Moving from Anxiety towards Equanimity … and from Fear towards Fearlessness

The Four Noble Truths that form the heart of the Buddha’s teaching invite us to examine our relationship to dukkha: stress, distress, unsatisfactoriness, suffering. Most of us though, have an instinctive resistance to suffering, so we need to practice working skilfully with the different levels of anxiety and fear that often show up in our lives and along the path to freedom. As we learn how to release ourselves from the confines of these afflictive states, we’re able to live with greater ease, happiness, and peace, and to connect with the wisdom and compassion that are our true nature.

Course Structure

Each two-hour class will include a short dharma talk, some silent meditation practice, dyad (pairs) practice, and small group discussion.

During the six weeks of the course, you’re invited to maintain a regular sitting practice and keep a practice journal. There will also be some written contemplations to engage with at home each week, to be posted on an online discussion board in support of our group learning.

Time Commitment

Approximately three hours per week: the two-hour class plus an hour for written reflections.

Topics Covered may Include…

• An overview of the Four Noble Truths and the context of anxiety and fear in the Buddha’s teachings

• The Four Heavenly Messengers of ageing, illness, death, and the contemplative

• Social anxiety, comparing mind, and the tyranny of the inner critic

• Anxiety and fear in relation to progress along the path to freedom

• The four brahmavihāra practices of kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity as antidotes to all afflictive states

• Insight into the three universal characteristics of unsatisfactoriness, impermanence and not-self as supports for releasing anxiety and fear

Pre-requisites

This course is best suited to people who have an established meditation practice, have sat at least one seven-day silent insight/vipassanā retreat, and have some familiarity with core Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Four Establishments of Mindfulness. Feel free to contact Jill if you have any questions about this.

Teacher

Jill Shepherd is the guiding teacher of Auckland Insight and trained to become an insight meditation teacher under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal in the US.

Time and dates - Auckland
Six consecutive Saturday mornings 10:00 am - 12:00 noon, Saturday 2 November - Saturday 7 December 2024

Location: Directions Healing Centre, rear studio at 12 Horopito St, Mount Eden Auckland 1024

NOTE: for those outside Auckland, there is also an online version of this course that will be run simultaneously. You can register for that here

Cost:

Cost for all six sessions: $120 or $80 for people experiencing financial stress, plus dāna / donation* 

*The cost of the course covers only the venue hire and a contribution towards administration expenses.
In keeping with Buddhist tradition, the teachings are offered on a donation basis which means the teachers are not paid to offer these classes. Instead, they rely on the generosity of the participants to help them continue to share their teachings with others, and there will be an opportunity at the end of each class to offer donations to support their ongoing teaching.

click here for more information or to make a booking

Discover the transformative power of insight meditation in this comprehensive six-week course, led by two highly-experienced meditation teachers, Jill Shepherd and Sue Dykes.

click here for booking and further information

Insight meditation uses mindfulness to develop more steadiness and calm, so that we can clearly see some of the common thought-patterns that create stress and distress, and learn how to help those patterns release. As a result of that deeper self-understanding, we're able to live with more ease, happiness and peace.

Over six consecutive Wednesday evening meetings, we will explore some of the key techniques of insight meditation.
Topics covered will include:

• Mindfulness of the body, including sitting postures and walking meditation

• Mindfulness of thoughts and emotions, including methods to reduce afflictive thought patterns and strengthen beneficial ones

• Mindfulness in daily life, including mindful speaking and listening

• Practices for cultivating kindness, compassion and self-compassion

Each evening will include a guided meditation, a short talk and time for group discussion. 

The course is suitable for complete beginners, as well as those with some previous meditation experience.

Please wear loose, comfortable clothing and bring thick socks and a shawl or blanket.
Chairs will be provided but if you prefer to sit on the floor, please bring a yoga mat or an old blanket and some cushions to sit on.

Although insight meditation comes from the Buddhist tradition, these practices are suitable for people of all backgrounds and this course is a secular offering with no religious aspects.

