The mission of the Meditation Centre is to teach the theory and practice of meditation, help to improve physical and mental health and thus giving opportunity to increase the overall quality of life through both cultural and educational activities.
The meditation centre in Latvia is a result of inspiration and experience we have got at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Burma (Myanmar). The place for the center was blessed by Venerable U Acinna Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw during his visit in Latvia in 2009.
Although the capital of Latvia, Riga, is within easy reach only 150 km away, the anthropogenic impact on the environment is minimal and the territory is included in the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve.
The territory is surrounded by large tracts of forest in the east and river Ruja with its floodplain meadows in the west. This natural phenomenon has made it an important nesting ground and migration stopover for several bird species.
Single most important and fundamental factor for the Centre is the reigning quiet and tranquility of the surrounding area required for concentration practice combined with location that is easy to access and located in Temperate Climatic Zone.
Meditation is not only mental or physical exercise that let people relax and rest. It is even more that mental discipline or tool that let you widen your sight.
To explain briefly, samatha meditation trains the mind in one pointed concentration, leading to a deeply focused tranquility. This gives a sustainability and power the mind for the next stage of the practice, vipassana.
Vipassana is the only practice that can completely free us from the defilements of our minds which are the root of all suffering. In the preparatory stages of vipassana, the meditator is trained to see the subatomic particles which make up what we call the "body" and all material forms. It also discerns the separate mind moments which make up what we call "mind". Using this Knowledge and ability, he next dicerns his past lives and their causes.
In the final stages of vipassana, the meditator contemplates this ultimate nature os mind and matter as impermanent, suffering and non-self. When this insight becomes strong and powerful through repeated continuos practice, he may be able to uproot some of the defilements of the mind, which is the first of the four stages of Nibbana: the complete cessation of all suffering.
Whether or not the attains this stage, the practice of vipassana gives the meditator a wise understanding of all phenomena arising internally and externally, thus enabling him to lead his life in a deeply peaceful and wise manner.
You will find more information in our Readings section.