“It took me a long time to realize that I had to relax. The fastest way in meditation is balaced effort, which is actually very little effort and contentment and happiness and joy.”
– Beth Upton (Anuttara)
Beth was born in 1982 in London. She graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Economics, then in 2008 ordained as a Buddhist nun at Pa Auk Meditation Centre in Myanmar. She spent five years training diligently in meditation in the Theravada tradition under the guidance of Pa Auk Sayadaw, then a further five years training in other meditation methods and doing long solo retreats.
In 2014 Beth founded Sanditthika Meditation Community in the caves of Almeria, Spain. In 2018, after ten years of monastic life, Beth decided to disrobe in order to integrate some of the challenges of western life into her Dhamma practice. Beth has been teaching meditation since 2014 both in Almeria and in meditation retreats around the world.
Please enjoy our conversation with Beth Upton.
Content
- How did meditation enter your life? [1:40]
- How did you find the Pa Auk Forest Monastery? Beth talks about some of her experiences in the monastery. [4:23]
- How was being in the presence of Pa Auk? [11:40]
- Did you have other teachers there? [15:26]
- Did you have attachment to family and friends? How did you deal with it? [17:51]
- Retreats and meditation practice. [19:50]
- Experiencing that the Four Noble Truths are really true. [29:13]
- How did it feel to come back to normal everyday life after leaving the monastery? [34:27]
- Why did you decide to leave the monastery? [38:19]
- How did you decide to become a teacher? [44:08]
- What do you do now? How do you live? [48:43]
- Leading Dharma Circles that focus on relationships. [53:54]
- Advice for beginners. [1:02:46]
- What does your practice look like now? [1:04:17]
- Are there any books that you recommend? [1:06:47]
Selected links from the episode:
- Website of Beth Upton
- Retreats, Online Retreats and Dharma Circles
- Beth does all of her meditation teaching by Dana, which means she does not charge a price, and people can give whatever they can or whatever it is worth for them.
Your donation is welcome at https://bethupton.com/support-my-work/. - Pa Auk Forest Monastery
- Sanditthika Meditation Community in the caves of Almeria, Spain
- Sutta
Books
- Shaila Catherine: Wisdom wide and deep
