Breaking the Spell of Time
A Retreat for Advanced Practitioners
Saturday, May 4, 2024 - Friday, May 10, 2024
The spiritual path is directed toward the discovery of and abidance within the fundamental essence of reality, but what are the qualities of this irreducible nature? It is still, motionless, inclusive, and limitless - a universe devoid of time. However, when we look around, we see everything in motion and time-bound, and we see ourselves moving inexorably toward aging and death. How do those two opposite perspectives reconcile? If the destination of the spiritual journey is to abide in the timeless, but we find ourselves bound within time, what is our way forward? The path is to explore what time is, how it is conceptually conceived, and how time and the sense-of-self co-dependently arise. Through those and other forms of inquiry, we discover the stillness that holds all time and motion, yet is beyond both. We then live within the paradox of motion while abiding within that stillness.
Since this retreat is intended to call into question the conventual way we assume reality to be, we are requesting the prerequisites for this course be 10 years of practice in Insight, Zen, or Chan Meditation including extensive retreat experience.
The important questions we would ask perspective retreatants are, does this topic invite your curiosity? Are you pulled to uncover the timeless and release the conceptual myths of time? A healthy curiosity grounded in mental stability is indispensable for dismantling consensus reality. We encourage the participant to fully engage the entire retreat.
Rodney Smith disrobed as a monk in 1983 and for the next 35 years taught Insight Meditation throughout the U.S. and for many of those years worked in hospice care. In 2017 he retired from most work related obligations, allowing him to explore a life unconstrained by time. He is the author of four books including Touching the Infinite: A New Perspective on The Buddha’s Four Foundation of Mindfulness. His teaching style is direct and undeviating, emphasizing the immediacy of awakening and the embodiment of awakened values.
Narayan Helen Liebenson finds it a joy and a privilege to share the Buddha’s teachings with all who are interested. She serves as an IMS guiding teacher, and has been a guiding teacher of the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center since its inception in 1985. Her training over the past forty years includes study in the United States and in Asia with meditation masters in the Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan traditions. She was a student of the late Chan master Sheng Yen for over ten years. Asked by Master Sheng Yen to teach, Narayan decided to integrate her understanding of Zen into her already existing Vipassana lineage. Narayan is the author and illustrator of a small book titled Life as Meditation, and for many years wrote a meditator’s advice column in Buddhadharma magazine. Her latest book, The Magnanimous Heart, was published by Wisdom Publications in January, 2019.
This retreat begins on Saturday, May 4, at 11:00 am ET and concludes Friday, May 10, at 2:30 pm ET. A full home retreat schedule and instructions will be offered. The live session schedule with the teachers is as follows:
Saturday, May 4, 2024 - Thursday, May 9, 2024
11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET (check local time)
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm ET (check local time)
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm ET (check local time)
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm ET (check local time)
7:15 pm - 8:00 pm ET (check local time)
Friday, May 10, 2024
11:00 am - 11:45 am ET (check local time)
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm ET (check local time)
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm ET (check local time)
As one part of our ongoing effort to expand access to the teachings of the Buddha, all IMS Online programs feature equity-based registration fees, including the opportunity to self-select a low-cost scholarship rate. No-fee enrollment is available for those who request a fee-waiver at [email protected], no questions asked. Our system supports the cultivation of a dynamic and inclusive community and is made possible by our generous donors and those who choose to support other students by contributing at the “Benefactor” level.
Registration for this program closes on May 4, 2024 at 10:00 am ET.
This program will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing after the live sessions. On-demand videos will be available to registered participants only for 90 days.
If you have additional questions please contact us at [email protected].