This is fabulous to know. Perhaps, we should take this information to Art of Living, Isha Foundation etc., and see if we can explore similar in India.
Regards, Srinivasu Chakravarthula - Twitter: http://twitter.com/CSrinivasu/ Website: http://www.srinivasu.org | http://serveominclusion.com Let's create an inclusive web! Lead Accessibility Consultant, Informatica On Thu, Aug 9, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Geetha Shamanna <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Rahul, > > Which meditation retreat do you wish to attend? There are those retreats > where some amount of talking is allowed, and then there are also completely > silent retreats such as Vipassana. > > I have so far attended three ten-day Vipassana retreats in Hereford, > England, and my experience has been extremely positive. They have a > sprawling campus in the middle of a forest, and the atmosphere is very > conducive for meditation. The Vipassana centre here takes accessibility > very > seriously. They even have an accessibility committee, which looks into > minute details for making the centre fully accessible to people with > various > disabilities. > > One is expected to strictly adhere to the code of noble silence during > these > retreats. In order to make this possible for a blind person, they provide a > fulltime assistant (they call them servers). On day 0 when a blind student > arrives at the centre, the assigned server meets with the student and > orientates her to the centre. The server also reads out the menu for > various > meals for all ten days, and the student can specify what she wants to eat > during various meals on all of these days. The server notes down the > preferences. This eliminates the need to discuss the menu at mealtimes. > In order to minimise talking, blind students are also encouraged to devise > various gestures. For example, if you need to use the washroom, tap twice > on > the shoulder of the server. And when the server arrives to collect the > student from the meditation hall, she can tap on the student's shoulder > once > in order to announce her arrival. These gestures do work. During the entire > duration of a ten-day retreat, I wouldn't have spoken more than two or > three > sentences. > > It is quite possible that Vipassana centres in India work differently. They > may also be more lenient about allowing people to talk during the course. > In > order to maximise the benefits you derive from such a retreat, maintaining > silence certainly helps a great deal. > > Several centres in India may also not be able to provide a dedicated server > to a blind student. It is important that you discuss arrangements with the > centre well in advance. There have been instances of some blind students > being turned down by various centres in India. > > Geetha > > -----Original Message----- > From: AccessIndia [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf > Of Rahul Bajaj > Sent: 07 August 2018 18:19 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [AI] Accessibility of Meditation Retreats > > Hi Everyone, > > I was wondering if any of you have gone on a meditation retreat and how > accessible you found it to be. > > I am asking this question because my understanding is that people largely > communicate nonverbally in such settings which is not viable for a blind > person. Also, one would need assistance in things like accessing food and > mobility. Would love to hear your thoughts about this. > > Best, > Rahul > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > > > > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
