One of the best things to do when traveling to Sri Lanka is to take a spiritual journey or holiday. This can be the perfect anathema to the usual tiring holiday trips that travelers take. Instead of opting for the typical activity-filled travel itinerary, why not take it easy for a change and schedule a visit to religious sites or take a calming meditation retreat for a change.
Spiritual Journey
In Buddhism, a spiritual journey refers to a journey of awakening and understanding of the workings of the mind which is expected to release people from the prison which they themselves create with anxiety and fear. It is said that the ultimate goal is to remove all perceived limitations towards the perfect realization of infinite compassion, wisdom, and skill. In Sri Lanka, visitors can find spiritual enlightenment through spiritual holidays in meditation retreats.
What Do Meditation Centers in Sri Lanka Offer?
Visitors to Sri Lanka in search of spiritual enlightenment will be happy to know that there are many meditation centers in the country. There are those which services can be availed of for free because they are funded by donation. Others charge for the stay of individuals. A meditation center, depending on its size, can accommodate anywhere from 10 to 100 meditators at any given time.
It is expected to offer not only meditation guidance and services but also accommodation, meals, and other related needs. It has to be noted that visitors can stay from a number of weeks, months , or years. Everyone is expected to dress in white while in the center and this is usually provided to foreign visitors.
A typical daily schedule would include several activities like a series group meditation, yoga, breakfast, lunch, chanting, individual meditation, and discussion (not daily), before taking a rest. Meditation centers can help visitors in extending their visas in relation to their staying at the meditation center.
Kinds of Meditation Retreat
There are three basic kinds of retreat: physical, verbal, and mental. Physical retreat happens when people isolate themselves meaningless actions while verbal retreat happens when people avoid meaningless talk. Mental retreat seeks to prevent distractions and delusions.
The Nilambe Meditation Centre is a non-sectarian Buddhist retreat house near Kandy in Sri Lanka. Teaching is provided in the English language which should make it easy for foreign visitors to cope with the activities. Sri Lanka is an ideal place for these meditation retreats and can provide the perfect reason to visit Sri Lanka.
Originally posted on October 31, 2013 @ 1:31 am