NOTE: Because this is a group learning process, participants are asked to make a commitment to attend all six sessions of the course, and to allow at least one hour a week for personal meditation practice.
Feel free to contact Jill if you have any questions.

Teachers: 

Jill Shepherd Jill is the guiding teacher of Auckland Insight and trained to become an insight meditation teacher under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal
Sue Dykes is a Clinical Psychologist and the former Director of Mindfulness Auckland, where she taught MBSR and MBCT courses, retreat days and drop-in practice groups. She practices in the Insight Meditation tradition, regularly attending silent retreats as well as local practice sessions.

Cost: 

Cost for all six sessions: $60 plus donation* or for people experiencing financial stress, $30 plus donation* 

Times and dates: 

Wednesday evenings 7:00-8:30 pm 24 July - 28 August 2024

click here for booking and further information

*The cost of the course covers only the venue hire and administration expenses
In keeping with Buddhist tradition, the teachings are offered on a donation basis which means the teachers are not paid to offer these classes. Instead, they rely on the generosity of the participants to help them continue to share their teachings with others, and there will be an opportunity at the end of each class to offer donations to support their ongoing teaching.

A nine-day retreat weaving together silent and relational insight meditation with some Zen practices

Click here to watch a short video of Nic talking to Jill about this upcoming retreat

This retreat offers a rare opportunity to explore a range of different approaches to finding freedom, taken from both the insight and Zen traditions offered by Auckland Insight guiding teacher Jill Shepherd and visiting US Insight Dialogue teacher Nicola Redfern.

We will use a variety of practice modes to explore one of the key obstacles to finding freedom: clinging to views. These different approaches can help to illuminate how views form and inform every aspect of our lives, including our understanding of ourselves and the world. We will look at some of the different views of views within Buddhism, including Right View as the foundation of the Noble Eightfold Path; the “fetter” of sakkāya-diṭṭhi or self-view; and Nibbāna as the transcending of all views.

The retreat will include daily instruction in insight meditation each morning. Each afternoon, there will be a two-hour session of relational practice. This involves meditating together in pairs or small groups practising mindful speaking and listening, using the six guidelines of Insight Dialogue to support deep inquiry into the dharma, the Buddha's teachings.

For more information about the practice of Insight Dialogue, please see

https://insightdialogue.org/relational-practices/insight-dialogue/

Experience level: This retreat is best suited to people who have done at least one previous residential insight meditation retreat of two days or longer, but prior Insight Dialogue experience is not required.

Teachers: Nicola Redfern and Jill Shepherd 

If you're interested in joining us, please register soon because previous retreats have filled quickly.
More information and to register: here

-Jill Shepherd, Willa Reid and Elizabeth Day

After a break in 2023, we're happy to announce that we'll be offering another five-day study and practice retreat in Auckland in February 2024.

Cause and Effect: Exploring self-constructing as process 
Rather than being understood as a fixed identity (self view) our experience can be properly seen as a process. We draw on the Buddha’s teachings to investigate how grasping at self view leads to suffering (dukkha) and how letting go leads to freedom (vimutti).

If you're interested in joining us, please register soon because previous retreats have filled quickly.
More information and to register: here

An Insight Meditation Retreat with Jeremy Logan and Roger Wilde

12 - 17 September at Wangapeka Retreat Centre

In these unprecedented times of radical change and uncertainty, a new world is being born.  Courage and compassionate presence strengthens us to face into the chaos and not turn away.  With wisdom and determination, we can move forward together to create a world based on justice, kindness, and shared resources, rather than on greed, hatred and delusion.

Further information and registration here

UPDATE 11 JULY - due to a cancellation we now have 2 spaces available - be in quick
RETREAT IS FULLY BOOKED - please apply to be on the waiting list
Location: Te Moata, Tairua, Coromandel
Teachers: Jill Shepherd, Willa Thaniya Reid and Elizabeth Day (part)
Join waiting list details: here

-with Jill Shepherd, Willa Reid and Elizabeth Day

Part 3 Understanding the Citta (Heart/Mind) is scheduled for Saturday 12 August
Registration for part 3 is now open here

Part 4 is scheduled for Sunday 17 December- save the date!

