Welcome to the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre website. We provide facilities for the teaching and practice of satipaá¹á¹hÄna vipassanÄ or insight meditation in the tradition of the late Venerable MahÄsi SayÄdaw of Burma.
Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre seeks its inspiration in the Buddhist Theravadan tradition and aims to develop an Australian Buddhism. Courses are taught by visiting teachers, including monks and nuns from Burma and other countries.
Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre is located in a tranquil setting in the small town of Medlow Bath in the City of Blue Mountains, two hours by train from Sydney and adjoining the vast World Heritage Area. The town has an altitude of over 1000 metres and enjoys a bracing mountain climate year round.
Medlow Bath Sitting Group
There is a weekly group meditation at BMIMC in Medlow Bath that meets on Wednesday evenings on nights that retreats are not scheduled. Several local supporters who are experienced meditators share responsibility for leading the group.
The sessions are from 7pm to 8pm and the format is sitting meditation with occasionally a short reading at the end of the sit. There are paths outside for walking meditation if people wish to walk instead of,or as well as,sitting.
If you are unfamiliar with this type of meditation practice, please contact BMIMC and some guidance before the session can be arranged. Visitors are welcome to stay for a cuppa and chat after the sitting if they wish.
The Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre is owned and managed by a non-profit association called the Buddha Sasana Association of Australia Incorporated (ABN 11 005 353 218).
The Buddha Sasana Association of Australia was founded in 1981 and incorporated as an association in 1986.
Around 1992, the association decided to establish its Centre at 25 Rutland Road, Medlow Bath with the aim of providing organised instruction on the practice and theory of Buddhist meditation on a regular and continuing basis. Since then, teaching at the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre has been provided by qualified Buddhist monks, nuns and lay people to small groups of up to 20 students. All students who attend a course at the Centre are monitored by one or more teachers who will offer appropriate guidance and support to assist students in their understanding of the meditation practice and related Buddhist Meditation teachings.
The association is managed by a committee of up to 8 members who meet at least 4 times a year to oversee the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centreoperations and development. The day to day work of Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre is carried out by a part time co-ordinator, resident care taker and retreat co-ordinator with support from numerous volunteers.
Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre services are following:-
1) Nine Day Retreat With Patrick Kearney
2) Five Day Online Retreat With Steven Smith
3) Long Weekend Retreat With Michael Dash
4) Foundations of Buddhism and Buddhist meditation
5) Nine Days Retreat with Lesley Lebkowicz
Anchored in the Theravadan Buddhist Burmese lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw since 1974, Steven Smith was trained and sanctioned as a teacher by the late revered monk and meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita. Steven teaches Vipassana and the Divine Abodes (loving-kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity) in meditation retreats in Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre, Hawai’i, North America and Australia. He co-founded Vipassana Hawai’i in 1984 and in 1995 founded the MettaDana Project for educational and medical projects in Burma. Also in 1995 Steven helped establish the Kyaswa Valley Retreat Center in Burma, headed by the late Sayadaw U Lakkhana, Abbot of Kyaswa Monastery. AUD $175.00 – Standard Rate
Anchored in the Theravadan Buddhist Burmese lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw since 1974, Steven Smith was trained and sanctioned as a teacher by the late revered monk and meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita. Steven teaches Vipassana and the Divine Abodes (loving-kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity) in meditation retreats in Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre, Hawai’i, North America and Australia. He co-founded Vipassana Hawai’i in 1984 and in 1995 founded the MettaDana Project for educational and medical projects in Burma. Also in 1995 Steven helped establish the Kyaswa Valley Retreat Center in Burma, headed by the late Sayadaw U Lakkhana, Abbot of Kyaswa Monastery. AUD $350.00 – Benefactor Rate
Lesley Lebkowicz has practiced with Western teachers and Burmese meditation masters in the Mahasi lineage of Insight Meditation in Burma, Nepal, the United States, and Australia since 1983. Her main teachers have been Michele McDonald, Sayadaw U Pandita, John Hale, and Sayadaw U Vivekananda. Lesley’s teaching focuses on developing a loving gentleness towards our own minds and on the importance of exercising autonomy and responsibility for our own development. This retreat is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced meditators. Female Single Room – AUD $835.00 Male Single Room – AUD $835.00
Patrick teaches satipa? na, the way of mindfulness, in the lineage of Mah?s? Say? daw. He emphasizes the cultivation of a felt continuity of awareness by tracking the elemental flow of experience that lies beneath our habitual concepts and reactions. As we become intimate with what is already present we discover the radical simplicity of the practice, and we learn to “live independently, not clinging to anything in the world” (Satipa? na Sutta MN 10). Standard Rate – AUD $275.00
Patrick teaches satipa? na, the way of mindfulness, in the lineage of Mah?s? Say? daw. He emphasizes the cultivation of a felt continuity of awareness by tracking the elemental flow of experience that lies beneath our habitual concepts and reactions. As we become intimate with what is already present we discover the radical simplicity of the practice, and we learn to “live independently, not clinging to anything in the world” (Satipa? na Sutta MN 10). Benefactor Rate – AUD $552.50
Patrick teaches satipa? na, the way of mindfulness, in the lineage of Mah?s? Say? daw. He emphasizes the cultivation of a felt continuity of awareness by tracking the elemental flow of experience that lies beneath our habitual concepts and reactions. As we become intimate with what is already present we discover the radical simplicity of the practice, and we learn to “live independently, not clinging to anything in the world” (Satipa? na Sutta MN 10).
