David Beatty
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| About | Dhamma teacher & Mindfulness Practice Facilitator David has been for many years a student of Indian philosophy and ancient wisdom traditions, and his engagement with mindfulness practice and vipassana meditation began in 1981 during a long retreat on a small Buddhist hermitage island in southern Sri Lanka in the Theravada tradition. Many years travelling on the subcontinent, mainly as a photographer, allowed him the opportunity to explore the traditions, practices, and philosophies in which these more contemporary forms of practice are grounded. He also regards the contemplative practices of the Christian mystics, and the work of visionaries like Dante and William Blake, as exemplifying the authentic path of wisdom.
His recently published book (2020) The Island, A Mirror for the Soul: Journeys towards the heart of Dhamma, tells the story of this journey, and of his existential struggles with the ideology of secular materialism, exposing the pathologies of modernity. David Lorimer, Chairperson of The Galileo Commission UK and editor of The Paradigm Explorer called it ‘a chronicle for our time…not only as a searing critique of modern western culture, but also as a companion along the way towards a deeper sense of integration and oneness with life.’ |
| Practice Description | A long-time dhamma practitioner in the Theravada tradition of insight meditation, he is also a qualified Mindfulness Facilitator in the MBSR Programme in compliance with standards issued by BAMBA in the UK. He holds a Diploma in Relational Mindfulness from the Karuna Institute in Devon, UK, and received instruction on the foundations of mindfulness directly from Ven. Analayo, a Buddhist scholar and monk, at the Insight Meditation Society. Ven. Analayo’s translation of the Satipatthana Sutta is highly commended for its clarity of exposition, depth of analysis and engaged concern with the practice of meditation as a way of life. He is also on the founding team of MSC Africa (Mindful Self Compassion Africa) affiliated with the Centre for Mindful Self Compassion USA (Founders: Chris Germer and Kristin Neff).
David uses both Interpersonal Mindfulness to cultivate inter-being, and Mindful Self-Compassion in the courses he runs, as well as emphasizing the embodied nature of cognition. He facilitates nature retreats in the Aberdares old growth forest and at other locations which are often silent retreats. He reminds practitioners of the importance of allowing propositional thinking and superficial emotion to be ceded to transfiguration in the silence of the deep mind, a process that is at the heart of all the great wisdom traditions. In 2012 he founded the D.E.E.P. Centre for Diversity, Ecology, Ethics and Practice. And this year he has initiated The Baobab Tree Live Event at Kanga Studio, to generate conversations towards possible human futures. Starting in September 2022 on the first Friday of each month it begins with a series of thought-provoking films around Health, Well-Being, Consciousness and the Brain, the Pursuit of Silence, Indigenous Wisdom and Socio-Ecological issues. The aim is to generate lively conversations in a physical space where participants can interact around a topic to see what might emerge. In brief the aim is to create a space of participation held in a spirit of appreciative inquiry, and to cultivate wisdom and synthesis by reflecting on and engaging with the many daunting challenges facing humanity. email: [email protected] |
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