“I am starting to gain more of an in-depth knowledge about the purpose of life”

“She also offered something, which had the ability to touch on profound insights and realisations”

I have attended various retreats before including a 10 day traditional Vipassana course in India. So, I can reflect upon those intense and very strict practices, which I personally did find very powerful. Nevertheless, I know they are not accessible for the average people with jobs and family commitments or even the ability to sit crossed legged for so many hours a day!!! That’s why I found this one day silent retreat with Supawan Green, to be a very fun and especially light hearted approach. At the same time, she also offered something, which had the ability to touch on profound insights and realisations. There is no doubt this was because of the way Supawan structured the day, which transformed what would normally be quite difficult Buddhist teachings for westerners to digest, into something more accessible and we could realistically relate to.

With her great use of analogies, role play, clear illustrations and personification to describe the abstract and even transcendental ideas and concepts, all these tools successfully direct us to our own realisation as how we create suffering for ourselves and others. Supawan described the various layers and attributes of the ‘mental self’ we don’t know of, which she confidently connected to the familiar term of ‘consciousness’, ‘the core of life’ ‘the 6th sense’ and emphasised that such inner nature is ‘our true self’. This perspective suddenly made a lot of sense to me. Regarding the practice, Supawan clearly pointed out where and how certain feelings and sensations arise from, which certainly help with the mindfulness practice.

These are all parts of the process of practising mindfulness that I found Supawan’s course structure for this retreat very well provided. Supported with her interesting passionate dialogue, video presentation, various practical exercises throughout the day including learning the 18 movements of Tai Chi Qi Gong after lunch preventing us from the unbearable drowsiness, I found all these practices most beneficial as they gave actual individual experience of various sensations happening in our body and mind.

In summary, I found this one day learning to be very well structured and easy to grasp especially for someone with no or very little background on Buddhism. This course is particularly useful for those who have limited time and would like to go straight into the essence of Buddhism and the practice of mindfulness so that they can make use of the wisdom and the practice in their daily lives. Finally, it could also be for those who just would like to take a step out of the day to day stresses and have a taste of some pure and simple inner peace as an alternative way for relaxation.

— Gavin Moles (Kings Bromley)

“Your method really gets to the core of what this is all about”

An excellent and informative day at the Silent retreat on Saturday. Your course outline certainly has me engaged and hopefully the others too. This is what this and other Thai Temples in the UK seem to be lacking to reach out to a western audience and in time hopefully the Sangha will see the value of this also.

Your approach was very direct and left no room for ambiguity which is much needed. The analogy of Tom & Jerry and our minds really did take me by surprise. When you first mentioned this a few weeks ago, I was very sceptical of using such terminology in this area, however listening to your talk on Saturday has totally changed my view on this and I can now see its effectiveness through its simplicity. Having studied mindfulness for some years now, there are many different approaches all using different terminology and often overcomplicating the practise. Your method really gets to the core of what this is all about and will no doubt enhance the lives of those who can attend the classes and follow up with their own practise.

The simple instruction ‘don’t answer back to Jerry’ is an invaluable one, to anyone practising mindfulness. By not answering back, we simply recognise ‘Jerry there’, we don’t push him away, try to ignore him or engage him.

Those who already have an understanding of mindfulness and the nature of our minds will know what happens if we engage Jerry. As always, simple but not easy without practice. However, I’m sure with your guidance, the students will learn to trust and stay faithful to the instructions/techniques and see the rewards within all areas of their lives.

Take care and speak to you soon

– James (Nottingham)

“It has opened my eyes up to the truth of inner peace”

“For the first time I experienced a glimpse of what it’s like for my mind to feel completely still, empty and free from thoughts”

I would like to say a heartfelt “thank you” to Supawan Green for your teaching’s of meditation and Tai Chi at the retreat on Saturday. Upon meeting you at the Dhamma talk on Thursday, you taught a technique of meditation that I found more effective in enabling me to hold my concentration and for the first time I experienced a glimpse of what it’s like for my mind to feel completely still, empty and free from thoughts, which I again experienced at the retreat. It was emotional to experience that, for what I think was the first time ever for me and to realise that it is possible to achieve a state of ‘peace of mind’ with your meditation techniques. Your wisdom, passion and kindness comes across in your teachings and I really enjoyed the experience. I write this to thank you and hope that others can find your methods of teaching meditation helpful too and to experience a state of ‘peace of mind’ for themselves.

With metta,
Jennie