Taking art of mindfulness to schools, universities and Parliament
Mindfulness when walking: Bandaranayakapura Primary School students
Sati is mindfulness in Pali. To be mindful is to live in the present moment and experience it consciously through one’s senses. The Sati Pasala programme launched with the aim of sharing mindfulness with students, teachers, private and public sector personnel and other communities within and outside Sri Lanka is now being practised in schools around the country.
The not-for-profit initiative that welcomes everyone is conducted by the Sati Pasala Foundation which is managed by a team of mindfulness practitioners and professionals who are dedicated to sharing the understanding and practice of mindfulness.
Conceptualized by the Most Venerable Uda Eriyagama Dhammajiva Maha Thera, Sati Pasala was started in 2016. Currently there are 101 schools and three pirivenas registered under Sati Pasala and around 100 workshops have been conducted. Sati Pasala programmes have also been conducted overseas. The Sati Pasala Foundation functions with a body of 15 volunteers. In addition to Dhammajiva Maha Thera, the advisory board of Sathi Pasala includes former head of the Anglican Church, Bishop Duleep De Chickera and members of the Muslim and Hindu clergy.
Mindfulness is a teaching common to many religions of the world yet it is not associated with any religious ritual, said President of the Sati Pasala Foundation Harsha Gunasena. Sati Pasala teaches Sati Maatra which is a practice of mindfulness that is different from traditional meditation. While retreats were being conducted for lay people, Dhammajiva Maha Thera believed that it was easier to train children. Adults have been exposed to more things and always try to theorize what they feel in contrast to children who respond to their experiences in a simple and basic way, said Mr. Gunasena.
Mindfulness when eating: A training session for Parliament staff
Under the purview of Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, a group of teachers from national schools islandwide were trained on practices of mindfulness. The concept has also been shared with the National Institute of Education. Dr. Tara De Mel, former secretary to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education is also a dedicated volunteer of Sati Pasala.
Sati Pasala has been approached by medical professionals to conduct programmes on mindfulness which can be shared with their patients as a tool of stress reduction, added Mr. Gunasena who said that the programme has even been taken to Parliament. As the first step Sati Pasala conducted a programme for Parliament staff which had around 300 participants.
After the participants are briefed about mindfulness and the programme, activities on mindful breathing, sitting, walking, listening and eating are conducted. Mindful games are also a part of the programme, Mr. Gunasena said.
In order to rest your mind you have to keep it in one place. That one place is the present moment and when the mind is brought to the present the mind is relaxed, he added. Sati Sarasaviya has been launched for university students. Mr. Gunasena believes that mindfulness is a great tool to deal with issues like ragging.
Sati Pasala promotes the idea of student centric learning. It uses a feedback questionnaire to evaluate its progress and understand the experience of the students.
Since it is a volunteer based organisation and is entirely dependent on donations, Sati Pasala Foundation functions with limited financial and human resources. Currently, there is only one Tamil medium trainer under Sati Pasala. To join hands with Sati Pasala, and for more information visit www.satipasala.org. Schools, universities and other organizations can register for Sati Pasala by following the contact information available on the website.
| Global Mindfulness Summit 2018 The Global Mindfulness Summit 2018 organised by the Sati Pasala Foundation was held on February 24 and 25 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute with President Maithripala Sirisena inuguarting the sessions. Foreign and local dignitaries and clergy including Ven. Henepola Gunaratana, Ven. Yogavacara Rahula, Ven. Dhammajiva, Ven. Bhikkhuni Tathaloka, Bishop Duleep De Chickera, Swamiji Dharshan, Ash Sheikh Faleel, Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, MP M.A. Sumanthiran, Jamie Bristow, Dr. Palitha Kohana and Jezima Ismail were present. | |