Will James
Insight Meditation
Will James attended his first Insight Meditation retreat in the late 1970's with Christopher Titmuss, a pioneer insight meditation teacher in the west, this meeting kindled a deep interest in meditation and Dharma practice.Will has studied widely over the years in various Buddhist traditions, Dzogchen, Zen and Insight (Vipassana) and has a deep love of the Buddha’s teachings and practices. At the heart of Will’s teaching is inquiry and insight into the truth of our experience.This insight reveals the freedom that is possible in each moment and the wisdom and compassion that can emerge through our daily life experience.
Insight meditation not only brings clarity and understanding to the Human condition but also softens and opens the heart bringing a deeper sensitivity in our relationship to life.
This sensitivity then expresses itself as care and concern for each-other and for all life in this time of social and environmental emergency.
Will is a guiding teacher at the Tallowwood Sangha in Bellingen and regularly leads retreats on the east coast of Australia. Will has been leading retreats for many years at Sangsurya in Byron Bay as well as annual retreats in Bali and has taught at the Dharma Gatherings in Australia and India. He facilitates Dharma Study Programmes in his local area, and is a Teacher Mentor for the Insight Meditation Institute’s teacher training programs.
Will’s retreats follow the ‘Insight’ format of Noble Silence: which enables one to reflect and deepen into the still silence, allowing us to see the habits and patterns that create ongoing suffering in our lives.
Sitting and walking meditation are an important part of the retreat experience. Meditation opens and expands the consciousness bringing a direct felt sense of the immensity of life. This experience confirms our interconnection and interdependence with each other and our environment.
Will’s insight retreats also include Dharma talks, these are a sharing of Will’s insights into the Buddha’s teachings and practices.
Dharma inquiry sessions, where retreatants are invited to ask and explore any questions or issues that they would like to inquire into with the intention of bringing greater freedom and clarity.
There is also the opportunity for group meetings and individual interviews with Will.
The retreat environment creates the ideal opportunity for deep spiritual practice along with support and guidance that can be a liberating and transforming experience.
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Upcoming Retreats
See https://www.tallowwoodsangha.org.au/events
Insight Meditation & Yoga Retreat
Bali Mountain Retreat Centre
May 18 - 24 2025
Will James & Angela McGee
For more info email Will
Download rego form
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The Path of Awakening
Sangsurya Byron Bay
July 19 - 25 2024
Will James & Radha Nicholson
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Living Dharma
Sangsurya Byron Bay
November 1 - 7 2024
Will James & Radha Nicholson
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Meditation & Inquiry
Sangsurya Byron Bay
December 13 - 19 2024
Will James & Radha Nicholson
For Bookings
Bali Retreats
This unique retreat is led by Will and Angela McGee and held at Bali Mountain Retreat Centre located high on the slopes of Mount Batukaru in Central Bali. This idyllic retreat environment enables one to relax and unwind and provides the opportunity to inquire into what it means to live in a free and liberated way.
Bali Mountain retreats offer an opportunity for participants to fully immerse themselves in the retreat experience, including a strong emphasis on meditation and Dharma Inquiry as well as Yoga philosophy and practices.
2024 marked the 10th annual Bali Mountain Retreat, with a greater inclusion and emphasis on Balinese spiritual culture, including:
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Welcoming ceremony with a local priest;
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the making of traditional ceremonial puja offerings to take to the local forest temple;
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participation in traditional Balinese ceremony led by Balinese priests;
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a night of Joged Bumbung dance
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Bali Mountain Retreat Centre set amidst coffee, cocoa and spice plantations has panoramic views down to the ocean.
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Cost
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$900 AUD Twin share accommodation
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$950 AUD Deluxe twin share
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$1100 AUD Deluxe single
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Inclusions
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6 nights accommodation at Bali Mountain Retreat with daily housekeeping
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Twim share accommodation, (single rooms available at extra cost)
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Pick up and drop off transfers to/from Bali Mountain Retreat
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Complimentary arrival drink & refreshments
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Balinese blessing ceremony upon arrival at Mount Batukaru.
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All meals (vegetatian) and include breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks.
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Refreshments are offered twice daily for morning and afternoon tea. This includes fresh fruit, homemade slice/biscuits and a cake e.g. banana cake as well as teas and coffee
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Complimentary drinking water for the duration of the retreat-fresh mountain spring water which is UV filtered
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Free WIFI Access (use own laptop)
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Complimentary Balinese massage (1 hour)
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Guided walk to the local Bali Hindu temple in the mountain forest
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Exclusions
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Airfares and travel insurance.
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Angela McGee.
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Angela began Yoga teaching over 20 years ago after training in the Sivananda tradition. Shortly after she came across the teachings of Krishnamacharya and studied in Australia and India with Krishnamacharya’s son,T.K.V Desikachar. This tradition plunged Angela into the study of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras which gave her a complete map of the human life, mind and heart, and an ongoing orientation for all her Yoga teaching.
Angela believes the ancient wisdom teachings of the Yoga Dharma are completely alive and relevant to contemporary life and can act as a guide to the potential for our liberation and freedom from suffering. Angela teaches Yoga therapeutically with an emphasis on one-one teaching, discovering how Yoga can fit the individual rather than the individual fit into the Yoga. She also teaches in corporate and community settings and has trained and guided teachers and leads a sangha in the Krishnamacharya lineage.
Alongside her Yoga path, Angela is also a Dharma teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition. She is actively involved in the Melbourne Insight Meditation community teaching local sanghas and on retreats.
Next Bali Retreat 18 - 24 May 2025 Download Rego Form
Dana
Dana is the practice of generosity to support the Dharma Teachings 

in the Buddhist tradition. These dharma teachings of wisdom and compassion are of such great value that one cannot put a price on them, they cannot be bought or sold in the market place, they are said to be priceless.
The teachings of liberation have been passed down through the generations by the ancient practice of dana: receiving and transmitting these teachings as a gift. All fees for Insight retreats are simply to cover the basic expenses, food, accommodation, travel and advertising.
The teachers do not charge a fee, the teachings are given freely. When we hear these teachings we are touched and moved, and the feelings of appreciation and gratitude naturally express themselves in the act of generosity by offering dana to the teacher, thus circulating and completing the gift. The act of giving is a declaration of mutual respect. Giver and receiver recognise they share the same fundamental values and concerns.
The gift takes us beyond the limitations of our normal self-interest and opens us to a life of mutual care, called good friendship (kalyana mitta) by the Buddha. The practice of generosity is one of the highest virtures in the Buddhist tradition, as within every act of generosity, there is also the act of relinquishment, thus cultivating the spirit of letting go.
The teachings, meditations and retreats offered through this website are all offered on a dana (gift) basis. 

