Articles by Ruby Grad, Oren Sofer, and Mirka Knaster explore different perspectives, approaches, and inspirations of renunciation.

Another aspect of deepening lay practice is the possibility for more people to have meaningful contact with a teacher through technology. Read the article on WorldWide Insight to find out about a new way of bringing the teachings to people all over the globe in an interactive format.

We also report on the purchase of a retreat center property by a sangha (Common Ground Meditation Center). Could it be the next step for groups who have their own building to acquire a place for residential retreat? This too reflects the deepening of lay practice in the West.

InterSangha 2015
This year's InterSangha meeting will be held from Aug 5-9 at the Insight Retreat Center in Santa Cruz CA. Note that this is an additional day compared to prior years. We have received many requests both for more time to delve into topics and for more silent sitting time. The extra day will allow for both. Registration will open in April. For more information please contact InterSangha@gmail.com.

In the Dhamma,
Kim Allen
BIN President

A Special Project

BIN intends to continue the Retreat Listing that Inquiring Mind offered to the Insight community for several decades. We would like to create an online retreat database that can be searched by teacher, location, and dates, and also have the ability for groups and teachers to edit their own listings. This will create an up-to-date and useful resource for many people.

We need technical talent to create this database and the associated web-based user interface. If you would like to offer your skills, please contact buddhistinsightnetwork@gmail.com.

Support the Buddhist Insight Network

BIN operates on a donation basis. If you would like to support the publication of Heartwood, BIN's online resources, or the annual InterSangha gathering, your generosity is greatly appreciated! BIN's Donation Page.

An Exploration of Lay Renunciation

By Kim Allen

Renunciation is not a popular word in American culture, but it has an important place in Buddhist teachings. More and more laypeople are exploring how renunciation fits into their lives.

The Buddha praised highly the act of renunciation – nekkhamma in Pāli – which refers most commonly to letting go of the attachment to sense pleasure. Nekkhamma is part of Right Intention on the Eightfold Path, and is also the 3^rd of the pāramis (perfections of character) that are said to develop during Buddhist training. It literally means going forth, or out, or away from (even turning away) – and specifically turning away from kāma, sense desire.

It is meant to point toward the freedom that comes when we are not tied to fulfilling harmful desires. Gil Fronsdal has said, "Renunciation is the capacity to let go of any desire which might cause suffering and hurt. Without being able to let go of a desire, there is no freedom."

Renunciation is not asceticism. Consider Dhammapada 142:
Even though well-adorned,
If one lives at peace,
Calm, controlled, assured, and pure,
Then one is a brahmin, a renunciant, a monastic.

This says that it is the inner life of calm and virtue that makes one a renunciant, rather than the external trappings.

Nonetheless, teachings on renunciation are generally aimed at monastics. This makes sense in that monastics have taken the large step of giving up home and family, their regular clothes, their worldly identity, and even having control over what they eat – all in the service of taking Liberation, or Awakening, as the central aim of one's life.

In many traditional Buddhist cultures, laypeople have a role much more focused on doing good deeds, or making merit – developing ethics, generosity, and an easeful worldly life. The aim is for a better life (or rebirth), and not so much Awakening. There have always been dedicated lay followers, and they often take on the task of supporting monastics. Thus, in the early Buddhist tradition, there is quite a large difference between a layperson and a monastic.

Lay Renunciation

But what about lay practitioners who are seriously devoted to the goal of Liberation, and wish to practice some of the deeper forms of renunciation – without taking robes (i.e., while still living in the world)? This is the idea of lay renunciation. It could be seen as another type of Middle Way: Not fully removed from the world, but also not interested in worldly goals as their own end.

Many Westerner practitioners self-identify with this way of living. A recent daylong devoted to "Renunciation in Lay Life" attracted nearly 40 people to the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City CA. Recordings from the day can be found at the link, and the articles below are written by the guest speakers.

The three articles describe different aspects of lay renunciation. Ruby Grad explores renunciation practices that fit well with a full lay life. Oren Sofer talks about a period of his life spent in a monastery as an anagārika – not fully ordained. Mirka Knaster offers the unique example of Anagārika Munindra, a person who lived a renunciant life outside the monastery.

There is quite a similarity in themes between all three pieces: particularly giving up a lesser happiness for a greater one (summarized neatly in the phrase "trading candy for gold"), and the natural ease that this brings about. These pieces offer a rich spread of options around practicing renunciation, while highlighting the essential lessons and fruits of renunciation overall.

