| Date | 31 October–15 November 2017 |
| Teacher | Phra Ofer |
| Venue | Javorie (Central Slovakia) |
| Cost | 25€/night (sponsored price available) |
After the success of our first course in August, which was attended by almost 30 students, we continue. 🙂 Same meditation method, same rules, same venue, different teacher:
Phra Ofer Adi is originally from Israel and has been practicing meditation since 1989 (in Wat Ram Poeng and in Wat Chom Tong, Thailand) under Ajahn Tong. He was teaching meditation in Israel, before ordaining as monk in 2001. He has spent several years as monk and teacher in Götzenhain (near Frankfurt, Germany) and is leading meditation courses around the world.
Phra Ofer will be accompanied by supporting teachers, Katarína Bírešová & Václav Šmilauer − see about us.
May I come?
On this retreat of the Vipassana meditation, we welcome both beginners and those with prior meditation experience, irrespective of religion, gender or age (16+). Vipassana is a Buddhist contemplation method; however, one does not need to be Buddhist (or have knowledge of Buddhism) to fully benefit from the meditation; in fact most course participants are not. The number of participants is limited to 20, due to the individual approach of the course.
We recommend to go through the whole course to gain the full benefit. It is nevertheless possible to come for a shorter time (at least 3 days) as the course proceeds on individual basis.
If you have already done the 2-week course, you can come for a 10-day retreat with dates of your choice.
Course
All participants are given detailed introduction into meditation at the beginning of the course.
The course is organized around directing attention inwards as much as possible. Participants sleep 6 hours a day (10pm–4am), breakfast is served at 7:00, lunch at 11:30. The rest of the time is dedicated to the practice with short breaks between “rounds” (walking+sitting meditation). The course is conducted in silence (and off-line). Whatever happens during the day can be discussed with the teacher at daily individual meetings; however, teachers are available 24/7 if needed.
Participants follow traditional 8 precepts which support meditation by eliminating distractions and make it easier to share space with others: no killing, stealing, sexual activities, lying, intoxicants, eating after lunch, entertainment (reading, writing, singing, music, phone, internet, …) & cosmetics, luxury.
Food is vegetarian; snacks are served in the evening (yoghurt, fruit juice, piece of cheese). Water, teas and coffee is available all day round.
Participants can be contacted by their families in case of emergency through organizers.
Venue
The course takes place at the beautiful Javorie.com meditation center in central Slovakia near Zvolen, accessible from several international airports – Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest.
The course proper will start on Tuesday 31. Oct early afternoon (around 1pm). If you come by car, you come to Javorie directly (instructions here). Otherwise come by train or bus to Zvolen; then you take public bus (about 30 minutes) to Stará Huta or Slatinské Lazy, rázc. stop where we pick you up; we can also pick you up in Zvolen if necessary, this will be communicated on individual basis. We will connect participants who can give and can take lift.
The course will finish on Wednesday 15. Nov in the morning and transport to the closest stop will be arranged/shared.
Cost
Accommodation and food cost 25€/night (21,40€ goes to Javorie, 3.90€ helps us cover other expenses such as teachers’ travel & accommodation), totaling to 375€ for the whole course. (During this time of the year, only the main building is used for accommodation; the rooms their have their own bathroom.) A deposit of 120€ (less if you come for a shorter time) is payable in advance by bank transfer, the rest at the course (transfer/cash). Lactose-free/gluten-free food is available for a surcharge of 1.5€/day.
If the accommodation price is prohibitive for you, you are welcome to contact us and we will offer you something you can afford, and have the rest paid by sponsors. If you can pay more, thus becoming sponsor of others, you are the most welcome to do so.
Teaching itself is on a donation basis (dāna), following the tradition that meditation should be accessible to anyone. Donations can be given in cash at the place, or by transfer.
What to bring
- loose comfortable white/light clothes (by tradition) or neutral colors, covering shoulders and knees;
- warm socks for inside;
- slippers;
- toiletries (toothpaste, shower gel, towel, …− take bio-degradable products if possible, due to local sewage facility);
- alarm clock, countdown timer (if you have one);
- optionally your favourite tea/coffee, cushion, cover;
- course fee (minus deposit) in cash, or send it in advance by bank transfer;
- cash for donation for teachers after the course; bank transfer will be also possible;
- any medication you take or might need.
How to register
Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions before you make decision. The registration procedure is easy:
- Inform us about your intention to come.
- We confirm space availability.
- You transfer the deposit to our account.
- We confirm the reservation once the transfer completes and ask you to fill in the course registration form.