Summary

Date	3–16 April 2023
Teachers	Katarína & Václav
Venue	Javorie.com (near Zvolen)
Cena	33 €/night (sponsored price available)

This course will be taught jointly by 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.

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 4 nights) as the course proceeds on individual basis.

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, breakfast is served usually 6:30, 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. The teachers might adjust the regime individually if necessary (e.g.due to medical conditions).

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, yoga, phone, internet, …) & cosmetics, luxury.

Food is vegetarian; snacks are served in the evening (youghurt, fruit juice, piece of cheese). Water, teas and coffee is available all day round.

The accommodation is individual by default. In the (rather infrequent) case of capacity exhaustion, we will try to find solution which works for everyone.

Participants can be contacted by their families in case of emergency through organizers.

Venue

Javorie is a beautiful meditation center near Zvolen, in central Slovakia. If you travel by car, you come directly to the center (instructions here). Trains or buses will get you to Zvolen, from which you can take a local bus to reach the stop Stará Huta,, OcÚ, where you will be picked up (about 4km from the center). Please contact us or Javorie if unsure about transport.

 

Cost

Accommodation and food cost 33€/night, payments are processed by the center.

If the accommodation price is prohibitive for you, you are welcome to contact us and we will try to 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; also take warm clothes (like jumpers, long sleeve shirts, …);
• slippers;
• toiletries (toothpaste, shower gel);
• (alarm clock/timer we will have enough to borrow; note that using phones is not possible);
• optionally your favourite tea/coffee, cushion, blanket;
• flask (thermos) for hot water (for colder weather);
• 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:

1. Inform us about your intention to come.
2. We confirm space availability.
3. You transfer the deposit and fill registration form.
4. We confirm the reservation.