The term noted above – anagārika – literally means "homeless one," and was frequently used in the early discourses to refer to the Buddha before his Awakening. Now it has a more specific meaning of a person on the way to ordaining as a monastic. But prior to this, anagārika simply referred to a layperson who was living a life of simplicity and virtue, practicing the Buddhist teachings for the purpose of Awakening. I wonder if this usage might be revived.

I hope it is useful and encouraging to see the practice of lay renunciation being highlighted in the Insight movement. Perhaps it can be more fully recognized as a path of practice that many people are quietly undertaking. May it bear fruit for you!

Renunciation Practices

By Ruby Grad

Renunciation is making a choice to let go or give something up. For example, by choosing to sit in formal meditation, we choose not to do anything else, so we renounce all other activities during that time. Renunciation, though, carries the added sense of letting go of something we want in favor of something we don’t want. So, if we don’t particularly like meditation, it would be renunciation if we forewent something we do like, such as reading, playing computer games, etc., to meditate. In this sense, we practice renunciation quite often, because we often choose to do what we believe is good for us rather than what isn’t. How many of us would really choose to brush our teeth instead of simply sinking into a nice warm bed? We brush our teeth because we believe we should and it’s better than not brushing our teeth for a variety of reasons.

What we choose, whether we’re practicing renunciation or simply making a choice, is always guided by our assumptions, beliefs, principles, etc. So, the question is what we use as our guiding principles. The guiding principles I choose are the teachings of the Buddha. Renunciation is important in the Buddha’s teachings. He teaches about it all the time. The idea is that we mindfully and consciously let go of what is more appealing or easier on a mundane level to achieve a higher happiness. This is the Second Noble Truth. As Ajaan Thanissaro puts it, we trade candy for gold.

Renunciation is also crucial for the sustainability of our world. Especially as Americans, but as human beings generally, the rate of our consumption of the world’s resources is challenging the sustainability of life. At some level, we know that we’re going to have to change our ways if life is to continue. If we do, that will be renunciation on a much larger scale than ever before.

As laypeople, as guiding principles for how we live our lives, the Buddha emphasized ethical conduct, embodied in the precepts. Many lay Buddhists, whether they live in Asia or the West, formally take and practice the five precepts:

Not taking the life of living creatures.
Not taking what is not offered (not stealing).
Not engaging in sexual misconduct.
Refraining from false or harmful speech.
Not consuming intoxicating drink or drugs that lead to carelessness.

Although it is not a focus of the five precepts, renunciation may be involved. For example, the fourth precept is often seen as including gossip. It can be a thin line between sharing information and gossiping, and choosing to behave in line with the precept rather than crossing that line may very well be a choice for renunciation.

Especially in Asia, but increasingly in the West, many practitioners in the Theravada lineage formally undertake three more precepts on the lunar phase days (full moon, new moon and the half moons), so about once each week:

Not eating at inappropriate times (after midday).
Not adorning the body, wearing scents or make up, or entertaining the mind by music, dancing, etc.
Not sleeping on high or luxurious beds.

This is called “Uposatha” practice. The practice in Thailand, for example, is not only to undertake these precepts those days, but also to go to the monastery and practice meditation and hear the teachings on those days. These are more explicitly renunciation practices, as one can live an ethical life without undertaking them. Their purpose is to mindfully let go of what makes us more comfortable in exchange for deeper practice and understanding.

I have chosen to do Uposatha as best I can. The Ajahn Chah lineage Thai forest monks who are my current teachers tell us that, as laypeople, it is the spirit of renunciation that we practice through observing these additional precepts that matters, not the letter of the precept. So, for example, while I’m able to practice Uposatha on the lunar phase days, others choose to observe it once each week on the same day of the week, rather than on the lunar phase days. This may be easier if one works outside the home, has kids, etc. Or, if a loved one’s birthday falls on a lunar observance day or family visits that day, or any one of the myriad other things occur that make the observance challenging, one can choose to do the observance on a different day or modify it for the occasion.

Although it is not strictly dictated by the eight precepts, I try to make Uposatha observance a Sabbath when I can (which admittedly is not very often). I practice a “media fast,” meaning that I don’t turn on my computer, listen to the radio, watch TV, go to the movies, etc. I don’t have a smart phone, but it would mean not using it as anything other than a phone on those days if I did. On those days, I meditate more, listen to Dhamma talks, read Dhamma, etc. I practice the eight precepts on retreat, whether the teachers are monastic or lay. Monastic retreats are given as eight-precept retreats, with accommodation for health concerns if necessary. Some lay teachers also encourage the practice. Western retreat centers are aware that more retreatants are "on the eight precepts," and can be quite supportive. In the evening, because one isn’t eating, the kitchen may provide fruit juice and what is allowed after midday as “medicine,” which includes dark chocolate and cheese in the Thai forest lineage. Being on retreat is an ideal way to experiment with this. It is a safe and easy container, as the demands of daily life don’t present themselves here.

