What happens on a Buddhist Retreat?

A Buddhist retreat is a chance to get away from the noise and complexity of modern life in order to deepen your experience of yourself and of the world around you.

We will have periods of meditation, talks on aspects of Buddhism and Buddhist rituals. We will also form small discussion groups in which everyone can share their experience of the retreat. There may be some periods of silence.

Here is a typical programme for a retreat day:

6.30am Rise
7am Meditation
8.45am Breakfast (followed by free time)
10.30am Meditation, Talk and/or a workshop
1pm Lunch (followed by free time)
4pm Discussion Groups
5pm Meditation
6.30 pm Dinner
8pm Talk and/or meditation and a ritual

Living Communally

Living communally is an important and enjoyable element of the retreat. We eat together as a community and accommodation is in shared single-sex rooms. We require couples to stay in separate rooms from one another. The team leading the retreat are volunteers who are on retreat as well. In order to enable us all to live together comfortably and to keep the retreat running smoothly, we ask everyone to help out with some simple chores. Our retreats are known for being friendly and harmonious; we ask retreatants to cooperate with one another and to refrain from harsh speech or anti-social behaviour. It is also important that retreatants commit to attending the full period of the retreat to maintain the integrity of the community and atmosphere.

Do you need to be a Buddhist?

You don’t need to consider yourself a Buddhist to participate. You just need to be open to exploring the larger issues of life and what they might mean for you.

Diet

The food on the retreat will be vegan. Please don't bring any meat, fish, egg or dairy with you. If you have a restricted diet then we must be notified as soon as possible and at least one week before the retreat starts. Click here for more information.