Sangha Live online

Presence and connection is an online meditation course of three evenings, offered through Bodhi College and Sangha Live, led by Martine Batchelor and Ven. Dhammadinna. It explores mindfulness of the four elements (earth, fire, water and wind) together with the four immeasurable qualities of the heart: friendliness, compassion, joy and equanimity. It suits meditators who want a body-based, experiential way into Buddhist practice and who are comfortable joining from home.

What to Expect

The three evenings build on one another, moving from the body toward the wider world.

The first evening is given to establishing presence through the four elements. Rather than treating them as ideas, the practice is to notice and recognise earth, fire, water and wind within your own experience.

The second evening turns to the four immeasurable qualities. These are approached as an innate potential of the heart, and the practice consists in allowing them to blossom and become the basis of how we relate to the world.

The third evening asks how these explorations and practices carry into daily life.

The course works from the bottom up. It begins with shared embodiment, the elements we hold in common with other beings, animate or inanimate, and lets friendliness, compassion, joy and equanimity emerge from presence itself rather than being manufactured.

About Martine Batchelor

Martine Batchelor is a meditation teacher who spent ten years as a Buddhist nun in Korea. Born in France, she was ordained and studied Seon (Zen) Buddhism under Master Kusan at Songgwang Sa monastery. Her training also took her to nunneries in Taiwan and Japan. From 1981 she served as Kusan Sunim's interpreter, accompanying him on lecture tours in the United States and Europe, and she translated his book "The Way of Korean Zen". After his death she returned her nun's vows and came back to Europe, where she also studied mindfulness meditation.

She is the author of books on a range of subjects, among them "The Path of Compassion" on Buddhism and ethics, "Women in Korean Zen", "Women on the Buddhist Path", "Meditation for Life" as a primer on meditation, and "The Spirit of the Buddha" as a primer on Buddhism.

Leading Alongside Her

Ven. Dhammadinna teaches the evenings together with Martine Batchelor, and both are part of the Bodhi College teaching that hosts the series.

Before You Go

The evenings take place online, so all you need is a quiet place where you can sit and follow the guided practices. Because the three sessions build on each other, it is worth planning to attend all of them. The material does not set an experience requirement, and the practices of presence and of the heart's qualities are described in plain, experiential terms.