I’ve also experimented with renunciation in other ways. Once, on a retreat led by a monk who focused his teachings on renunciation quite a lot, I decided to experiment with letting go of reading fiction for a period of about seven months. This was quite a big one, as I’ve always been an avid reader and love reading good fiction, especially from other cultures. I needed to tell others so I could have real accountability, so I announced it to the group. At first, I turned to biographies, but I soon realized I was making that choice because of how similar biographies are to what I look for in fiction: character development through plot. So, to be more in the spirit of letting go, I turned to reading Dhamma pretty much exclusively. It was hard, and on the first day after the experiment ended, I picked up a novel and have been reading fiction steadily since then. But I’m glad I did it. It was good to have that discipline and watch the mind try to work its way around it and get what it thought it wanted.

It is also important to have support and encouragement. I’m lucky that my life partner is a dedicated practitioner of the Dhamma and we practice Uposatha together. I also practice in a community guided by Ajahn Chah lineage monastics, so the community is quite encouraging and supportive of renunciation practice. The spiritual director practices Uposatha on Fridays and so is a model and example of the practice. If you decide to undertake some kind of renunciation practice for yourself, I strongly encourage you to find support in every way you can.

Ruby Grad has practiced Insight meditation since 1988 with monastic and lay teachers and is currently a student of Ajahn Pasanno, abbot of Abhayagiri Forest Monastery. She practices with Portland Friends of the Dhamma and for several years has observed the Uposatha (lunar phase) days each week by keeping the Eight Precepts. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock's Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader programs and the Sati Center's Buddhist Chaplaincy training program, and was recently ordained as a Theravada lay minister by Gil Fronsdal.

Anagārika: Living with Renunciation

By Oren Jay Sofer

I never would have imagined I would spend time as an ordained monastic, yet looking back I see how it was a gradual process over years of practice. When the time came, the decision to ordain felt like the most natural thing to do.

The Naturalness of Letting Go
When we think of “renunciation,” very few of us feel joy and enthusiasm stir in our hearts! For most, the word conjures up associations of deprivation, lack, and straining against our desires. And while renunciation does entail restraint and bearing with discomfort, it is also about so much more.

Notice instead how your heart responds to these words: simplicity, contentment, fulfillment. Or to this one: non-addiction. The associations we make with these words begin to describe the often-misunderstood terrain of renunciation, and its fruits.

From the ordinary perspective – that happiness comes from getting and having things – renunciation poses a threat to our well-being. It means, “I can’t have what I want,” which generally translates into frustration and disappointment, or worse: anger, resentment, envy. Yet for the contemplative, renunciation appears as a vehicle for fulfillment, for resting in the knowledge of what is enough.

“The rarest human experience is not bliss; it’s contentment.” – Ajahn Sucitto

“What’s an Anagarika?” The Structure of Training

I chose to undertake the Anagarika training because I wanted to broaden the depth and breadth of my Dhamma practice beyond formal meditation. In my monastic teachers, I had seen the results of dedicated practice with renunciation. I wanted to follow their example, to make my life into a training, all activities and moments a vehicle for wakefulness and care.

In the Thai Forest Tradition, the Anagarika (literally, ‘homeless one’) is the first step in monastic training. One is considered pre-novice, an “acolyte” or “postulant.” The core of this formal training is the eight precepts. In addition to the five ethical precepts of lay Buddhists (to refrain from killing, stealing, causing harm with sexual energy, speech, or intoxicants), one commits to the renunciate precepts of complete celibacy, not eating after mid-day, refraining from “entertainment, beautification, and adornment,” and moderation in sleep.

Consider how giving up dinner, snacks, sex, music, movies, style, and sleeping late would create certain immediate shifts in one’s life. For starters, one has a lot more time – and that’s partly the point! By choosing to live with less, one regains a great amount of time and energy. And in the monastery, those resources are used to train the mind.

Of course giving up these comforts brings certain challenges, which is also the point. Giving up the pleasures of lay life only makes sense when we understand their limitations, and what we gain in their place. When this is clear, renunciation is a choice, and we willingly agree to any discomfort it may bring.

A Fundamental Reorientation
How’s it feel to not get what we want? Generally, not so good. And so, in ordinary life we do as much as we can to keep that from happening! Lay life offers the freedom to follow desire, to pursue and hopefully attain one’s wishes. Renunciation offers the freedom to study desire, to look within the mind and understand the mechanism of craving and its release.

