Buddhist Insights — Local services in West Orange

I attended a 1-day meditation retreat on a weekend. It was one of the most calming experiences of my life :) Helped me get back into my daily meditation routine.

More information if you're interested:

Event Details: 10AM to 4PM, Saturday or Sunday, It's Free (but you can donate when signing up or at the event). I signed up on eventbrite. They also have tons of other events, checkout their website. I received a confirmation email with instructions regarding timings and transit information.

House rules (Timings and Silence): Please try to come 15-30 minutes early as late-commers are distracting lol. You can spend time exploring the meditation room, the books, calming down and get some tea! :) We had to maintain complete silence throughout the event (not talk to each other, no phones, etc). P.S You can talk/whisper to the organizers if you have questions. They are extremely humble and polite. :)

Meditation: We had 4 rounds of 45 minute meditation sessions with 15 minutes breaks. They also provided free lunch which was one of the best vegan budda bowls I've ever had. Also..isn't that lovely!? :)

I highly recommend trying it out. Take a break and get away from the tiring mechanisms and daily grunge of this modern day life. Trust me, it'll be a great...

I have spent several years coming here on and off, long enough to observe the abbot closely.

The abbot’s teaching has serious flaws. His intellect is sharp, but his metta is weak. Over time his way has drifted far from the Buddha’s middle way. What he offers is heavy emotional repression and harsh asceticism, not the balanced path of the early teachings.

In his personal dealings with others, there is often a trace of anger in his eyes, whether he realizes it or not. His compassion is conditional: if you admire him, he shows it; if not, he withholds it. Many decisions that appear spontaneous are, in fact, deliberately calculated, yet he will present them as if they were entirely your choice.

A short stay here may still be useful, but I would not advise anyone to follow him long‑term. A true teacher embodies the Dhamma with compassion as well as wisdom; his conduct does not...

I helped out there for many mediation sessions and afterwards. I contributed whatever I could because I was grateful for the opportunity to learn. There were 2 monks, a man Ayya Suddhāso and a woman, Ayya Soma. Ayya Soma was lovely and informative. Ayya Suddhāso was aggressive and rude. It was difficult to believe from his responses that he was a Buddhist or a monk. He was so off putting that I stopped attending. I would hope that after years of daily meditation compassion and kindness would be high on the list of attainments. It didn’t seem so for him and his hostility was ruining my desire...