Rosemary writes: 
This year in place of an Autumn residential sangha retreat at Lineham Farm there was a
non-residential weekend at the Centre, admirably led by Samanartha.
Maybe because there were relatively few of us in number, nine retreatants, it was a very intense and inspiring experience.
The first session began with this exhortation from the Ratnagunasamcayagatha Sutta:
'Call forth as much as you can of love, of respect and of faith!
Remove the obstructing defilements, and clear away all your taints!
Listen to the perfect wisdom of the gentle Buddhas,
Taught for the weal of the world, for heroic spirits intended.'
From the commitment and engagement of the participants throughout the weekend and the intensity and stillness of the meditation sessions this advice was really taken to heart.
The mettaful spirit was then aroused by a prolonged and harmonious chanting of 'Sabbe sattha sukhi hontu' :May all beings be well and happy'.
Samanartha encouraged us to use the first mediataion session to work deeply with the body. The second session was a metta bhavana practice. Samanartha reminded us that we are constantly bathed in the well wishing of all committed Buddhists, past and present, whose dearest wish is for us to find freedom. The third was a metta bhavana practice but with an additional stage of rejoicing in the happiness of a friend (mudita, sympathetic joy). We were encouraged to notice if we then experienced anything differently in the subsequent stages of the practice.
"This set us up nicely for the surprise practical element of the retreat"
This set us up nicely for the surprise practical element of the retreat after lunch.
We were tasked with mingling with the busy Saturday shoppers and noticing people who were having a good time.
On reconvening at the Centre we all agreed that the experience had not been the ordeal many of us had anticipated. Having a more open mind allowed us to see people differently and realise it was often our own interpretations and views that was getting in the way of connecting with the humanity of others. A salutary experience. The day was rounded off by Samanartha reading us an extract of a poem by Kenneth White which marked up the loveliness to be found even in unexpected places. There was a real sense of continuity the following day as all but one of us (due to illness) were able to build on the previous day's communal experience and inspiration. Again we began with communal chanting. This time it was the Maitreyi mantra to elicit feelings of metta. Again the morning consisted of three meditation sessions and in the last two Samanartha suggested that we broke the fifth stage of the metta bhavana into an additional stage and investigated more deeply than usual the equality of metta to the three people. It was a true privilege, and both instructional and inspiring to hear each others meditation experience in the group discussion after lunch. A wonderful weekend was rounded off by a version of the seven fold puja which was new to me. I particularly enjoyed the phrasing of the Precepts and the use of verses from the Bodhicaryavatara in the final section. I will definitely be using it for one of our full moon puja evenings. "It evoked the intensity I usually experience on a week long residential retreat"  I cannot recommend highly enough attending both days of a similar retreat, in the future. I felt it evoked the same levels of intensity of practice that I usually experience on a week long residential retreat. So, very many grateful thanks to both Samanartha for his inspired leadership and my fellow retreatants for evoking such a wonderfully friendly, supportive and inspiring atmosphere in which to practise, and their openness in sharing their experience. Back to top | 
We chant mantras to evoke a particular aspect of the Enlightenment experience. It therefore has a devotional aspect as well as freeing the mind from everyday concerns.