“Renunciation is giving up the tendency to always maximize pleasure”
– Ajahn Viradhammo

This fundamental shift in the heart runs through the entire path of Buddhist practice. Instead of orienting around pleasure and getting what we want, we orient around Dhamma: around understanding the way things are and letting go.

In this way, the whole trajectory of the path can be understood as a process of renunciation. From the practices of dāna (generosity) and sīla (ethics) right up to final liberation, the inner gesture of heart is the same: letting go. To give requires letting go. To maintain ethical standards we renounce the immediate satisfaction of certain drives that may cause harm.

To make this shift requires that we investigate the assumption that fulfillment comes about through grasping – through getting, having, or becoming anything (even enlightened!).

This kind of renunciation goes against the current of nearly everything we hear and see in society, in the media, and in mainstream culture. Most of the messages we receive from an early age tell us that our happiness, our success, even our self-worth depends on how much we have, on what we produce, or on how well we perform. We are bombarded by messages like this so continually that our very sense of identity gets tied up with external measures.

When we believe these messages we lose touch with our sense of inner value and begin to judge ourselves based on the externals. This is spiritual poverty: a sad state of affairs indeed. To undertake spiritual practice means to go against the force of all of this conditioning.

Learning How to Let Go
How do we know if we’re holding tightly to something? Look at what happens when it changes.
We need a reference point to recognize where we’re holding on. And this is where the practices of formal renunciation (precepts, training rules, sense restraint) come in. A form gives us something to push against and notice where we’re stuck.

Anagarika training involves much more than the eight precepts and wearing white. It entails significant changes in appearance, activity, status, role, power, and even comportment – each of which has its challenges and effects.

When I ordained, I gave up a certain degree of autonomy over my time and activities. Everyone in the monastery follows the daily schedule, rising at 4:30 a.m. for morning puja, doing chores, work period, and taking the main meal of the day by 11:00 a.m. Anagarikas are in a role of service, so in addition to the daily routine I often had plenty of work to do managing the kitchen, driving monks to appointments, receiving lay guests, etc.

The monastery also functions as a hierarchy, and Anaragikas rank at the very bottom. I deferred to those who were senior to me and followed their instructions, including those younger in years or (in some cases) in practice. This gave me ample opportunity to observe how I would get hung up on being right, being in charge, or knowing the best way to do something.

Again and again, I saw how blindly and compulsively I expected things to conform to my preferences (like when the lights are turned on or off in the meditation hall) and how childish the mind can get when this is challenged. I began to learn how to use the form wisely – for investigation, for cultivation of wholesome qualities, and for letting go. The overall effect was one of lightening the heart, softening my edges, and sharpening the mind.

Life in the monastery offered countless opportunities to see when and how I created unnecessary suffering. I recall raking leaves one cold, rainy afternoon. I didn’t see the point in raking this portion of the property and believed that I was working harder than the others. I found myself getting angry, muttering inwardly about working outside in the cold.

Eventually, I recognized that I was really starting to suffer just raking some leaves! (Yes, it’s very similar to Ajahn Sumedho’s classic story…) The cold and damp was uncomfortable, but nothing to merit getting angry about. Seeing how miserable I was making myself, the heart let go. Raking leaves in the rain stopped being so awful. In fact, when I wasn’t wishing I were doing something else, it was even enjoyable.

The Fruits of Renunciation

I don’t wish to romanticize the monastery. There were plenty of challenges and dreary moments just like anywhere else in life. In fact, they can actually be much harder in the monastery since most of our usual outlets for distraction are cut off. I resisted waking up so early to meditate many a morning! Yet the results of following the training were palpable. There is a dignity that comes from steady effort connected with purpose, and an inner strength that is born from not bending to the whims of the mind.

In those two and a half short years, I touched a sense of joy and contentment I had not known before. I learned that the heart can be profoundly at peace when it is resting in presence, connected to its own value. That studying desire, really working with craving, surrendering to a form, and following a training with love brings vigor and resilience to the heart. And, that there is beauty, grace, and fulfillment in letting go.

Excerpted from this article published previously on Oren's website.

Images courtesy of Oren Sofer

Oren J. Sofer has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1997, and is a long-time student of both Joseph Goldstein and Ven. Ajahn Sucitto. He is a current participant in the IMS/Spirit Rock Teacher Training, and also a Somatic Experiencing practitioner for healing trauma.

Living This Life Fully

Munindra as a Model of Renunciation on the Path
By Mirka Knaster

For anyone aspiring to live life as a lay renunciate, Anagarika Munindra (1915-2003) serves as an inspiring model of someone deeply committed to the Dharma without being a monastic. He was a rare individual who demonstrated seamless integration of daily life and spiritual practice. At home in his body − anywhere, anytime, under any conditions − he was happy, content with himself, and in harmony with others.

