The Ten Fetters Retreat
Venue - Red Ladder Studio, Southern Sweden
Why are we not already enlightened?
How did we come to be so painfully separated from reality?
Buddhism doesn’t offer many answers to this obvious question—but the Buddha’s teaching on the fetters is one.
Enlightenment is the state of being awake. And the Ten Fetters are ten illusions or beliefs that keep us from waking up. The Buddha showed us how—like him—we can see through these illusions, breaking the fetters one by one.
We begin, as we must, with the first fetter: self-view. Seeing through this illusion is like untying our hands. It’s the first step on the path to freedom.
But there’s another way of looking at the fetters—one that tells the story of how the illusion of a separate self came into being in the first place. This story begins not with self-view, but with the tenth fetter: ignorance.
On this retreat, we’ll explore the fetters in our own experience through reflection and insight inquiry—taking inspiration from the beautiful images of awakening offered by the Persian poet Rumi.
The day starts with an ‘open shrine room’ and space to create your own early morning practice, whether that is sitting practice, walking outside, writing or simply being. Each day there’ll be 3 shrine room sessions, consisting of Dharma teaching, meditation, movement, reflection and some chance for discussion.
Silence
There will be periods of silence from the start of the retreat with 3 or 4 full days of silence in the middle of the retreat. Also an opportunity for practice reviews during the retreat.
Who is this retreat suitable for?
This retreat will assume that you have a good grounding in basic Dharma and an established meditation practice. We'll be engaging in insight inquiry and which requires a degree of concentration and an ability to be your direct experience without too much distraction.
“Late, by myself, in the boat of myself,
no light and no land anywhere,
cloudcover thick. I try to stay
just above the surface, yet I’m already under
and living within the ocean.”
See a typical day on retreat for a sense of the programme.
Read more about who our retreats are for.
August 28th - September 4th (7 days)
Cost £560
Get yourself freed up!