Paths to Joy: A Five-Day Meditation Retreat with Bellingham Insight (In-Person on Samish Island)
Join Ajahn Kovilo & Ajahn Nisabho for a five-day residential retreat, hosted by Bellingham Insight Meditation Society (BIMS), on Samish Island, Saturday, Sept. 30th to Thurs. Oct. 5. Note that Clear Mountain’s weekly Saturday gathering in Seattle will still be held as usual.
Though the Buddha repeatedly emphasized joy, or pāmojja, as an essential aspect of the path to awakening, many of us find our sitting practice anything but. The narrow techniques often taught in meditation circles conceive of practice as a dry exercise that fails to interest and calm the active minds of modern practitioners. By exploring different routes to joy (paths to pāmojja), especially those emphasizing meditation on breath, loving-kindness, and objects of faith, the retreat aims to help participants rediscover happiness in their practice..
To register, visit Bellingham Insight’s Retreat Page, at https://www.bellinghaminsight.org/retreats/.
Biographies
Ajahn Kovilo
Ajahn Kovilo is an Ohio-born monk who, having been introduced to meditation through the Goenka tradition, first entered the monastery in 2006. After receiving full ordination from Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California in 2010, Ajahn Kovilo spent the next decade training at monasteries in the Ajahn Chah tradition in America and Thailand. In 2020, after a year practicing at a Pa Auk Sayadaw monastery, Ajahn Kovilo enrolled at the Dharma Realm Buddhist University in Ukiah, California where he is currently studying Pali and Sanskrit among other courses. Until the end of his formal studies, Ajahn Kovilo will be participating in the growing Clear Mountain Monastery community remotely and during Winter and Summer breaks. After finishing his studies, Ajahn Kovilo will join the community in person on a more regular basis.
Ajahn Nisabho
After finishing college in 2012, Ajahn Nisabho left his native Washington to go forth as a Buddhist monk in Thailand. He received full ordination the following spring under Ajahn Anan, a senior disciple of renowned meditation master, Ajahn Chah, and spent the following years training in forest monasteries throughout Thailand, Australia, and the US. While staying with some of the lineage’s most respected teachers, he grew to believe the Thai Forest Tradition’s balance of communal life with solitary forest dwelling, careful adherence to the monastic precepts, and focus on meditation represented a faithful embodiment of the original Buddhist path. Moreover, his time with contemporary masters such as Ajahn Anan, Ajahn Pasanno, and Ajahn Jayasaro, convinced him that such a path could yield great fruit in the heart even amidst the complexities of modern life. He currently resides in Seattle as part of Clear Mountain Monastery’s aspiration.
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Date
- Sep 30 2023 - Oct 05 2023
Time
- 5:00 pm - 10:00 am
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: Sep 30 2023 - Oct 05 2023
- Time: 8:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Speakers
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Ajahn KoviloAjahn Kovilo is an American monk who ordained in 2010 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery with Luang Por Pasanno as his preceptor. He likes memorizing things and walking around and hopes to one day enjoy meditation.
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Ajahn Nisabho
After finishing college in 2012, Ajahn Nisabho left his native Washington to go forth as a Buddhist monk in Thailand. He received full ordination the following spring under Ajahn Anan, a senior disciple of renowned meditation master, Ajahn Chah, and spent the following years training in forest monasteries throughout Thailand, Australia, and the US. While staying with some of the lineage’s most respected teachers, he grew to believe the Thai Forest Tradition’s balance of communal life with solitary forest dwelling, careful adherence to the monastic precepts, and focus on meditation represented a faithful embodiment of the original Buddhist path. Moreover, his time with contemporary masters such as Ajahn Anan, Ajahn Pasanno, and Ajahn Jayasaro, convinced him that such a path could yield great fruit in the heart even amidst the complexities of modern life.
In 2020, after nearly eight years in robes, Ajahn Nisabho returned to the Northwest hoping to help establish a refuge of Dhamma and practice near Seattle.