For Munindra, spiritual life was not limited to meditating in silence, living in a monastery, or attending retreats. When people would ask him, “Munindra-ji, what is the Dharma?” he’d reply, “The Dhamma is living the life fully.” What did Munindra-ji mean?

Before exploring Munindra’s meaning, some background. My understanding of Munindra’s example of renunciation (nekkhamma) is derived from being with him on the island of Maui (1980s), interviews with people around the world, and interviews with Munindra in Bodh Gaya conducted by Robert Pryor.

The seeds for Munindra’s renunciate life were sown early. He was born in a village near Chittagong, Bengal. His Buddhist family, part of the Barua clan, traces its roots to the Buddha’s time. Astrologers told his parents Munindra would be a gifted teacher but not a householder. His father instilled a love of learning and books, as well as a tolerant attitude toward Hindu and Muslim neighbors. His mother was an exemplar of lovingkindness. While Munindra was still living with his family, his father became a novice monk (sramanera) but continued his familial responsibilities. Through his father, Munindra witnessed a life devoted to Dharma and in touch with the everyday world.

During his childhood, Munindra’s parents tried several times to arrange a marriage for him. But on each occasion, something curious happened. Consequently, he never married. Munindra wasn’t averse to females; he related to women as equals. Renunciation did not mean gender segregation.

When it became clear that Munindra would not become a householder, his parents granted permission for him to leave their village. In 1936, Munindra went to Calcutta. There he stayed at the Bengal Buddhist Association, attended lectures at the Mahabodhi Society (founded in 1891 by Anagarika Dharmapala, another model for him), and adopted the lifestyle of anagarika (“homeless one”). Subsequently, fascinating events occurred in Munindra-ji’s life − the most relevant to this discussion being his sojourn in Burma, 1957-1966.

In Burma, Munindra took up intensive practice with Mahasi Sayadaw and intensive study of the Pali Canon and Abhidhamma. During his last year in Burma, Munindra was ordained. However, upon deciding to return to India, and with the permission of Mahasi Sayadaw, he also made a choice to relinquish his monk’s robes. Munindra was keen to reach as many people as possible, and given his personality, he needed freedom in interactions with individuals, including women − something not possible for Theravadan monastics. He was also aware that India, a non-Buddhist country, unlike Burma, Thailand, or Sri Lanka, would be a challenging place to survive as a monk. Thus, Munindra believed it would be more effective to teach in India as an anagarika. From then on, he wore white robes.

When Munindra returned to live in Bodh Gaya, he began to meet and teach foreigners. It was what so many of these and other people (including Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg) experienced in his presence that makes Munindra a model for us. Although he didn’t live as a family man, Munindra spent time with his family (his two brothers and extended family) and taught them Dharma.

While there are many anecdotes that exemplify nekkhamma in Munindra’s life, they have one theme: From the beginning, he was clear about the Buddha’s teaching that letting go leads to greater ease. Relinquishment did not equate with deprivation and denial. He was neither austere nor ascetic. He didn’t own a house; was financially precarious; had no institutional support or secure position; yet was the most joyful person one could encounter. Renunciation was something positive. No particular food, dwelling, modern convenience, special status, or wealth was as desirable as the freedom of nibbāna. He used to ask his students, “There’s no pizza in nibbāna; are you still interested in it?” In other words, are you willing to give up something of lesser value and satisfaction for something of much greater value and fulfillment? Would you choose that which leads to a higher happiness rather than a momentary pleasure?

There’s a particular incident that probably anyone can relate to − Munindra’s story of his addiction to Indian sweets. It illustrates how abandoning a sense desire can reduce the suffering from lusting after certain pleasures:

"In Sarnath, I was very fond of sweets. I used to go to Varanasi [on foot], six miles away, to get some. It was disturbing for me, but there was a hankering to eat them. One day, I thought, 'I have to finish with this somehow.' So I went to a big Bengali sweet shop, the best one, and I bought several kilos of all kinds of sweets. I wanted to eat as much as I could. I went to a tree outside town and sat down under it. I thought, 'I’m not going to give any portion of this to anybody. I will try to eat the whole thing.' But when I opened the bag, the various smells of the sweets all together made me sick. I tried to force myself to eat. I told my mind. 'You, mind, you are always troubling me to eat sweets. Why not eat this now?' I felt a vomiting sensation from nausea and I could not eat anything. I said, 'From now onward, I give up this habit.'"

