A day of meditation practice and reflection with Ajahn Canda

Saturday 23rd January 2027, 10.00am - 5.00pm UK time, in person and online

We are very happy to welcome Ajahn Canda to lead this one day retreat for Oxford Insight Meditation. Ajahn Canda says "Self-metta and non-self can seem like opposite ideas. One invites us to care for ourselves, whilst the other encourages us to see through the illusion of a self. Yet rather than being in conflict, they illuminate and strengthen one another.

The Buddha encouraged us to cultivate loving-kindness for all beings and that includes ourselves. Yet self-metta can be harder than metta for others, because we know our shortcomings, carry guilt and regret, and cling to fixed views about who we are or what we deserve.

This retreat explores how insight into non-self softens those rigid self-images, making self-metta more natural. In turn, self-metta begins to dissolve the boundary between "self" and "other," revealing that the wish to be happy and free from suffering is universal. As we learn to forgive ourselves, our meditation becomes less about striving, more about kindness. The peace and joy of practice can then penetrate more deeply into the heart.

Through meditation, Dhamma reflections and discussion, we will discover how metta and non-self meet in direct experience and how "all beings" has always included ourselves."

The retreat will include periods of sitting and movement meditation, meditation instructions and dharma teachings. The day is suitable for beginners and for those who have some prior experience of meditation practice. We ask that you commit to staying for the full day.

Ajahn Canda encountered the Dhamma in 1996 in India and meditated and served on scores of Vipassana retreats, before ordaining in Myanmar in 2006. In 2014 she received full bhikkhuni ordination with Ajahn Brahm in Australia, making her the first English bhikkhuni in the Theravada tradition.

For the last decade, she and Ajahn Brahm have been developing the UK charity Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project (read more at www.anukampa project.org (http://www.anukampaproject.org/)), to establish a monastery where, for the first time in UK history, women can train as full members of the monastic Sangha. In March 2024, a suitable property was secured in the forested hamlet of Boars Hill, near Oxford. Primarily a residence for bhikkhunis, people of every gender identity, race, sexual orientation and background are welcome to visit or stay as guests, to deepen their practice within a loving community.

Besides leading the charity and monastery, Ajahn Canda teaches internationally and spends 3-4 months a year on silent retreat. Her teachings are richly informed by the compassion and pragmatism of the Early Buddhist texts, and her meditation instructions emphasise kindness and letting go as means to deepening samadhi and insight.

Listen to talks by Ajahn Canda on YouTube here (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPxfnU-O-Zydnq8voGyC83Zi845UC-TDD)

Dana: Ajahn Canda offers her teaching in the spirit of generosity. We invite you to make a 'dana' donation to the Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project (https://anukampaproject.org/donate/) of which Ajahn Canda is the spiritual director. This is a time of financial uncertainty for many of us, our invitation is to reflect on the value of the teachings and the service to our community that Ajahn Canda so generously offers, whilst also bearing in mind your own financial situation when considering what you can offer.

Please note we are unable to process donations for our teachers through Eventbrite.

Booking fee: The fee for online participation is £5/£3/£0 (freely given) and for in person participation £15/£5/£0 (freely given). The fee covers general running costs of the online and in person retreats, including Zoom costs, Eventbrite fees, hall hire and teachers’ travel + accommodation expenses. Our teachers receive no payment from the booking fee, instead you will be invited to offer a donation to the teacher in the ancient tradition of dana.

We invite you to pay the full rate if you are reasonably able to do so, as this supports the continuation of our retreats. We also offer lower rate tickets to those who are unemployed, full-time students, on a low income, or are otherwise finding it difficult to meet the full cost. To ensure that these days are accessible to everyone. we also offer freely given tickets for which there is no fee.

Cancellation and refunds: Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel your place on a retreat – otherwise, someone else may be turned away unnecessarily. Please contact oxfordinsightmeditation@gmail.com to let us know that you can't be there. We offer refunds up to 24 hours before the retreat. Please see instructions for how to claim a refund here. (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/support/articles/en_US/How_To/can-i-get-a-refund?lg=en_GB)

For those participating online:

Zoom link: This will be emailed to those who have registered, shor

Description supplied by the event organiser.