Lesley Lebkowicz has practiced with Western teachers and Burmese meditation masters in the Mahasi lineage of Insight Meditation in Burma, Nepal, the United States, and Australia since 1983. Her main teachers have been Michele McDonald, Sayadaw U Pandita, John Hale, and Sayadaw U Vivekananda. Lesley’s teaching focuses on developing a loving gentleness towards our own minds and on the importance of exercising autonomy and responsibility for our own development. This retreat is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced meditators.
This integrated process is for people interested in the foundations of Buddhism and its relationship to meditation & life. We start with a weekend at BMIMC, and two half-days in Sydney city. Meditation will be central but explored in its Buddhist context as a foundation for living. The format will allow us to experiment with integrating meditation into our everyday lives while appreciating the Buddha’s core messages. Buddhism is about lived experience. The Buddha’s approach was pragmatic. His ideas are practical and meant to change our lives. We will explore the Buddha’s perspectives, understanding how they dislodge us from our current state, making us different in a positive way. We will aim to understand what this means in practice. In this way, it will become clear why Buddhism cannot be reduced to being just a philosophy, or a form of psychology, but is pointing to something well beyond both. This process is for people new to Buddhism but is also open to anyone drawn to this topic. The process is designed for full participation across all meetings. Female Single Room – AUD $260.00 Male Single Room – AUD $260.00
The focus of this retreat is on a realistic and practical understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist meditation with an emphasis on personalizing the practice and using it in everyday life. Michael Dash has been a Buddhist practitioner for over twenty years, studying in Australia, Thailand, and Burma, where he trained in satipatth? na vipassana? meditation in the Mah's? tradition. He also has led the Centre’s regular group sits in Sydney and is a professional counselor. Female Single Room – AUD $315.00 Male Single Room – AUD $315.00
Anchored in the Theravadan Buddhist Burmese lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw since 1974, Steven Smith was trained and sanctioned as a teacher by the late revered monk and meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita. Steven teaches Vipassana and the Divine Abodes (loving-kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity) in meditation retreats in Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre, Hawai’i, North America and Australia. He co-founded Vipassana Hawai’i in 1984 and in 1995 founded the MettaDana Project for educational and medical projects in Burma. Also in 1995 Steven helped establish the Kyaswa Valley Retreat Center in Burma, headed by the late Sayadaw U Lakkhana, Abbot of Kyaswa Monastery.
This integrated process is for people interested in the foundations of Buddhism and its relationship to meditation & life. We start with a weekend at BMIMC, and two half-days in Sydney city. Meditation will be central, but explored in its Buddhist context as a foundation for living. The format will allow us to experiment with integrating meditation into our everyday lives, while appreciating the Buddha’s core messages.
Buddhism is about lived experience. The Buddha’s approach was pragmatic. His ideas are practical and meant to change our lives. We will explore the Buddha’s perspectives, understanding how they dislodge us from our current state, making us different in a positive way. We will aim to understand what this means in practice. In this way it will become clear why Buddhism cannot be reduced to being just a philosophy, or a form of psychology, but is pointing to something well beyond both.
This process is for people new to Buddhism but is also open to anyone drawn to this topic. The process is designed for full participation across all meetings.
The focus of this retreat is on a realistic and practical understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist meditation with an emphasis on personalizing the practice and using it in everyday life.
Michael Dash has been a Buddhist practitioner for over twenty years, studying in Australia, Thailand, and Burma, where he trained in satipatth? na vipassana? meditation in the Mah's? tradition. He also has led the Centre’s regular group sits in Sydney and is a professional counselor.
Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre have Accommodation are-
Hybrid retreats, that is, retreats with some yogis at BMIMC and others connecting from home, are successful from the yogis’ perspective but are very challenging to manage for both teachers and staff. Interest in online retreats has waned as people are becoming tired of zoom and so much interaction by screen. There is a yearning in the community to be back at BMIMC, either sitting retreat or volunteering. BMIMC is ultimately a place for practice. Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre deepest gratitude to Margie for giving up so much of her time to keep the buddhist meditation Centre running over the past few months while we filled these positions.
Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre has food Burmese food dāna day. Compact newsletter and schedule.