The point of the story is not that Munindra never had another sweet. In fact, when offered sweets, he’d be gracious by tasting what was offered but found he was no longer used to such foods and truly had no desire for them. He was free from the craving. As a result, he was able to explain that the sense pleasures we desire, whether of taste, sight, smell, sound, or touch, are like a mirage:

"On a sunny day, at noontime, if you look in the distance, it appears there is water. But as you go nearer and nearer, you know there is nothing – it is empty. So everything is like that. From childhood, we go after this color, after this sound – oh, this looks good! All these years, we have been looking outside only, going after these sense pleasures. We misunderstand, because we think something is better there. If daily we are mindful, fully hearing the sound [or tasting the sweet], we see that it is empty, like a bubble, arising and vanishing.

Once you understand, you get tired of running after this. Greed keeps the mind unbalanced; on account of greed, there is great suffering. And when something unpleasant comes, then hatred comes. When we understand this, there is the end of suffering. Unless one is fed up, disgusted, detachment never comes. And detachment brings liberation, detachment brings deliverance."

The “disgustedness” Munindra refers to – that which leads to no longer hankering after something – is not the same as aversion or hatred. Rather, he clarified that disgust results from seeing the illusory nature of sense objects.

Munindra showed renunciation in other ways; that is, beyond sweets, sex, alcohol, money, or fame. One of his students related the following episode. While she and Munindra were in a room discussing the Dharma, a young man came in and interrupted. Suddenly Munindra became enraged. “I was standing only six or seven feet away, and I could see his face become a scowl,” she remembers. “His eyes were burning, and he turned red. Then I could see his mindfulness snap in and, in a moment, he was smiling his usual smile and being very loving toward the same person.” Munindra was unwilling to be overtaken by a negative emotion that would affect everyone involved. He stopped in his tracks, renounced the anger, let it go, and turned it into a positive emotion.

Munindra’s demonstrations of giving up, as the Dhammapada says, a lesser happiness for a greater one, extended far and wide. By not speaking ill of others, he renounced unwise speech. By generating loving-kindness, he renounced hatred. By developing compassion, he renounced indifference. By giving freely wherever he saw a need, he gave up greed. By being mindful, he gave up walking through life half-asleep. And so on. Cultivating wholesome qualities translates into renouncing unwholesome ones.

There are also ways in which Munindra expressed renunciation that may take some by surprise. Govinda Barua, his younger brother, shared that living simply did not mean renouncing quality. In fact, Munindra had high standards: “If somebody brought him a rickshaw or taxi that was shabby or unclean, he would say, ‘What are you bringing me? Why couldn’t you get a nice clean one?’ He always believed in having the best and also taking others in comfort.”

Munindra admitted to indulging in and enjoying the fine benefits provided by hosts from around the world. But he was never sad to be in India without those luxuries. He just didn’t hold on to them. As Dhammaruwan Chandrasiri, who knew Munindra since he was a little boy in Sri Lanka, related, “Munindra-ji was playing around with modern gadgets, but he didn’t let them control him.”

In essence, Munindra felt free to take or leave things. Sometimes, when offered better or bigger living quarters, he declined, choosing the smaller, more modest place. He had preferences, as we all do. At times, he may have been demanding about his tea, food, or towels; but when things couldn’t be exactly like he preferred, Munindra invariably accepted the situation and said, “OK. OK.”

To conclude, a few comments from some teachers in the West reinforce the idea that lay life in the Dharma can be as valuable a path as monastic life. Because Munindra wasn’t exactly a monk, but sort of was, and wasn’t exactly a householder, but sort of was, Christina Feldman said, “this in-between status inspired many students. As a non-ordained figure, he embodied an important bridge and yet, within that, he was so committed and undissuaded in his path.”

Another person noted that we set up a false dichotomy between a monk and a "regular" person. We might think, "Oh, if I really had my act together, I’d be meditating somewhere as a monk." Munindra’s in-between status set an example of someone whose spiritual development was not solely dependent on sitting in a monastery; spiritual development can take place in every moment of our daily life.

As Jack Kornfield mentioned, Munindra was a critical example for the Western sangha because he “supported many of the best things that were part of what we were creating with a dharma community – open-mindedness, curiosity, graciousness, deep devotion to Dharma – and that you don’t have to be a monk to do it. By his presence, by his words, by the way he was, he supported us all in doing it.”

As described by eyewitnesses, Munindra demonstrated how to be on the path − to renounce what is unwise and to embrace what is wise with each step taken. As a renunciate, he did not let go of everything, only that which was superfluous and unwholesome to his life in Dharma. Relinquishment was not a rejection of the cornucopia the world offers but a means that moved him toward contentment. Instead of the restlessness of wanting this or that and the anxiety of keeping and protecting it, Munindra felt the ease of not grasping. He gave freely of whatever he had and thereby gained peace of mind.

