Suttavāda Foundation Newsletter October 2021
Dear fellow travelers in the Dhamma.
Much is happening here at Suttavāda Foundation, and we wanted to take this opportunity to share some news with you.
First and foremost – Today, October 16th there will be a live QA at 13:00 St Louis Time, 20:00 Central Europe Time. Direct Zoom link here, Zoom ID 862 6992 0831, Passcode: dhamma
Physical Retreats – Registrations opening up
Netherlands – Delson Armstrong will guide physical retreats in many different locations in the world. The kickoff will be a short weekend retreat in the Netherlands from Friday November 12 until Monday November 15. The retreat is fully booked, but you’re welcome to add yourself to the short waiting list, as there may be cancellations. Registration is possible until October 29. For more information and registration, click here.
Easter Retreat California – Following the tradition of the annual Easter California retreat guided by Bhante Vimalaramsi, Delson Armstrong will now guide the Easter Retreat scheduled from April 10 to April 20 2022. Information can be found here and registrations will open October 30, 9AM Pacific Time here
More physical retreats are being scheduled for 2022 and when they open for registration, we will inform you through the website and newsletters. Also, we welcome any offers from people who want to organize a retreat in any part of the world. If you’re inclined, please feel welcome to contact us (info@suttavada.foundation) and we can start planning this together.
The tentative schedule for the coming months is:
- November 12 – November 15, 2021, weekend retreat in the Netherlands
- January 28 – Feb 6, 10-day retreat in Belgium
- February 11 – Feb 20 – 10-day retreat in Italy
- March 2022, 10-day retreat in Mexico
- April 2022, 10-day Eastern retreat in northern California
- May 2022, two 10-day retreats in Kyrgyzstan
Other possible locations for later in the year which are being considered include India and Singapore.
Online Retreats
The online retreats have started again, using Zoom for individual interviews and group sessions, in which meditators can ask questions. They will either be guided by Delson or by Syl, and sometimes they will both be present 
. The next online retreat starts October 26, where the daily individual interviews will be held by Syl, while the group sessions will be hosted by both Delson and Syl. More information and registration here
Dhamma talks
We have returned with Dhamma talks, which are live streamed to our YouTube channel. Schedule can be found here. Delson recently gave a talk about the basics of our practice, for a local Zen community in the Netherlands. It was well received and live streamed to YouTube. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/m2rb8dv5q08
Today October 16th there will be a live QA at 13:00 St Louis Time, 20:00 Central Europe Time. Direct Zoom link here, Zoom ID 862 6992 0831, Passcode: dhamma
Book A Mind Without Craving
We are working on the finishing touches of Delson’s first book A Mind Without Craving. We plan to publish the book in physical format and online distributions. In it you will find information valuable when doing a retreat, day by day. It may help you with a deeper understanding of the suttas and the practice itself. It contains explanations of key principles from the suttas and meditator experiences. If you would like to donate to make the publication possible, you can find more information here
Dāna
On our Dāna page you can see the various projects we are currently working on, and to which you can donate. We’d like to highlight that Delson lives by the dhamma, and fully relies on dāna for his livelihood. Any contribution (one-time or recurring) is highly appreciated 
Opportunities to meet fellow meditators and teachers
- You can join the Dhamma talks through Zoom, and ask questions afterwards.
- There are weekly Zoom group meetings that are recorded for our sister YouTube channel called the TWIM Meditators Support Group. Here, it starts with a meditation session, followed by either a Dhamma talk (different guest speakers), a topic to discuss, or a Q&A session. There will be a temporary break after October 3, until December 5. The information on how to join them is published on this Telegram Channel, where different opportunities for Dhamma are announced. While Telegram is a chat app, just like WhatsApp, this channel is purely for announcements of get-togethers, Dhamma talks, newly uploaded earlier talks, and more.
- There is a group on the web which has been around for many years. Here, practioners, teachers, and monastics discuss the practice and the dhamma.
- There is also a support group on Telegram, where the basics of the meditation practice, as well as suttas, are discussed in an informal way. This group is not publicly listed. To join, please mail your Telegram username and we will add you. You can also connect directly with Syl on Telegram at @Syl_6R
Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to reach out to us. You can find the contact form on the website, and we will do our best to reply as soon as possible.
That’s it for now
Thank you for reading and for your ongoing support for Delson’s livelihood and the Suttavāda Foundation. It makes us incredibly happy, and it inspires us to continue providing you with many opportunities to deepen your practice, while keeping the Dhamma free for all beings. Sādhu, Sādhu, Sādhu!
With mettā and a smile,
Koen, Khin, Pablo and Syl
