Day retreat with Bhikkhu Akiñcano

Why indeed? What do the suttas provide? How important are they? How can they inform my practice?

Take the Pāli word kāya ("body"). Which aspect of this very experience right here and now does this word actually refer to? Is there a right way (and a wrong way) of understanding this? How do the Pāli suttas describe this phenomenon? Can these ancient texts help to show me what it was that the Buddha meant by the practice of kāyagatāsati ("mindfulness of the body") that supposedly leads to the end of suffering?

During our time together, we will examine the meaning of the word kāya in the suttas in order to establish a suitable theme for quiet contemplation/reflection/meditation. The day will conclude with a talk on the more general topic of the importance of the Pāli suttas for Buddhist practice, with an opportunity for questions and open discussion.

Biography

Bhikkhu Akiñcano used to go by the name of Nick Dwyer. He lived in Brighton, working as a lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Brighton.

A few years after discovering vipassanā meditation, he gave everything up and moved into Chithurst Buddhist Monastery to became a bhikkhu. He was given the name "Akiñcano", which means something like "nobody" or "nothing".

In 2019, he left England and went to Sri Lanka, living for a year with Ajahn Ñāṇamoli in a place called Hillside Hermitage in the Knuckles mountains. He left there in 2020 and has since lived on his own in Bundala National Park in a solitary "kuṭi" (monk's hut) that was originally built in for the English monk, Ñāṇavīra Thera, author of "Notes on Dhamma" (2009, Path Press Publications).

Akiñcano and his old friend, Oliver Tanner, established "Dhammastudies", offering a year-long online zoom course called "Making Sense of Dhamma" (https://dhammastudies.thinkific.com). He is the author of "Making Sense of Dhamma: The Pāli Suttas Workbook" (2024, Dhammastudies) and a number of philosophical articles that explore the meanings of key themes contained within the Early Buddhist texts (e.g. mindfulness, the body, impermanence, matter). These are available to read on the Dhammastudies website.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Bodhi Tree Brighton