Partially excerpted from LIVING THIS LIFE FULLY by Mirka Knaster, ©2010. Published by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston www.Shambhala.com

Image courtesy of IMS

Mirka Knaster has been practicing in the Theravada tradition since her first retreat in India in 1981. She has a Ph.D. in Asian and Comparative Studies and is the author of "Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra" (Shambhala). At IMC, she organized and facilitated an interfaith symposium on ethical speech, conducted a series on wise speech, and has given talks on other topics.

WorldWide Insight Launches Sunday Dharma Offering

A new Dharma group has formed, and it is completely virtual. WorldWide Insight offers a live weekly session with an Insight retreat teacher -- including well-known people like Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, as well as younger and less-known teachers, coming from all over the globe.

The online sessions happen every Sunday at 11am Pacific US Time, 2pm Eastern US time, 7pm UK time, 8pm European time, 5am Monday Australia time, for 90 minutes. Participants are asked to register on the website in order to attend. To date, Worldwide Insight has had over 2,500 registrations from 70+ countries across many different timezones, with between 150 and 400 people turning up live each Sunday.

Worldwide Insight’s vision is to offer:

Teachers from different backgrounds and ethnicities, who are teaching in different cultural contexts
A range of both very well-known teachers, and newer teachers who have less profile and can gain exposure through WwIn
Teachings that bring Dharma reflection to areas often not covered on retreat. As well as addressing meditation, mindfulness, and classical spiritual practices, teachers will also be encouraged to bring a Dharma perspective to concerns such as social justice, the ecological emergency, economic injustice, humanitarian concerns, and the news issues of the day.

The idea was conceived by Martin Aylward, founding teacher, who also teaches internationally and has a retreat center at Le Moulin de Chaves in France. Other co-founders are Amy Jacob and Giles Collins, both long-term practitioners.

The teachings are offered on a dana basis, with an opportunity to donate to the teacher through the site. The hope is that the model will be sustainable, helping to support the teachers and to cover the costs of the platform, which allows the teacher to join from anywhere in the world via webcam.

A longer-term vision is to offer more structured and longer courses through the same technology platform as Worldwide Insight. So stay tuned for further offerings, and consider supporting this development if it inspires you.

Common Ground Purchases a Retreat Property

Common Ground Meditation Center in Minneapolis, MN has recently purchased a property in a farming area north of Menomonie, WI. Although it needs development, the property is already functional, and Common Ground has a beautiful vision for it: to offer a retreat space in a quiet, natural setting that supports the calming of the mind and the deepening of insight

.

It is exciting to see Insight sanghas extending their range into the acquisition and development of retreat spaces. Perhaps this is a natural next step for groups as lay practice deepens and communities have a stronger interest in retreat practice.

The retreat property consists of 46 acres of land, three-quarters of which is wooded hills and the rest open fields. There is a large fenced-in garden and about eight fruit trees. The living area is a 5,000 square foot pole barn built in the late 1980s by Amish farmers. It includes five bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and bathrooms on one level. This building also has a large open workshop/garage area that could be developed into a meditation space. The barn, built in 1989, is also in good shape, along with a storage shed, and another small structure that is currently being converted into a sauna.

Vision

The primary purpose for this retreat property is to provide a supportive setting for community members to deepen their meditation practice. All aspects of the operation will be grounded in the community values of mindfulness, non-harming, sustainability, and simplicity. It is Common Ground's intention to create a beautiful retreat place that is inclusive and welcoming for all.

How this vision manifests will depend on the financial support offered by those interested in this project, people showing up to work and practice on the land, and the community's ongoing intentions to infuse the place with mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion.

To learn more about the vision for this land, see this six minute video, which was filmed on the property.

Current Use

Given the limitations of the existing septic system and other factors, there can currently be no more than seven retreatants on the land overnight, and one to three is more typical. The county has just approved the development of the land, so once sufficient funds have been donated, Common Ground can improve the septic system and bathrooms to accommodate more people and increase accessibility.

Over time, the aim is to develop the property to the point of being able to accommodate as many as 25 people for a meditation retreat. This would require adding additional bedrooms, cabins and tenting spaces, as well as additional infrastructure.

Because the primary use of the retreat property is for independent practice, the leaders have developed clear guidelines in order to maintain a suitable retreat environment. The guidelines are structured around traditional teachings of the Buddha, including the precepts for ethical conduct and renunciation. There is also a daily retreat schedule that is designed to balance each retreatant’s need for flexibility with the structure necessary to support group harmony.