This online retreat offers an opportunity to strengthen our natural resilience and capacity to meet life's challenges with more steadiness, ease, and even appreciation. We will meet together throughout the weekend to explore the four brahmavihāra practices of kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity, to directly experience the possibility of a balanced heart - no matter what our current life circumstances might be. Each day, there will be teaching sessions that everyone is asked to attend. Outside those required sessions, you are encouraged to follow the retreat schedule of formal meditation practice to whatever extent you’re able, within your current life context.

Jill will be teaching an online retreat for IMS in the US on the weekend of 30 June to July 2. Although the time zone difference makes it hard to attend the sessions live, the recordings will be uploaded shortly after each session so you can follow along at your own convenience.

The IMS manager for that retreat has offered to reduce the registration fees for anyone in the Auckland Insight community who's interested in attending. There is a scholarship rate of US150, or you can request a "no-fee waiver", no questions asked, by emailing imsonline@dharma.org 
Here is a two minute intro talk to the brahmavihara theme of that retreat.
We hope you can join us!

Date: 30 June to 2 July
To register: Click here

An invitation from Wellington Insight Meditation sangha

Many Buddhist practitioners will regularly ask themselves how to respond to the deepening climate emergency. As illustrated by Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand and massive fires, storms and floodings around the world, nowadays anyone can be directly affected. How not to lose oneself in deep grief? How to balance concern and distress with a sense of personal wellbeing? What does Right Action look like in this context?

Date: 29 April, 27 May and 24 June
For more info and to register: Click here

Online course with guiding teacher Jill Shepherd

This four-week online course will explore what the Buddha was pointing to when he stated that experience is impermanent (aniccā), unsatisfactory (dukkha), and not-self (anattā). Focusing mostly on anattā, we will approach this key teaching in a variety of ways, to help understand how it leads to greater ease, happiness, and freedom in our lives.

Dates: Saturdays or Sundays, February 25 - March 19
More info and to register: here

Healing the Heart, Refining the Mind, Finding Freedom

In the Buddha’s teaching, going on retreat can be understood as a powerful form of “taking refuge,” by temporarily withdrawing from our external responsibilities to tend to our inner life.

The peaceful natural environment of Te Moata supports deep rest and renewal, which in turn, supports the strengthening of our inner resources, our connection with sangha/community and our capacity to live with more ease and freedom in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

Over the course of nine days, we will explore a variety of foundational Buddhist practices, including the Four Establishments of Mindfulness that orient us to deep freedom, the four Brahmavihāra practices of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity that open the heart and mind, and some relational practice meditating together in pairs or small groups, to strengthen our sense of sangha/community.

Each day will include a mix of guided and silent sitting meditation, walking meditation, optional mindful movement, small group discussion and individual meetings with the teachers.

Teachers: Jill Shepherd and Diana Robertson

click here for further details and registration

The Seven Factors for Awakening provide a pathway to the goal of spiritual practice: complete enlightenment. The Seven Factors are: Mindfulness, Investigation of States, Energy, Joy, Tranquility, Concentration and Equanimity.

Teachers: Willa Thaniya Reid, Elizabeth Day, Jill Shepherd

The schedule includes:

• shared enquiry into core texts and teachings;

• guided and silent sitting and walking meditation;

• relational practice, contemplating together in pairs and small groups;

• optional individual meetings with the teachers; and

• a period of optional, gentle mindful movement.

click here for further details and registration

Do you aspire to include more feminine qualities into your practice? Do you feel love for the dhamma, but also the pain of the ongoing impact of patriarchy? Do you wonder how a rich female lay life fits in the notion of the path of awakening? Wellington Insight Meditation sangha invites all who identify as woman to join us for this series of Zoom events. After a meditation, a guest teacher/teachers will speak about their personal experience as a female Buddhist practitioner. This will be followed by Questions & Comments, aimed at having a lively conversation.

