught the Jail Outreach Dharma classes in Colorado, USA as well as classes in the Colorado community and in Kamala.
Sue is an avid practitioner of yoga, is a vegetarian and loves dogs and cats. She also enjoys interaction with the Thai residents in her neighborhood: teaching a little English and learning a lot of Thai. She encourages you to come for a visit and sample the wonderful, meditative culture of Thailand.
