Opening Section of Introduction to a weeklong retreat on Mindfulness, Insight Meditation and Realisation
24 April to 2 May 2025. Held at Waldhaus Buddhist Zentrum, near Andernach, hour from Bonn, Germany.
Transcribed from an audio talk and adapted, edited into text.
A very warm welcome to every one of you. This evening, we start a retreat together, and with this, the opening talk of the retreat, I would like to offer a general overview, some exploration of the specifics with details as well, regarding the meditations. I have the privilege of coming here to the Waldhaus since its opening in the mid-1980s.
View from the Waldhaus. Behind the centre is the forest.
The bathroom has undergone a rebirth this year with a new shower, replaced very old plumbing, upstairs and downstairs, new tiled floor/walls and a mirror that tells you the time, plus temperature with adjustable coloured lights.
The mirror acts as a metaphor for human life in our super privileged Western world. We can design this sophisticated stuff and all the ongoing refinements of it. We are too clever for our own good. What is the outcome of all of this production and technological development? This obsession has led to a huge neglect of the mind.
We are witnessing epidemics of unhappiness, confusion, anxiety, worry, blame, fears, past, present and future. School, home and social media have a tragic impact on the young. Adults in their 20s, middle-aged and seniors deal with fear and blame on a daily basis.
We have neglected inner wellbeing, nor know the resources of teachings and practices to enable people to understand their inner life. Society does not provide the communications/programmes/courses for all to develop ethics, values and love. Few realise what it means to develop a wholesome and fulfilled way of life.
In UK, about one in two people are on daily medication and one in four takes three tablets per day. About one in five in the 16-24 age group take a daily medication. Young people aged 16-24 experience the most loneliness of any age group.
We live in a society with severe problems at the personal, social, political and global level.
Internationally, we witness day by day a significant decline in the American Empire and the powerful in the White House heaping the blame on the rest of the world for the decline. I know the American mind well, healthy and unhealthy, through offering more than 50 retreats on the East and West coast in a 25 year period.
Each one of us needs to explore ways to co-operate together to develop the inner life as a contribution to our relationship to the rest of life. We have a core question. What matters? What really matters? Such questioning can touch a deep place. Working on ourselves can contribute directly to the welfare of others. If you are happy, steady and clear in the face of challenging situations, you have the potential to become a real support for other people.
If you are going to change, then it means taking risks and showing courage to make that change. That means finding the power within so your understanding will benefit others, creatures and our natural world.
This retreat does not offer a priority for the self. A retreat functions as a priority for others as well. We work on ourselves so we can love others. We work on ourselves, so we are not afraid to speak up on issues requiring a wise approach.
In the past decade, I have noticed an increase in the voices of people deeply concerned about what is going on in our world. We recognise something catastrophic is taking place on a big scale. Many voices experience a helplessness making it hard to reach out, to share and to support change Our voice of concern will strengthen the motivation for service of others. If you stay quiet, you will feel overwhelmed with a terrible sense of helplessness.
Withdrawal is a major problem.
This problem of failure to act has to get resolved. Global problems are killing the human spirit, leaving authority in the hands of people who do not understand the power of love. We practise. We explore and develop to become agents of change.
I see from my emails that people write about personal issues and global issues. Both need to be addressed. Personal issues can relate to oneself, family members, partner, work, social media and more. The global picture raises questions. We can’t turn a blind eye to the state of the Earth.
Sign near entrance to Waldhaus
One of the staff said she sat her first retreat with me in 2017 and heard me speak of the importance of the political awareness. What ways do we bring ethics and values to our concerns to address the political?
This body of teachings addresses the political. We do not have to feel nervous or shy about it. Politics belongs to the field of human existence, serving as a genuine area for our reflection. We come to a retreat to explore our experience and views of major areas of life.
I found myself reflecting on the Buddhist tradition. The tradition certainly needs radical change to develop recognition of diversity and a skilfulness in addressing issues such as war. These teachings offer far more than a therapy, as Dharma has a much bigger picture. We show something powerful when women, men and other spend time together, looking at the experience of life on this earth and follow through with action.
What does it mean to be a human being? The best of the Buddhist tradition has stayed true to the principle of full exploration of the human experience, whether in the monastic system or outside of it.
In the West, many think society has reduced the religious influence. Not really. The confirmation shows behind me here with the Buddha images and candles. The teacher sits at the front, sharing the silence with others. The tradition state that this form is worth preserving since we benefit from the form. We step into this environment, a beautiful world showing the nature and the stillness available in the meditation processes. This appreciation of such forms has stayed consistent over many centuries. We experience the power of the collective supporting each other.
We can go deep into our being and deep into the day itself. Buddhist tradition gives a priority to four postures familiar to us - walk, sit, stand and recline. The radical voice of the Buddha shifted away from dependency on the virtue of the sitting posture (asana) and expanded to all activities. Yogis often emphasise the sitting asana above all other postures. They sit in the cross-legged posture. The Buddha remained determined to expand out the field of human experience.
Steps to Awakening at the Waldhaus
Be mindful when you put food to the mouth. Be mindful when you turn your head to the left or right, like the elephant’s head, to see what's happening. Every small activity of the day becomes worthy of taking an interest in. Why? Such awareness affirms what happens around us but also affirms the aliveness of the mind.
The mind connects through an interest in the ordinary and the everyday tasks. There is a vitality to the connection. We are not mindless, not mechanical, but conscious and able to feel life through our interest and energy and respond to it.
Through the great courtesy of German railways, my train from Frankfurt to Andernach station arrived about 40 minutes late. German railways gave me the opportunity to engage in 40 minutes of standing meditation on the platform.
I witnessed commuters, who had finished work and students who had finished their studies for the day. There is the buzz of life. In standing meditation, there is nothing to complain about; one sees no point in making demands on this world. We respond through our receptivity.
I will now speak to you about specific details of the day in our weeklong retreat. …