This retreat is now fully booked, but feel free to put yourself on the waiting list! There are always some retreatants who cancel – for one reason or another, so on this website you can register on the waiting list. You will be contacted if a place becomes available.

Time: Friday 25th to Sunday 27th November. More information below.
Place: Karma Tashi Ling temple. Address: Bjørnåsveien 124, 1272 Oslo
Language: All teachings will be given in English language.
Price : NOK 1300. The price includes accommodation during the day and lunch – more information below.
Registration for members: starts Monday 10th of October at 12.00
Open registration: starts Monday 17th of October at 12.00
Transportation: Each individual must themselves provide transport to and from. More information below.
Accommodation : Participants must provide their own accommodation, but we help with coordination – see further down the page.
Age: Minimum age for participants is 18 years.
Organizer: Oslo og Viken Buddhistforening.
Retreat manager: Ajahn Nitho
Instructor: Ajahn Brahm

Ajahn Brahm, spiritual leader of BSWA in Australia, has been invited by OVBF to teach a retreat in meditation at the Karma Tashi Ling temple at Bjørndal in Oslo. If you want to get to know Ajahn Brahm better, we recommend listening to some of his inspiring “talks” on Spotify.

Bhikkhuni Ayya Canda from England will also be present. She is in the process of establishing the first urban center in Great Britain where women can receive full-fledged monastic training. The two Norwegian teachers Nitho and Ajito will also be there. Ajahn Nitho is the spiritual leader of OVBF, and Ajahn Ajito is a senior munk at Vingrom Buddhist monastery close to Lillehammer.

Transportation

There is a bus stop just outside the temple. See transport options on vy.no or ruter.no.

Equipment

The place offers some meditation equipment, but we still recommend that anyone who has their own equipment should bring and use it: chair, stool, seat cushions, mat.

Food

A simple lunch is included on Saturday and Sunday, and there will be snacks, such as nuts and fruit available throughout the day, as well as tea and coffee.

Program

A detailed program for the retreat will be published later, but the program will be within these times:

• Friday 18:00-21:00
• Saturday 09:00-18:00
• Sunday 09:00-18:00

Accommodation

Each individual must arrange accommodation themselves, but we have created a group for coordination on Telegram, so that if you are looking for accommodation, or have accommodation available for others, or you want to arrange shared accommodation for several people, the participants can communicate in a Telegram group.

Send an email to retreat@ovbf.org, after you have registered, you will get access to the group and can communicate with other participants. Only participants on the retreat have access to this group, together with a moderator from OVBF. OVBF assumes no responsibility for any cooperation agreed upon by the participants.

Meditation

During a meditation retreat, we place the outside world a little aside, to create peace on the inside. Depending on your experience level, effort is required, especially at the beginning.

Meditation practised over a few days can create a peaceful, harmonious, happy and light mind, and the deeper the meditation is, the stronger the experience will be. Meditation is the eighth factor in the Noble Eightfold Path, which sets meditation into a bigger framework, so that the training can lead to insight and wisdom about ourselves. It is these insights which can change the mind towards peace, lightness and freedom in the long term.

As described in the Noble Eightfold Path, meditation builds on knowledge, right intentions, ethics/moral, efforts to lead the mind in a positive way and mindfulness.

A mind in harmony and peace relieves stress and positively affects body and health. But meditation as part of the Eightfold Path is primarily a tool for better quality of life and wisdom.

Medicine and health

If you have a physical illness, remember to bring the necessary medicine. Meditation cannot replace medicine. If you have a physical illness that gets worse from long periods of sitting or walking, check with your doctor before signing up.

If you have a mental disorder, you must clarify with Ajahn Nitho and health personnel before registration. Meditation cannot replace therapy or medication, and a retreat is not a place where you can stop or adjust medication.

Registration

• Registration for members starts Monday 10th of October at 12 noon.
• Open registration starts Monday 17th of October at 12 noon October at 12 noon

Påmelding gjør du på toppen av denne siden. As of today, payment must be made manually (bank transfer or Vipps) after you have booked a place. Your registration is valid when we have received the payment. You will receive the ticket by email.

IMPORTANT: For those who have paid the total price of NOK 1,300, and subsequently withdraw from the retreat, even after the retreat has started, for whatever reason (including illness), the amount will only be refunded if someone on the waiting list can enter the place, and pay for the retreat.

IMPORTANT: According to Norwegian law, you have a 14-day cancellation period for services purchased over the internet. This then applies 14 days after registration, or until the service is delivered – i.e. the retreat begins.

Feel free to bring a friend, but remember that this is a quiet retreat, where the focus is on our inner world, and to a less extent the social.

Payment

1) Vipps

Vipps number : 688792 Vipps name: Oslo og Viken Buddhistforening

Choose ‘Helgeretreat’ under categories in the Vipps app.

 

2) Bank Transfer

Bank account : 1506 61 85106 Name : Oslo og Viken Buddhistforening

Write ‘Helgeretreat’ (weekend retreat) in the message line.

Bank: DnB Bank adresse: Stranden 21, 0021 OSLO BIC/SWIFT: DNBANOKKXXX IBAN: NO7815066185106 Konto navn: Oslo og Viken Buddhistforening

Literature

Ajahn Nitho recommends a little book about meditation called Kindfulness, it is an expanded and improved version of the free booklet Basic method of meditation, published by Wisdom Publications, Boston, USA. It provides a simple, short and effective introduction to meditation. The book will also be available for purchase at the retreat. The book is in English language, but the free booklet is available in both English and Norwegian.

Recommended video: The Power of Meditation – BBC documentary.