Saturday 2pm to 4pm
26 March, 30 April, 28 May 2022

Click here for further details

An eight-day hybrid on-line and on-land retreat with US dharma teacher Gil Fronsdal
This eight-day hybrid on-line and on-land retreat offers a rare opportunity to connect with one of the most highly-respected insight teachers in the US, Gil Fronsdal, while practising together in community in the powerful natural environment of Te Moata.

On-land retreat option

Held in silence and grounded in the practice of mindfulness, each day, there will be sessions of guided and silent sitting meditation, walking meditation, dharma talks, work meditation, practice discussion with the teachers and a period of optional, gentle mindful movement.

Gil will offer daily practice instructions and a dharma talk via Zoom, and each participant will have two individual practice discussions with him online.

Jill will support the participants on site through a short evening dharma talk, silent sittings, and extra practice discussions as needed. 

There will be an optional mindful movement session each day, led by Donna Lavell.

Audit option

In addition to the residential retreat option, a small number of places will be available for people to access the retreat teachings as auditors. The audit option allows people to join Gil's on-line teaching sessions via Zoom and to have access to recordings of the talks and guided meditations. Auditors will not have individual practice discussions with Gil, but there will be two optional opportunities to meet with Jill for a small group practice discussion on Zoom.

Teachers

Gil Fronsdal (USA), supported by Jill Shepherd (NZ)

Gil Fronsdal is the founding teacher, and a co-guiding teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California and the Insight Retreat Center in Santa Cruz, California. He has been teaching since 1990. Gil has practiced Zen and Vipassana since 1975 and has a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. He is a husband and father of two boys.

You can read Articles by Gil and see information on Gil’s Books on this site.
You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

Jill Shepherd is the founding teacher of Auckland Insight. See her bio here.

Experience level

This retreat is best suited to people who have done at least two previous insight meditation two-day residential retreats or equivalent.

Te Moata Retreat Centre information

Accommodation: Rooms are mainly curtained cubicles with shared bathrooms. Men and women are housed separately. A limited number of single rooms/cabins/cottages are available at a $10 a day surcharge.
Food: The centre will provide simple vegetarian meals for the retreat. Please indicate on the registration form if you have any food allergies or special dietary needs.
Work meditation: To help integrate mindfulness into daily life activities, there will be a period of work meditation each day of approximately 45 minutes.

Retreat fees

 sliding scale $900-$700 + dana*

Supporter rate $900 - Slightly more than actual-cost ticket: covers cost of food, accommodation and retreat administration, plus a contribution to scholarships for low-income attendees

Actual cost $800 - Actual-cost ticket covers cost of food, accommodation and retreat administration only

Scholarship rate $700 - Below cost ticket: covers a contribution towards cost of food and accommodation only

The retreat fee covers only the cost of food and accommodation and retreat administration. The teaching is freely offered, and there will be an opportunity to give dāna* to the teachers at the end of the retreat.

To reserve a place on the retreat, you will need to pay a deposit through Humanitix. For the residential retreat option, the balance of the retreat payment is due one week after registering with Humanitix. Account details for balance payments will be included on your Humanitix confirmation email.

Cancellation policy: The payment is refundable up to thirty days before the retreat begins.  If you cancel after this time, the retreat cost will be forfeited and used to help provide scholarship places.

If we have to cancel the retreat due to Covid-19, you will receive a full refund.

*Dāna: In most Buddhist traditions the teachers are not paid to teach. Instead, the teachings are given on a ‘dāna’ basis – dana being the Pali word for generosity or giving freely - so there will be an opportunity to offer a donation for the teaching at the end of the event.

Please note: Single Accommodation and Bedding surcharges are payable directly to Te Moata so please bring cash for this and pay on arrival.

Start your week well by joining Auckland Insight for a regular Monday morning Zoom sitting hosted by our Guiding Teacher, Jill Shepherd. All welcome, we look forward to seeing you there.

Mondays 7:30- 8:15 am NZT until further notice.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3011573331 Meeting ID: 301 157 3331
We invite you to observe Noble Silence (stay muted) when you log on.

