About the retreat

Our practice is based on mindfulness, which emerges from the continuity of awareness. How can we maintain awareness? By recognising the fact that awareness is part of nature; it’s not something we need to generate. When we “try” to be aware, our effort is based on our desire to be someone different, to have something different. But if we are already aware, then what is there to try for? And when we stop trying and allow ourselves to recognise what is already here, what happens then?

Natural awareness is an open and relaxed approach to meditation as a way of being in the world. Emphasising continuity of awareness throughout activities as the basis for the cultivation of insight, it is ideally suited to meditation in daily life. We will use the online retreat format to explore the possibilities for this practice, held within the traditional satipatthana framework.

An online retreat is a domestic retreat, one carried out in our own unique circumstances in the midst of the everyday. We come together at certain times of day for instruction, discussion and group practice, then separate to apply our practice to our individual lives. In this way we bridge the gap between the dharmic and the domestic. We discover that the way of everyday life is also the way of awakening.

About Emma

Emma Pittaway is a Dharma teacher at the Kuan Yin Meditation Centre in Lismore, NSW. She has trained extensively in the Burmese Mahasi and Shwe Oo Min lineages and began her teaching apprenticeship under the mentorship of her primary teacher Patrick Kearney in 2019. Emma teaches an open ‘natural awareness’ approach that emphasises meditation as a way of being in the world, integrated into our daily lives. Inspired by the Buddha and his followers, who lived and meditated in the forest, she draws on the natural world to support her practice.

About Patrick

Patrick has been practising Buddhist meditation since the 1970s and teaching full-time since 2000. He teaches satipaṭṭhāna vipassanā (insight through the establishment of mindfulness) in the lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma. His principal teachers have been Panditarama Sayadaw and John Hale. He has also practised Zen, in the Diamond Sangha lineage. His principal teachers have been Robert Aitken Roshi and Paul Maloney Roshi.

Patrick’s approach to meditation is enlivened by his focus on the original teachings of the Buddha – Buddhism before the divisions between Theravada and Mahayana were ever thought of. He applies these teachings directly to life in our contemporary world in an accessible, clear and joyful way.

Cancellation policy

Cancellations are accepted up until two weeks prior to the retreat, and a refund of 90% will be given without question. The additional 10% is kept to cover fees. Cancellations will also be accepted after this date if you have unexpected circumstances, but you will need to contact the retreat manager by email at retreats@mindthegap.events

Fees and dāna

Please note that the fees here are just to cover expenses and build a fund for future retreats. The money does not pay for Patrick's teaching. In the Buddhist tradition, the dharma is felt to be of such great value that it cannot be bought or sold: it can be transmitted and received only as gift. This is dāna, which means “giving” or “gift.” In this spirit, Patrick offers his teaching on this retreat as a gift. His students return his gift in the form of financial support, and Patrick lives on these gifts. Details for giving dāna to Patrick will be provided at the conclusion of the retreat, or can be found on his website https://patrickkearney.net/dana/

Schedules

You can see schedules for several time zones on the schedules page. If you are in a timezone other than those, please email Alex with the desired timezone and he'll generate a new schedule.

Zoom Online Video Platform

The retreat is hosted online using Zoom video meeting software. More details, including the links for the Zoom rooms, will be provided to registered participants close to the retreat.