Beth Upton meditation retreat experiences?

[-_sometimes]

Greetings all!

 

After discovering Beth Upton through @Vajra Fist recommending her some time back, I'm interested in going on one of her retreats next year. I wonder if any of you have been on her silent retreats before, and if you have anything to share regarding your experiences?

 

The retreats last from 10 to 40 days, and take place all around the world throughout the year. Beth Upton is a former nun who studied under Pa Auk, and that's mostly what I know. The retreats are very long by usual standards, priced well and tbh I like Beth's vibe :)) I hope to go there to practice my own thing - afaik it isn't necessary to follow a specific practice, given that it's a silent retreat, but do correct me if I'm wrong.

 

 

[Shadow_self]

8 minutes ago, -_sometimes said:

Greetings all!

 

After discovering Beth Upton through @Vajra Fist recommending her some time back, I'm interested in going on one of her retreats next year. I wonder if any of you have been on her silent retreats before, and if you have anything to share regarding your experiences?

 

The retreats last from 10 to 40 days, and take place all around the world throughout the year. Beth Upton is a former nun who studied under Pa Auk, and that's mostly what I know. The retreats are very long by usual standards, priced well and tbh I like Beth's vibe :)) I hope to go there to practice my own thing - afaik it isn't necessary to follow a specific practice, given that it's a silent retreat, but do correct me if I'm wrong.

 

 

 

Cant speak to her retreats, but Beth is a great person who knows her stuff

[Barnaby]

Wow, never came across her before. I’m impressed…

[freeform]

Don’t know Beth, but Pa Auk has produced some fantastic cultivators!

 

Quote

I hope to go there to practice my own thing

If she’s a promising teacher, why not practice what she’s teaching?
 

You could do your own thing at many other monasteries that accept practitioners.

[Shadow_self]

2 hours ago, freeform said:

If she’s a promising teacher, why not practice what she’s teaching?
 

You could do your own thing at many other monasteries that accept practitioners.

 

I was going to say this too

 

I particulary enjoy her take on Jhana  

 

 

25 minutes to 32  

[-_sometimes]

2 hours ago, freeform said:

If she’s a promising teacher, why not practice what she’s teaching?

Pa-Auk teaches based on the Theravada tradition, so meditation-oriented, and idk I feel more inclined to the neigong approach of preparing the body before moving on to meditation. It makes a lot of sense to me. The accounts of meditation experiences not necessarily persisting if the groundwork hasn't been laid, and I recently read the account of an individual who practiced Vipassana (goenka style iirc) 6 hours a day for 6 years only to realize he'd cultivated a sort of bubble about himself that hadn't actually transformed his nature, but rather just covered it with something else. Damo has mentioned that his general experience with practitioners who solely practiced meditation seemed somewhat lacking in vigor and a bit serious, as opposed to those who also included the energetic arts in their practice. 

 

Beth's energy seems positively lovely, but I'm not sure if what she teaches is for me. Frankly I was planning on just practicing anchoring the breath the entire time

 

Although having written this, perhaps it might be worth trialing it whilst I'm there, because I'm only operating on hearsay after all. What better way to find out than to try it out right perhaps it would be worth contacting Beth beforehand and practice what she teaches leading up to the retreat. 

Edited December 24, 2022 by -_sometimes

[Shadow_self]

17 minutes ago, -_sometimes said:

Although having written this, perhaps it might be worth trialing it whilst I'm there, because I'm only operating on hearsay after all. What better way to find out than to try it out right perhaps it would be worth contacting Beth beforehand and practice what she teaches leading up to the retreat. 

 

Much of what she teaches is posted freely on her youtube  Im sure you could figure out some of what gels with you there

 

https://www.youtube.com/@bethupton1286/videos

Edited December 24, 2022 by Shadow_self

[Gerard]

It's Samatha + Vipassana meditation:

 

https://www.paaukforestmonastery.org/

 

Review: 

 

https://www.meditationmag.com/blog/pa-auk-tawya-forest-monastery-myanmar/

 

"There would be five meditation sessions a day, each for 90 minutes, the first starting at 4:00am and the last finishing at 7:30pm. In between the two afternoon sessions was scheduled an hour of walking meditation. That meant an afternoon of four straight hours of meditation, and a total of eight and a half hours per day. Already I was starting to worry about this seemingly onerous schedule – and I hadn’t even tried the meditation yet"

 

But if you want to go deep and remove everything then practice should become 24/7 and walk and sit in equal amounts of time.

