We are pleased to invite you to attend a weekend of teachings from Taan Ajaan Geoff, abbot of Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego county. Taan Ajaan will be visiting Victoria, BC Canada to offer teachings in person and online. The topic of the retreat is Stream Entry.
These teachings are hosted by two Victoria organizations, Aranya Refuge and Victoria Insight Meditation Society (VIMS).
August 17 (Sat) & August 18 (Sun) 2024
9 am - 4 pm PDT (Pacific Time)
Sngequ House, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC
Description
The Buddha taught that there are four levels of awakening.The first level — called “stream entry” and “the gaining of the Dharma Eye” — is the point where you gain your first glimpse of the deathless. This is a momentous event in the practice. It marks the point where you are guaranteed full awakening within at the most seven lifetimes, and in the meantime, you are safe from being reborn on any level in the cosmos below the human.
This weekend retreat — through readings, talks, meditation, and discussion — will focus on the Buddha’s recommendations for how to attain stream-entry, and his description of the characteristics of a person who has entered the stream.
Reading Materials
Taan Ajaan Geoff has prepared the following readings for the retreat:
Schedule
09:00 - 11:15 Guided meditation, teachings and Q&A
11:15 - 13:00 Break
13:00 - 16:00 Guided meditation, teachings and Q&A (includes a break mid-afternoon)
Registering
In Person
Click here to register for attending in person in Victoria, BC.
After registering, you will receive information about the venue location.
Online
Click here to register for attending online using Zoom.
After registering, you will receive the links for joining via Zoom.
📧 Contact vims1retreat@gmail.com if you have questions about your registration.
About the Teacher
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) has been a Theravada Buddhist monk since 1976. After studying in Thailand with Ajaan Fuang Jotiko, he returned to the US in 1991 to help found the Metta Forest Monastery (Wat Metta) in the mountains north of San Diego. In 1993, Ajaan Geoff was asked to be the abbot and has continued to train monastics and offer teachings to lay people in North America, South America, Asia and Europe. Ajaan Geoff is a highly respected scholar and practitioner of the Buddha's teachings. His many recorded talks and writings can be found here.
In 2017, Taan Ajaan Geoff agreed to explore the possibility of establishing a refuge for Wat Metta monks on Vancouver Island. Aranya (Wilderness) Refuge was then established as a society and a registered Canadian charity. Since 2018, Aranya Refuge has organized four temporary monastery experiences and is planning for its first two-month temporary monastery in February and March 2025.
……The first simile is a variant on the stream image. Instead of flowing along with a stream, you are trying to cross over a stream to the safety on the further shore. In this image, the first noble attainment is where you “gain a footing” (MN 56). In other words, you haven’t yet reached the further shore, but you have reached the point near that shore where the stream is so shallow that your feet can be firmly planted on the streambed. From this point on, you won’t be swept away by the current. The second simile highlights the fact that the amount of suffering you potentially face in the cycle of death and rebirth is now drastically reduced. Prior to stream-entry, that suffering can be compared to all the dirt in the world. After stream-entry, it’s like the dirt under a fingernail (SN 13:1)……
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
The Dhamma Eye (Chapter in the book Along the Way , P98 - 108)