Going Forward

Funds and volunteers are needed for a number of areas. There are already efforts occurring in registration, housekeeping, maintenance and construction projects, garden and grounds, and mowing. There are workdays and other community events. For more information please email retreatproperty@commongroundmeditation.org. If you'd like to donate, please visit the donation page.

Images courtesy of Common Ground

Spring 2015 Retreat and Dharma Program Announcements

Spring 2015 Program Announcements:

Retreats
In the future, BIN will create a Retreat Database with a way to enter data in a standard format. For now, we accept entries by email.

California

Steadying the Mind, Opening to Insight with Richard Shankman (Mar 21-29, 2015, Los Gatos CA). Concentration and jhana are often taught as separate practices from insight meditation. This retreat, however, will integrate concentration, mindfulness, jhana and insight into a single meditative path. Register at www.mettadharma.org.

Insight Retreat Center (Santa Cruz, CA): IRC is offering these and other retreats (registration available at http://www.insightretreatcenter.org/retreats/). All IRC retreats are offered freely at no cost to anyone who participates. Most of the financial support comes from donations participants offer at the end of retreats. Their generosity is what allows others to participate in future retreats.

Insight Retreat with Ines Freedman and Max Erdstein, May 14-17, 2015
Insight Retreat in Spanish with Rebecca Bradshaw, assisted by Andrea Castillo, Jun 23-28, 2015
Inisght Retreat with Gil Fronsdal and Ruth King, Oct 17-24, 2015
Insight Retreat with Ines Freedman and Lori Wong, Nov 5-8,2015

Clarity and Insight Retreat with Shaila Catherine and Bhanta U Jagara (Jun 25-Jul 5, 2015, Ben Lomond, CA). Teachings will include Four Elements Meditation, contemplation of the body, and a variety of approaches to concentration and jhana practice. Click for info.

Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight Retreat with Shaila Catherine and Ann Dillon (Nov 5-15, 2015, Santa Rose CA). Teachings will emphasize concentration and jhana through mindfulness with breathing, with flexibility for individual students to practice in ways suitable to their own needs. Click for info.

West

Cascadia Insight Dialogue Retreat with Gregory Kramer and Mary Burns (May 23-31, Bow, WA). During this retreat we will meditate together, not next to one other, but fully together and fully meditating. Meditating together in dialogue, we become each other’s reminder in awakening to the mind’s vast potential for awareness and freedom. Click for info.

Taking Refuge: Committing to Practices & Principles of Awakening Retreat with Noah Levine (Mar 27-29, 2015, Breitenbush, OR). In this retreat, participants learn the core teachings of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths, are guided in meditation practices and will have opportunity to formally commit or recommit to the path of Awakening. Click for info.

The Mountain Hermitage in Taos, NM is offering the following retreats. For more information, please contact The Mountain Hermitage by email: hermitage@mountainhermitage.org:

Annual One-Month Spring Hermitage Retreat with Marcia Rose (April 12 - May 10, 2015, The Mountain Hermitage Taos, NM): Insight, Brahma Vihara & Concentration guidance available.
Insight Meditation Retreat with Brian Lesage (June 26 - July 3, 2015, The Mountain Hermitage Taos, NM): Finding Freedom Through Insight Meditation.
People of Color Experienced Students Retreat with Gina Sharpe & Larry Yang (Aug 16 - 25, 2015, The Mountain Hermitage Taos, NM)
November Study Retreat with Ven. Dhammadinna & Tenzin Jesse (Nov 13 - 20, 2015, The Mountain Hermitage Taos, NM): Topic TBA.
5-Week Summer 2016 Vipassana Retreat with Ven. Sayadaw Vivekananda & Marcia Rose (June 5 - July 10, 2016, The Mountain Hermitage Taos, NM)

Manifesting Spiritual Aspiration by Deepening Practice: 10-Day Retreat for People of Color with Larry Yang (Aug 16-25, 2015, Taos NM). Click for info.

Midwest and Texas

Mid America Dharma offers many Insight retreats with well-known teachers in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and other Midwest locations.See the Retreat Schedule for details.

East

Against the Stream Retreat with Noah Levine, Josh Korda, and others (Aug 2-9, 2015, Plainfield, MA). See Against the Stream for details.

Europe, Israel, and Oceania

Insight and the Interpersonal with Gregory Kramer and Mary Burns (Mar 13-20, 2015, Auckland, NZ). Insight Dialogue brings the mindfulness and tranquility of traditional silent meditation practice into our interactions with others. Click for info.