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Christopher McLean's
2009 Teaching Activities

Background

My name is Christopher McLean. I have practiced Buddhist meditation for forty years and for the last five years I've been teaching in the Insight Meditation tradition. I teach Vipassana retreats in Australia and conduct workshops in Sydney. I've also studied in the Zen and Dzogchen schools, and so I have a broad 'Buddhayana' approach to Buddhist teachings. I was appointed to teach Vipassana by Subhana Barzaghi.

On this page you'll find times, dates and details for Insight Meditation practice, Mindful Inquiry Days, Dharma Talks, Openness Mind Workshops & Focusing Workshops

If you'd like to support the Dharma, you can provide "dana" (i.e., a donation for the continuance of the teachings) with the following PayPal link. The dana helps me to give more time to the Dharma and to take retreats under other teachers.

BUDDHIST INSIGHT MEDITATION

BLUE GUM SANGHA

I am a teacher of the Blue Gum Sangha, with Subhana Barzaghi and Winton Higgins.
Blue Gum meets every Wednesday night in Crows Nest, Sydney, from 7:15pm - 9pm. The program of activities for this group can be found on the web, here:

For further details (especially if you are a beginner) please call 9913 2979

DHARMA TALKS 2009

At Blue Gum:
January 7 - Sutta Study:
February: Unable to give a talk this month, because I'm giving a talk at Australian Association of Buddhist Counsellors & Psychotherapists 11 Feb.
March 4: Sutta Study
April 22: The Body and the Practice
May: On retreat in early May.
May 20: Talk

If you want a particular topic addressed on the occasion of any of these talks, contact me (contact address at bottom of the page).

TORTOISE MOUNTAIN SANGHA

I am the teacher at the Tortoise Mountain Sangha. Tortoise Mountain is a group whose emphasis is on Inquiry and Dialogue processes. Tortoise Mountain meets every Monday night from 7:30pm - 9:30pm, in Barr St, Balmain.

We begin with a 45 minute meditation and afterward we usually engage in mindful dialogue on the Buddhadharma applied life-issues. We welcome visitors. On these Mondays, there is no fee, but there is the traditional opportunity to give a dana.

The 2009 Program will be centred on Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Understanding Our Mind, supplemented with teachings from the Pali Nikayas. This is an investigation into a Buddhist theory of the unconscious as it applies to our daily lives.

2009 NEW YEAR RETREAT - "THE WHEEL OF BECOMING"

To all who organised and attended the New Year Retreat: a big thank you. It was a very rewarding teaching experience. Thank you, too, to Jenny and Winton, for a great teaching experience.

We'll be back for the New Year 2009/10. The subject for this retreat will be the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

MINDFUL INQUIRY DAYS

We have ten full-day Mindfulness Days planned for 2009, where we develop mindfulness while in conversation, a crucial skill for lay practitioners. This group is a development from what was Sydney's first Insight Dialogue group. We call these days, "Mindful Inquiries."

We meet at (the Grail) 22 McHatton St, North Sydney (round the back) and start at 10:00 sharp, and finishing at 4:00. Come about 9:40 and settle in with a cup of tea.

Admin fee: $10 and Dana (generosity practice or donation) is welcomed.

NOTE: If possible bring a packed lunch. We practice the Buddhist practice of 'noble silence' during the day, and the grounds of the Grail are very pleasant for sitting on the grass, mindfully eating your lunch.

This is the development of meditation practice in and through mindful inter-human attention. The basis for mindfulness training in the workshops will be the FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS applied to BODY, SPEECH and MIND in interaction. People who practice Gregory Kramer's (Insight Dialogue) mindfulness guidelines are welcome to practice those on the day.

Mindful Inquiry Days for 2009 (except for May 3, they are all the last Sunday of the month):

February 22nd
March 29th
May 3rd (in place of Anzac weekend)
May 31st
June 28th
July 26th
August 30th
September 27th
October 25th
November 29th

OPENNESS MIND PROCESS

Buddhist Contemplations Using Voice Dialogue

I facilitate 'Openness Mind' contemplations, which have so far been very beneficial to seekers. I initially drew my inspiration from hearing about Genpo Roshi's 'Big Mind' process. (See www.bigmind.org).

I keep the groups small so that I can give personalised attention to each participant. Preferably participants should have a regular sitting practice, but this is not essential, because for people of reasonably stable emotional health, the day can introduce the essential nature of meditation very effectively.

If small groups want to organise themselves and invite me to lead a process, I'll be happy to do that. Please contact me.

There is no cost, unless there's a venue cost; but the traditional opportunity is there for generosity practice; that is, there will be a DANA box.

NOTE: This is not psychotherapy, even though it uses Hal and Sidra Stone's Voice Dialogue. It is a serious and powerful application of Buddhist Psychology, in particular of the teaching of interdependent co-arising (paticcasamuppada). Be prepared to enter the unknown, to inquire into the human condition, and to be mindful of your actual body and feelings.

Also note that this is not the same as Roshi's Big Mind process, and I am not trained in his methods. I use Voice Dilaogue but with the teachings of early Buddhist canon, the Pali Dharma, instead of Zen.

For people who have already worked with me, or who have spoken to me before the workshop, THE OPENNESS MIND PROCESS WILL BE NEXT HELD ON 21st JUNE 2009. Contact me to let me know you're coming, for details of the venue, times and so on. I need to know how many people are coming. It's likely that the workshop will be in Balmain at our new office.

FOCUSING

I am a Focusing Trainer (www.focusing-sydney.net). Call me to find out about my two-day workshops. Call 0421 346 919 or 4787 5662 for details. Cost for a two-day Focusing workshop is $260

THE NEXT FOCUSING LEVEL 1 WORKSHOP: Two-day workshop, for 13th & 14th June. See focusing workshop page.

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Christopher McLean's 2009 Teaching Activities