The gradually steepening, winding lane up Knocknaphunta mountain in east Co Clare leaves drivers with little choice. Climbing the bumpy road is a matter of rapidly downing gears before you reach a sharp left turn where you can, if you like, just roll down in neutral into the Sunyata Retreat Centre. By now your car (if not yet your mind), is in tune with the place.
Sunyata - it's a Pali name meaning "the space behind all form" - overlooks wide rural views that are gentle rather than dramatic. This is of no harm, since stimulation is not the point at a place aimed at helping people to slow down into a state approximating to neutral.
Conceived and built by practising Buddhists Stanley and Clare De Freitas, as well as the Oxford historian Peter Carey, Sunyata is spread over around 10 acres. Most "activity" centres around a courtyard whose focal point is a Buddhist stupa, (monument), encircled by a pond holding tropical fish and lilies.
Surrounding the courtyard are a herbal clinic, a renovated cottage and a new meditation hall that officially opened on July 21st. Simply but elegantly conceived, the light-filled space is dominated by a large window looking out on to a tranquil expanse of hills and lakes.
The window is topped by stained-glass designs depicting an opening lotus. A carved wooden Buddha figure sits in front. Smaller stained-glass windows to the side of the building are designed around the theme of the Buddhist chakras. The back wall of the room holds a large old Chinese tapestry depicting the five imperial dragons.
Beneath the tapestry, in orderly piles, are the green cushions for meditators that were described by a minor member of the Thai royal family as the most comfortable she has encountered. This is not a small point for visitors who will spend hours kneeling on the cushions or sitting in the lotus position as they wrestle with their "monkey mind" and, to a lesser extent, their complaining joints.
While the meditation hall is open for any events in keeping with Sunyata's contemplative atmosphere, the hall's main purpose is to provide a home for the silent retreats that can last anything from one to 10 days. Beginning meditators are generally advised to start with a one-day introductory event.
Most retreats so far have been led by teachers from various Buddhist traditions. On a weekend of Zen meditation earlier this summer, participants were guided by Sister Elaine, a Catholic nun from Toronto who has introduced meditation to prisoners in Asia and the UK. Included in the participants at the Sunyata event were a group of prison visitors from Galway. Other visitors included civil servants, a television producer and the actor Jeremy Irons.
During a typical day-long retreat the teacher guides participants in the challenging business of sitting meditation. The aim is to empty the mind of distractions and to reach a point of stillness or, in the Buddhist sense, non-attachment.
It's a simple-sounding goal, difficult to achieve. Beginners who manage to achieve even a few seconds when the mind stops hopping from friends, the bills, dinner, the ache in the knees, or fright at the sight of itself, are doing well indeed. The idea is not to fight the thoughts that crowd in. You're meant to observe them, let them pass, and wait for the ever-elusive moments of blank, pure meditation. For those who find the process a particular agony, periodic bouts of walking meditation provide what can come to seem thrilling brief relief.
Vipassana, or "insight" sitting meditation is popular at the centre and has gathered a wide following in the West as well as the East for its emphasis on being present in each moment. The Buddhist concept of "mindfulness", which is seen as the route to clarity, mental peace and wisdom, isn't light-years from the emphasis in Western psychology on the benefits of self-awareness and the shedding of "false skins".
Sunyata also offers visitors an entirely different sort of "escape for the day" when medical herbalist Clare De Freitas leads groups through fields and hedges on a search for local herbs. After finding, identifying and picking the plants, participants learn how to turn them into "medicine". Next month's herb walk will concentrate on plants that help fight winter ailments.
Organised events at Sunyata are run on an occasional basis and must be booked in advance. Call 061 367-073 or email sunyata@hotmail.com for de- tails of upcoming retreats and walks. Herbal walks cost £20 and one-day retreats vary from £20£30. Visitors may also rent the centre's cottage or studio flat for personal retreats or self- catering holidays.
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