Dana offerings to help cover Jill's Zoom hosting/website costs will be gratefully received.  Visit our dana page for details of how you can gift dana to Jill

If you have any further questions please email  aucklandinsight@gmail.com 

Kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, equanimity: Refining the four brahmavihara heart practices to support our own and others' well-being

This series of six online workshops is an opportunity to explore these four beautiful qualities of heart-mind, beyond the traditional practice method of reciting phrases of well-wishing.

The overall intention of the course is to develop a creative approach to the brahmavihāra practices, customising all four of them to suit your particular personality and life circumstances.

You will receive a range of different guided meditations and talks every week, some by Jill and some by other insight teachers, for you to practice with at home. You're then invited to share your experience of these practices in a discussion forum, before attending a 1.5 hour Zoom group meeting to explore the week's practice together in more depth.

Each online meeting  will include a short dharma talk, some guided meditation practice, dyad (pairs) practice, and small group discussion. 

In between these meetings, we will use the Canvas online platform to provide talk recordings, guided meditations, a discussion forum and additional reading to explore during the week.

This course is best suited to people who have sat at least one seven-day silent insight meditation retreat or equivalent. 

NOTE: Because this is a group learning process, participants are asked to allow at least two hours a week for personal practice and reflections to be shared with the group. 
Posting on the discussion board each week will be required to access the next week's resources.

Teacher: Jill Shepherd http://jill0shepherd-insightmeditation.com

Cost for all six sessions: $60 + dana*  

Times and dates of online meetings: 

Please double-check your time-zone conversion here: https://www.timeanddate.com/wo...

Option 1 - Sunday mornings (southern hemisphere) 24 October - 28 November 2021
= Saturday afternoons/evenings (northern hemisphere) 23 October - 27 November 2021

Sydney AEDT 6:30-8:00 a.m. Sunday mornings

Auckland NZDT 8:30-10:00 a.m. Sunday mornings

San Francisco PDT 12:30-2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoons
then PST 11:30 a.m.-1:00 pm from 7 November (Daylight Saving Time change)

New York EDT 3:30-5:00 p.m. Saturday afternoons 
then EST 2:30-4:00 pm from 7 November (Daylight Saving Time change)

London BST 8:30-10:00 p.m. Saturday evenings
then GMT 7:30-9:00 pm from 31 October(Daylight Saving Time change)

Option 2  - Sunday evenings (southern hemisphere) 24 October - 28 November 2021
= Sunday mornings (northern hemisphere)

Singapore SGT 3:00-4:30 p.m. Sunday afternoons 

Sydney AEDT 6:00-7:30 p.m. Sunday evenings

Auckland NZDT 8:00-9:30 p.m. Sunday evenings

London BST 8:00-9:30 a.m. Sunday mornings
then GMT 7:00-8:30 am from 31 October (Daylight Saving Time change)

Stockholm CEST 9:00-10:30 a.m. Sunday mornings
then CET 8:00-9:30 am from 31 October (Daylight Saving Time change)

Option 3 - Self-study 

Allows access to the course materials for you to follow at your own pace, without participation in the weekly group meetings.

Access to course materials will end 31 December 2021.

*Dana/donations

The registration fee covers only a contribution to course administration and booking fees. 

In keeping with Buddhist tradition, the teachings are offered on a dāna basis which means the teacher is not paid to offer this workshop.  Instead, they rely on the generosity of the participants to help them continue to share their teachings with others, and there will be an opportunity at the end of each class to offer donations to support their ongoing teaching.

Eliza and Willa at Kihikihi Meditation and Yoga are offering this retreat online. If you haven’t attended one of their retreats before they are highly recommended. For more details see: http://kihikihi-meditation-yoga.org/

Connecting through silence, solitude, stillness: cultivating the heart of freedom

This nine-day retreat provides a rare opportunity to explore different aspects of the Buddha’s teachings on freedom, through both individual meditation and relational practice. Grounded in Noble Silence and nestled in the natural beauty of the Te Moata environment, we will learn how to relate more skilfully to ourselves, each other, and the world around us through a blend of individual and relational meditation practice and time for deep rest.