 

When I attended Vipassana retreat in Thailand (3 weeks), the last 3 days were a non-stop meditation practice. 

 

Walking & sitting was done 50/50. You start with 15 min each, progress slowly until you are able to meditate 1h walking + 1 h sitting. Then it ends up a 12h walking + 12h sitting practice.

 

It was very challenging especially when you start as a beginner.

 

Highly recommended system for anyone practising seriously.

 

Retreat centre:

 

https://www.watchomtong.com/meditationcoures

 

Good luck!

 

[Vajra Fist]

On 23/12/2022 at 6:54 PM, -_sometimes said:

Greetings all!

 

After discovering Beth Upton through @Vajra Fist recommending her some time back, I'm interested in going on one of her retreats next year. I wonder if any of you have been on her silent retreats before, and if you have anything to share regarding your experiences?

 

The retreats last from 10 to 40 days, and take place all around the world throughout the year. Beth Upton is a former nun who studied under Pa Auk, and that's mostly what I know. The retreats are very long by usual standards, priced well and tbh I like Beth's vibe :)) I hope to go there to practice my own thing - afaik it isn't necessary to follow a specific practice, given that it's a silent retreat, but do correct me if I'm wrong.

 

 

 

I believe her retreats in Spain are taught in a network of semi-underground caves. Very authentic and also perhaps not for everyone. She also teaches extended retreats around the world. From what I gather, the Pa Auk tradition generally suggests extended retreats of several weeks as a minimum for jhana entry. 

 

Before diving into a retreat, I'd suggest perhaps working with her directly for a period. She teaches one-on-one online, on a dana basis. She'll get a feel for your character and where you're at, and suggest specific practices for you.

 

She also teaches on a group basis online every month when she's not in retreat, which might be preferable if you just wanted to dip your feet.

 

I'm not a student of hers, but I've spoken to her a few times, mostly over email, and I've always been impressed. She's a very kind person.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Vajra Fist

[Shadow_self]

1 hour ago, Vajra Fist said:

 

I believe her retreats in Spain are taught in a network of semi-underground caves. Very authentic and also perhaps not for everyone. She also teaches extended retreats around the world. From what I gather, the Pa Auk tradition generally suggests extended retreats of several weeks as a minimum for jhana entry. 

 

Before diving into a retreat, I'd suggest perhaps working with her directly for a period. She teaches one-on-one online, on a dana basis. She'll get a feel for your character and where you're at, and suggest specific practices for you.

 

She also teaches on a group basis online every month when she's not in retreat, which might be preferable if you just wanted to dip your feet.

 

I'm not a student of hers, but I've spoken to her a few times, mostly over email, and I've always been impressed. She's a very kind person.

 

Id place her in a category above and beyond other teachers who came out of Pa Auk being totally honest.

 

People like Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen, I don't view in the same regard as I would her.

 

In my opinion, Beth is a far better transmitter and representative of the teachings from that line. Id also say she is more honest about things and uses the terminology better

Edited December 26, 2022 by Shadow_self

[Mandrake]

On 24/12/2022 at 10:02 PM, Shadow_self said:

 

 

25 minutes to 32  

 

Hear! Hear!

 

Very pleasant energy. The stillness is palpable.

 

 

M

[Mandrake]

14 hours ago, Vajra Fist said:

 

I believe her retreats in Spain are taught in a network of semi-underground caves. Very authentic and also perhaps not for everyone. She also teaches extended retreats around the world. From what I gather, the Pa Auk tradition generally suggests extended retreats of several weeks as a minimum for jhana entry.

 

When I spoke with the Pa Auk-system monks, and especially the Westerners, they mentioned that many have exaggerated views about the time frame this requires. One should really be comfortable with the idea that it takes 1-2 years of full-time practice, at least.

 

The first Jhana/Dhyana, is extensively mapped out by the Indian shastras and practiced in an unbroken line in Mahayana. There is a tremendous amount of written material on the phenomenology one traverses through while practicing to this goal, but a smidgen is translated to English. The definition of what the Jhanas are, the signs, and stages before full achievement, are written out and corraborated by the Hindu traditions as well. And not unimportantly: the time it takes (spoiler, living in a calm, not as busy world in the mountains 1000 years ago kind of makes this whole thing easier for the mind to achieve).

 

 

M