Day of Practice Retreat

The Day of Practice is now structured around a specific theme as an opportunity to explore a particular aspect of meditation. Please note that there will be teachings, guided meditation, and group discussion rather than a day of silent sitting.

Lenses of Insight – July 26

You’ve been practising for a while, and built some calm and stability. You’ve heard that insight is where the deeper, longer-term shifts happen — the seeing-through that changes how you experience yourself and the world. But it has stayed opaque, hidden in dense books and unfamiliar terms. This Day of Practice is a way into insight meditation as something you can understand and practise directly. Drawing on Rob Burbea’s teaching, the ground is a simple reframe: meditation as a way of looking. When you learn to look through particular lenses, experiences that felt solid and fixed begin to soften and loosen.

We’ll work with a map of how experience gets built, and use the Buddha’s four noble truths to understand why: where there’s clinging, more is fabricated; as clinging releases, experience loosens and frees. From there you’ll practise looking through the lenses of impermanence and unsatisfactoriness, learning to feel the release in the body that tells you it’s working. Turned towards the sense of self, these same ways of looking loosen how solid “you” feel — the first openings of not-self, and the doorways they open towards emptiness. You’ll leave able to practise this yourself: a map, a handful of tools, and enough direct experience to keep exploring.

The Day of Practice is a joint event between Kynan Tan and the Buddhist Library. It is an opportunity to take a pause from the busyness and complexities of daily life to focus on meditation, awareness, and contemplation. We will put our phones on aeroplane mode and step back from our usual concerns, creating a container that allows us to deepen our meditation and awareness in ways that may not always be possible during daily life. By consciously and intentionally dedicating a period of time to the practice of meditation, keeping precepts, and studying the dharma with others, the practice is developed and strengthened.

Arrive from 8:45am. Please come on time as we will close the doors before beginning the first session. All attendees are expected to stay for the whole day.

There are plenty of chairs, zafus, cushions, and benches. There is a dedicated lunch break with time to get food from a local establishment. There are many cafes and restaurants in the area, including Newtown which is a 10-minute walk.

If you have any questions, please contact Kynan on hello@kynanmeditation.net

Details

Testimonials

Some notes from previous participants:

“I attended the one day with Kynan. It was great for inspiring me to meditate more consistently and refreshed my thinking around the Buddhist texts. Kynan is a thoughtful and very grounded teacher. I trust him and would recommend him to anyone thinking of attending one of his meditation days, whatever level you’re at.”

“I was getting too reliant on guided meditations and this really helped me to realise how wonderful meditation can be without a voice to guide. Kynan provides a perfect container that felt warm, friendly and safe.”

“Being my first full day of meditation practice I was very surprised how easily the day flew by. Kynan’s seemingly easy yet structured style of teaching and engaging with students even via zoom is engaging. Plenty of opportunities for questions to which you receive thought provoking responses. So very pleased I was able to join Kynan on this day of practice.”

“I’ve been meditating since the beginning of Covid. Kynan gave me tips on overcoming pain. I have now graduated from meditating on a chair to a cushion and am delighted with my progress!”

“Good mix of practice methods and dharma teaching. Very enthusiastic and friendly teacher.”

If you have any questions, please email hello@kynanmeditation.net