MARTINE BATCHELOR was a Buddhist nun in Korea for ten years. She studied Seon Buddhism under the guidance of the late Master Kusan. She translated his book The Way of Korean Zen. Following Master Kusan’s death she returned her nun’s vows and left Korea to come back to live in Europe where she also studied insight meditation.  She is the author of different books showing her interest in various subjects from Buddhism and ethics as in The Path of Compassion to Buddhism and women thus Women in Korean Zen.  For Martine practice only makes sense if it is intimately related and applied to daily life this is why she wrote Let go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits.  In a recent book she presents in a simple and comprehensive manner The Spirit of the Buddha.  Her latest book is What is this? Ancient Questions for Modern Minds.

Recently she started to explore in depth mindfulness of vedana (feeling tone) and has written a few academic articles on the subject. One is included in “The definition, Practice and Psychology of Vedana” edited by Martine Batchelor and John Peacock.

She has also been involved with the Silver Sante Study which is a large scientific European study of both meditation and foreign language learning to see if meditation could help seniors’ well-being  (https://silversantestudy.eu/ https://silversantestudy.fr/).  She teaches meditation retreats worldwide.  She is on the faculty of the Bodhi College (https://bodhi-college.org/).  As people seems to points out often, she is practical and precise in her teaching which is seemingly simple but deep.  She is interested in photography and art.  She is a multi-choice teacher who is interested in what works for people and help them to develop their creative potential for wisdom and compassion for themselves and others.

Knowing How it Feels: Creatively engaging with Habits

This workshop will be an in-depth study and practice of mindfulness of feeling tones, also known in the ancient Pali language as vedana. Vedana refers to the tonality we experience upon contact with sense objects through the six senses, which we can experience as pleasant, unpleasant or neither pleasant nor unpleasant.  Because tonalities activate our habitual reactions they trigger us fast and can plunge us into overwhelming painful mental or emotional states. Cultivating mindfulness of feeling tones gives us the opportunity to be calmer and clearer.  This help us to move from reactivity to creative engagement thus allowing us to let go of our limiting habits.  The workshop will explore how many aspects of our life are impacted by feeling tones like consciousness, emotions, ethics, internet use, relationships and work.