Open Mind Insight Retreat
with Jack Connelly
Monday, May 25 @10am to Friday, May 29 2020 @noon
Insight meditation is a simple and direct practice of looking into the nature of our experience. Through the development of calm, concentration and investigative practices we allow the opportunity of direct insight to arise. With this insight, liberation from suffering for ourselves and others and an increased intimacy with our essential nature begins to unfold.
There will be 3 scheduled sessions a day:
10.00 am, 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm
Sessions will be 90 minutes and include guided meditations , talks and question and answer periods.
Participants will be expected to do there own practice in between periods and as best they can maintain a retreat like environment at home.
This retreat will be an excellent chance to integrate meditation and home life. The major requirement for participating in this course is that you make a firm commitment to make Dharma practice and study the focus of these 5 days. This course is primarily for people who have a meditation practice but wish to develop the skills of integrating it into their daily life. I expect participants as best they can to be in retreat mode during the time of this course. This will ensure that you get the most out of the course. Here are some suggestions : Make a commitment to attend if not all as many classes as possible during this 5 day period. Set aside a “retreat space “ in your house that is dedicated, if you can to the retreat. A place where you can do sitting and walking meditation in silence. As best you can maintain a functional silence during the week start. Please email Jack at jleeconnelly@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.
Many years ago, Jack travelled to India as a young man with the purpose of exploring this wide world. One day, while sitting on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi watching it flow, a Buddhist monk came by, stopped, and from his robe pulled out an orange which he offered to Jack. Over the next few days they met for tea and discussions and a new world of possibilities opened up for him. He spent the next five years in Asia traveling, studying and practicing meditation with different teachers in retreat centres and monasteries in India, Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand. There, he was fortunate in meeting many of the great Thervadian Masters of the day, including Ajahn Tate, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Buddhadasa and Mahasi Sayadaw, as well as Advaita Vedanta Masters Sri Nisargadata Maharaj and H.W.L. Poonjaji.
Since that time his study and exploration of Buddha-Dharma and meditation continued both in Canada and back in Asia. His principal teacher became the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche. He was also fortunate in receiving empowerments and teachings from H.H. the 17th Karmapa and H.H. Dilgo Khyentse, as well as direct one on one teachings from Urgyen Tulku Rinpoche.
'In classes and retreats, Jack offers students the advantage of his rich life experience, both in the traditional ascetic and Western realms. He offers a unique blend of the Buddhist tradition steeped in an accessible and modern-day context.'
'While teaching, Jack guides students safely through their unfolding self-exploration process, wherever they happen to be in that process, with the right balance of teachings, modern applications, insights, wisdom and humor. He makes meditation accessible by using the right amount of structure, skill and means needed to help them. Jack can feel and intuitively know where people are on the path and offer support and advice if things get challenging. His Dharma story telling alone is worth being in his presence.'
Jack has been teaching meditation for many years now. He presently resides in Peterborough where he has an Acupuncture practice. He also gives meditation classes there and often leads retreats at the Dharma Centre of Canada nearby in Kinmount, Ontario.
Learn more about Jack: https://acupuncturehealthclinic.ca/about-us/
Important Details
When: May 25 @ 10am - May 29 @ noon. The zoom link will be forwarded via email after you have registered. Please plan to register at least 24 hours in advance.
Rates: To help the DCC recover administration costs and remain viable during this time, we ask people to give a minimal donation of $25 or more to help us pay for administration and operational costs. No one will be turned away if they can't cover this suggested amount.
Jack is sharing his experience within the traditional Buddhist understanding of Dana. To understand more about Dana, please read the following:
What is Dana? Teachers give the teachings of awakening (Dharma) freely so that anyone, no matter their financial means can attend classes. Each time one receives teachings, it is an opportunity to consciously practice generosity. Giving money and other means of support expresses gratitude and support to the teacher and helps to ensure that these teachings continue. Each person receiving Dharma teachings determines the kind and amount of Dāna according to one’s heart and one’s financial means. When deciding how much to offer, one should think about what these teachings mean to you and try to give accordingly. It is recommended that students make an offering of dāna at the beginning of a class or retreat to establish the intention to make the most of this opportunity for one’s own progression and for the benefit of all others.
To give Dana to Jack please follow the ‘Dana for Jack’ button below or send an e-transfer to jleeconnelly@gmail.com