Retreats at Passaddhi and with Marjó elsewhere in Ireland

Weekend-retreats or longer intensive retreats at Passaddhi are residential and mostly in silence, facilitated by Marjó Oosterhoff (who lives and works at Passaddhi, for details click Passaddhi's teacher or by teachers who are invited from various parts of the world. During the retreat we practise mindfulness in the four postures of sitting, walking, standing and lying down, as well as in all other activities during the day.

The meditation practised is vipassana (meaning insight or clear seeing in the Pali language) as taught by the Buddha over 2.500 years ago. Throughout the ages this method has been passed on by monks, nuns and lay teachers until this very day. Vipassana is practised and taught widely in the Theravada Buddhist tradition of Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka, by lay people as well as monastics. In Burma alone there are at least 500 meditation centres where lay people come to practise intensively for longer or shorter periods. Click Links for information on Burmese meditation centres, or see the list of vipassana centres below. During the retreat we practise mindfulness in the four postures of sitting, walking, standing and lying down, as well as in all other activities during the day.

The particular vipassana meditation practice taught at Passaddhi is in the tradition and lineage of the late Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma. 

The other form of meditation taught and practised at Passaddhi is metta or lovingkindness meditation. In this practice we rediscover that joyful, radiant place in ourselves that is our true being. Metta meditation involves opening our heart to ourselves and others, cultivating unconditional, immeasurable love and compassion. This practice transforms our limited view of ‘me’ and ‘mine’, and helps us to realise our interconnectedness with all living beings. It offers us insight into our habitual movement between hope and fear, like and dislike.

Metta meditation was taught by the Buddha as a way of protecting us from physical and psychological dangers, within us and outside of us. Metta is also practised intensively in Burma, and is used as a preliminary practice before vipassana, or as a way of sharing merit.

During the retreats the five Buddhist precepts of refraining from taking life, taking what is not given, inappropriate sexual activities, inappropriate speech and using substances that cloud the mind and/or are addictive, are followed. Click here to get more information and an impression about going on retreat.

There is also a local meditation group that meets weekly at Passaddhi. Days and weekends and longer retreats are organised at Passaddhi and in different venues around Ireland throughout the year. It is also possible to do a personal or solitary retreat at Passaddhi. Click Accommodation for details of the kuti (chalet).

For the past year Passaddhi has offered all retreats on a donation basis. Retreatants and visitors are given an opportunity to practise generosity, the first of the perfections of mind, and a necessary step on the road to liberation. In Burma all meditation centres (and monasteries and nunneries) are established and run based on the generosity of lay people who donate money and material goods.

The Buddha encouraged us to cultivate generosity, so that we are planting wholesome kammic seeds. Dana (generosity in Pali) is a pre-condition for attaining wisdom through meditation, and the best weapon against greed and attachment. Practising generosity brings us joy and a sense of connection with all beings.  

Click here
for more information about retreats at Passaddhi
and with Marjó elsewhere in Ireland

All the retreats at Passaddhi will be mostly in silence, residential in shared accommodation (with the option of a private room at a local B&B), and with vegetarian meals (including home-grown organic vegetables). Part-participation is usually possible. The retreats are offered freely because Marjó and the other teachers at Passaddhi have been inspired by these meditation practices, and want to make them also available to others.

During every retreat group guidance is given, as well as the opportunity to have individual talks with the teacher. Sitting meditation is alternated by walking meditation. The walking meditation is done outside on the patio or in the garden, weather permitting. We also practise mindfulness meditation in the standing and reclining postures.

Participants of a retreat are asked to observe the Buddhist precepts of:

• not intentionally taking or harming the life of any living being,
• not taking what is not given, being trustworthy, not acting acquisitively,
• refraining from sexual behaviour that is harmful (on retreats this means no sexual activity at all),
• avoiding false, abusive or malicious speech (on retreats this means observing noble silence),
• not using intoxicants/drugs (on retreats this includes tobacco),

These are guidelines, not commandments, that help to facilitate waking up to what is here and now, and have been observed over the centuries by all who aspire to living a life of impeccable ethics. These five basic ethical guidelines also help to create a safe environment for the participants and facilitators on the retreats.

The retreats are an opportunity for continuous practice of vipassana (insight) meditation and metta (lovingkindness) meditation. It is not appropriate to see the retreats (and this is particularly the case on 10-day or longer retreats) as a time to go on hikes in the mountains or for walks on the Beara Way (although sometimes the teacher may recommend going for a long walk). Participants are expected to stay from the beginning until the end of the retreat, unless otherwise arranged beforehand. At times it is possible to do part of a longer retreat. Contact Marjo for details.

Click Contact if you want to get in touch 
to find out more details.