We will explore the four establishments of mindfulness and the four brahmavihara heart qualities of kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity, as supports for releasing the different obstacles that often show up along the path to freedom. As we learn how to overcome these obstacles, we’re able to live with greater ease, happiness, and peace, and to connect with the wisdom and compassion that are our true nature.

The retreat will include daily instruction in insight meditation each morning. Each afternoon, there will be an optional 2 hour session of relational practice. This involves meditating together in pairs or small groups practising mindful speaking and listening, using the six guidelines of Insight Dialogue to support deep inquiry into the dharma, the Buddha's teachings.

For more information about the practice of Insight Dialogue, please see here

Experience level: This retreat is best suited to people who have done at least one previous insight meditation two-day retreat or longer, but prior Insight Dialogue experience is not required.

Teachers: Jill Shepherd and Elizabeth Faria (relational practice)

Time and dates: 4:30 pm Friday 20 August - 1:00 pm Sunday 29 August 2021

More info and to register: here

Six-week online Dharma Study class series 2021

The Buddha is reported to have said that holding to any position whatsoever creates “a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views; it is accompanied by anguish, distress, misery, fever; it does not conduce to turning away from, nor to dispassion, stopping, calming, super-knowledge, awakening, nor to Nibbāna.” 

In spite of this statement, Right or Wise View is the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path which leads to freedom, so clearly not all views are created equal. 

Buddhist teachings point to the understanding that we don’t see things the way they are; we see things the way we are. The 8th-century Tibetan master Padmasambhava recognised that “Changes in one’s train of thoughts produce corresponding changes in one’s conception of the external world. As a thing is viewed, so it appears.”  

This six-week online course offers an opportunity to explore how views form and inform every aspect of our lives, including our understanding of ourselves and the world. We will look at some of the different views of views within Buddhism, including Right View as the foundation of the path, the “fetter” of sakkāya-diṭṭhi or self-view, and Nibbāna as the transcending of all views.

The course is best suited to people who have sat at least one seven-day silent meditation retreat, but prior Buddhist study is not necessary as the course is oriented more to practical experience than academic study.

Each two-hour class will include a short dharma talk, some silent meditation practice, dyad (pairs) practice, and small group discussion.

During the six weeks of the course, you will be invited to maintain a regular sitting practice and keep a practice journal, to help inform the discussion during the meetings and on the online discussion board. Because this is a group learning process, participants are asked to make a commitment to attend all six sessions of the course, and to allow at least two hours a week for personal study and reflections to be shared with the group.

We will use Zoom for the online meetings, and the Canvas online learning platform to access course materials, recordings, and discussion boards. A link to the Canvas course will be sent to you a week or so before the course starts.

Feel free to contact Jill if you have any questions about this. 

Times and dates: 

Option 1 SUNDAY MORNINGS 20 June - Sunday 25 July 
Auckland NZT 10:30-12:30 a.m.
Sydney AEST 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Singapore SGT 6:30-8:30 a.m.
New York EDT 6:30 pm-8:30 p.m. Saturday
San Francisco PDT 3:30 pm-5:30 p.m. Saturday

Option 2 SUNDAY EVENINGS 20 June - Sunday 25 July
Auckland NZT 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Sydney AEST 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Singapore SGT 3:00-5:00 p.m.
London BST 8:00-10:00 a.m.

Please confirm your time-zone or check other time-zones here: https://www.timeanddate.com/wo...

Teacher: Jill Shepherd http://jill0shepherd-insightmeditation.com

Cost for all six sessions: $120 + dana*  

Register: here

A six-day online retreat for experienced meditators

Teacher: Bhikkhu Anālayo

FULL - please apply to be on waiting list through the link below
This course will undertake a study of brahmavihāra meditation and the gradual entry into emptiness as described in the Cūḷasuññata Sutta (Shorter Discourse on Emptiness), relating both of these modes of practice to progress to awakening. The emphasis throughout the course will be on what is of practical relevance to actual meditation practice. 
Location: Online via Zoom
Dates: 5 - 11 June Australian Eastern time-zone
To register: https://events.humanitix.com/bhikkhu-analayo-six-day-brahmavihara-and-emptiness-course-2021-online