Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Amaravati
adele
Blackpool Rocks! Explorer
Hi I am going to Amaravati monastery soon for a 10 day retreat and I am wondering if anyone else has been and can give me any tips please? What type of amount is given as a donation to stay and do you also take a bag of groceries as well? What kind of clothing do I need to take - is there work in the garden which might need boots that kind of thing. Also how large are the dormitories and are ear plugs a good idea? Anything would help really. Thanks Adele
1
Comments
It's a beautiful monastery.
They are always grateful for food but they often publish their current needs on their website, or you can call them to ask what the preferences are...
The grounds are extensive. It depends on the forecast, so casual loose, comfortable clothing, good shoes and a rainmac...
Earplugs are ALWAYS a good idea, but advise a fellow "retreatant" that you are a light sleeper and may need waking up due to earplugs....
http://www.amaravati.org/retreat-centre/contact/
Thanks for posting the link, @SpinyNorman; I posted from my phone, and it's awkward stuff doing all that business on a tiny screen/keyboard!
Further specific link:
Welcome items to donate:
Do volunteer (you will have to anyways) for extras. Helping in garden, washing up, cooking and polishing nuns heads. Well OK made the last one up but you could offer ...
Thanks, I will volunteer for kitchen and garden - is there a lot of guided meditation time or is it left to ourselves? I am thinking about taking a prayer stool - do people sit in the same space and leave there things there - I think I read something about finding a place and keeping to it.
I will take pics too.
@adele you can take your stool but excellent cushions are provided. I seem to remember two formal meditations and two silent mindful meals. The meditations involved chanting in Pali and were about an hour twice a day. You can do extra on your stool.
It is not guided but the abbot normally rabbits/sermonises. You can after or before meals, I seem to remember after, any time really, ask for formal interchange with a senior monk/nun. That is their job in part.
Wow. I don't know that. It is in Hemel Hampstead. I could go there by train and buses. I will definitely be doing a weekend treat there and would love to meet any of you there.
Note that retreats at Amaravati get booked up months in advance, so you'll need to plan ahead.
Yes Spiny. You are right. It is all waiting list. I placed a waiting list request for 19-21 June. It is on waiting list number 50.
I might be lucky. let's see.
My retreat is in June and it was the earliest I could get on one when I booked last December! It seems to be easier to get a place to stay with the monks and nuns instead though.
Lobster - I spent 4 days at Samye Ling covering last weekend ( on a course on Foundations of Buddhism) and I managed to sit on the floor for 2 days before my legs were too stiff and ankles were swelling. The cushions at Amaravati look very low so I don't think I can sit on them.
I think all retreat centres should provide armchairs.
I think if you perceive an armchair, you will get an armchair.... it's all in the mind, rather like this meditation lark.....
Huh. No newbuddhist blossoming romance here then....
(Oh. There' still hope then. After 10 years, I'm still waiting for the first newbuddhist marriage.... I can officiate. Honest. Linc said. )
probably, newbuddhist team members are so detached that there aren't any marriage through here.
oh, that old chestnut....
I really want to sit on the floor as it helps to change my mindset and settle me. I do use a cushion and a mat at home but still get numb and I don't sit as long as we did last week.
Fair warning: It's all too easy to tear the meniscus in your knees. The sharp pain will blow your mind. Be careful.
OK. I understand the association with sitting on the floor.
If I have the slightest discomfort I use a chair. Those are available at Amaravati and Samye Ling. Also no problem to use your preferred meditation stool. It is also OK to not do the full hour. Most people do of course. Peer pressure. You will have a wonderful time. The grounds and gardens are great.
The first time I went I shared a room but much prefer having my own room.
I smuggled in a secret stash of chocolate....
Good plan on the choccy. I consider it the one true currency few sangha can resist . . .
It's the retreat equivalent of prison cigarettes.
..Which just goes to show what an honest upright citizen you are, because if you knew anything about prison life, you'd know that 'cigarettes' is the last thing they call them...
Try:
"smokes", "butt", "square" (from the shape of the box), "cigs", "ciggies", "stogs", "stogies", "stokes", "snouts", "tabs" (especially in NE England), "loosey" (a single cigarette), "backwards", "bogeys", "boges", "gorts", "ciggy wiggy dilly's", "darts", "refries" (already used cigarettes being relit and smoked), "straights" (for factory rolled ones), "hairy rags", "hausersticks", "jacks", "joes" (taken from the "Camel Joe", an old Camel Cigarettes mascot), "grits", "grants" (A common phrase used for asking someone for a cigarette is "Can you grant me a grant?") and "fags" (the term "fag" is used more commonly in the United Kingdom and Australia, whereas in the United States and Canada, it is primarily a derogatory term for a male homosexual).
I was going to say "fags" but that would have confused our transAtlantic cousins! Funnily enough I used to visit prisons regularly as a Probation Officer and always took plenty of fags with me.
I went to Amaravati but only stayed 4 days as I was in the large dormitory and couldn't stand it. I got very little sleep even with ear plugs and I also found I needed some solitude which I was unable to get with so many people about. I am hoping to go to the Forest Hermitage in Warwickshire for a 7 day retreat instead as they have smaller dorms.
I do sympathise, I'm a light sleeper and really never liked dormitory accommodation on retreats. It's always worth asking if there are any single rooms available. Some places will allow tents as well.
How was the meditation, and did you get much instruction?
There are a few singles but I was told they are only given to those with medical needs. They did suggest that I could ask for a smaller shared room of no more than 4 women instead which I will do if I go back. Unfortunately I got a 'bad' bed too. The drying room was next to me so there was constant coming and going to it and there was a hairdryer and washing machine in there so the wall would vibrate and shake my bed during rest times and a lot of women were drying their hair during afternoon rest too.