The Awakened Former Nun (Guru Viking)

Guru Viking, Ep. 161: Beth Upton (sanditthika.org), 8/5/22; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

You, Viking, are a guru. - And you, Fair Lady, are an illumined teacher of the Dharma.

Natural Meditation with Beth Upton (2)

(Guru Viking) In this interview Guru Viking is once again joined by Beth Upton, meditation teacher, former Theravada Buddhist nun, and successful student of the renowned Burmese meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw.

Upton shares her emphasis on meditation with the natural rhythms of the body and reveals how she deals with students who experience low motivation, psychological challenges, and even psychosis as a result of meditation practice.

She also discusses her own relationship difficulties after disrobing as a nun, why she embarked on special communication trainings to address them, and explains why erotic feelings diminish as one becomes more enlightened.

Canada meditation retreat and a break

(Nov. 7, 2022) We are 20 days into our 30-day retreat in Canada, at the beautiful Camp du Lac Vert, home to some of the most stunning autumn scenes I have ever seen.

It is a rare treat for me to be practicing with the same group of people for the whole month, with no coming and going -- all of us taking a month-long deep dive into the Dharma together.

Huge thanks to Louis-Michel and his family for making this retreat happen, and to all of the retreatants for the sincerity and dedication of their practice.

Retreats like this fuel my enthusiasm for teaching. Having now led eight retreats this year, as well as met hundreds over Zoom, and spent the summer working hard on our Sanditthika Cave Meditation Community in Spain, I have decided to end the year with some weeks out for my own personal retreat.

Thanks to very generous dana from a friend, I will be spending some time in late November and early December visiting Enlightenment Grove (Bodh Gaya) and the other sacred Buddhist sites in India and Nepal.

It has been a long-term dream of mine to visit the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, and I'm really looking forward to the trip.

I will then spend the rest of December in personal retreat, taking some time out to be with friends and family over Christmas and New Year's Eve. I'll be back on Zoom again in early January.

Out today is my latest YouTube video. Today's video is about the four strong supports that the Buddha suggested we keep in place to help our meditation progress smoothly. Take a look and, as always, be in touch if you have any suggestions for topics that you would like for me to cover in future videos.

Group interview online sessions offer us the chance not only to ask questions about our own meditation, but also to listen and learn from the questions of others. These group sessions are open to everyone and are also a good option if you are having difficulty booking a one-on-one Zoom appointment with me.

Book a place in the group interviews up to a month in advance. There are also full moon gatherings (uposatha) to join in on. These gatherings are a great opportunity to come together to deepen our connections to the Dharma and to each other. The latest gathering was on the topic of nature: how interaction with our natural environment impacts our Dharma practice, and how our Dharma practice can impact our natural environment. Everyone is welcome to these! Book a place at a gathering.

I made plenty of time for Zoom appointments over the coming month in anticipation of being offline through most of December. Book regular one-on-one Zoom appointments with me up to two weeks in advance.

If interested in joining a retreat with me next year then take a look at my upcoming retreats. As ever, all of my work is given on a donation basis. For information about some ways in which you can support my work, take a look at bethupton.com. With much metta and gratitude, Beth Upton