About being on retreat

On retreat we can leave behind the concerns and demands of our everyday routines. Away from the noise and clutter of the city, we can begin to truly relax and open up.

However, retreats aren’t just ‘holidays away from it all’. They are an opportunity to deepen our awareness of ourselves, others, and the world around us. Meditation, reflection, periods of silence, study and discussion enable the process of clarifying what is most important to us, and we can review how we really want to live. A retreat can therefore be challenging, intense and very rewarding.

At the end of a retreat we often feel more grounded, calmer and more alive. A new sense of abundance and stability emerges, where once there was some confusion and stress. We may find these qualities pervading the rest of our life, especially if we go on retreat regularly.

Introductory retreats are open to all, with appropriate meditation instruction provided. You don’t have to be a Buddhist or, indeed, have any intention of becoming one! As a Buddhist retreat centre, the resident team invite you to put aside your usual lifestyle and join us in a range of our practices.

On a retreat, you have the opportunity to share time, ideas and inspiration with like-minded people. Most people find a sense of community develops as the retreat progresses, and many form lasting friendships from their experience.

Retreat Life

Each retreat has its own programme – a spacious mix of communal practice and free time. It usually begins with supper at 6.30 on the first day, and ends with lunch on the last. A daily programme might look something like this:

7 am meditation
8.45 breakfast
10.30 communal activity: study/discussion groups or a talk
1.15 lunch and free afternoon – time for some rest or exercise, and to enjoy the garden and the local nature reserves
4.30 meditation
6.00 supper
7.30 groups or a talk, or meditation and puja
silence overnight till breakfast (longer periods of silence for more experienced meditators!)

Meditation

We practice two main kinds of meditation: mindfulness of the breath, and the cultivation of positive emotion, and appropriate instruction will be given on Introductory retreats. For all other retreats, you need to have experience of these meditations, as practised in the Triratna Buddhist Community – these you can learn at any other Triratna Centre. All our retreats include the opportunity to experience some Buddhist ritual (puja) – you are free to join in or not, as you please.

Our retreat calendar indicates introductory retreats, and, if you can’t find something appropriate here, has a link to further retreat centres. (Most of our retreats are for more experienced mediators, particularly for men who are preparing for Ordination, and Order members.)

Living together

We have an excellent resident cook, who provides a tasty and balanced diet of vegetarian (vegan) food; retreatants are asked to help with vegetable chopping, serving and washing up, and we all participate in keeping the place clean and tidy.
Longer retreats, and the Working retreats, have work periods built into the programme.

Booking

To ensure your place, you need to pay at least a deposit (or the full amount) now, and we’ll send a confirmation, together some suggestions of what to bring. We prefer any balance to be paid two weeks before the retreat, so that all financial things are sorted before you arrive. You can book online from this site with a credit or debit card: simply select your retreat, and follow the booking link. We can still also take cheques payable to FWBO Surlingham.

In addition to the full postal address, phone and email of each person booking, we need to know what meditation experience you have, and some other basic information. Accommodation is in shared bedrooms, and we need to know if you snore, or have other special requirements. It is essential that we know whether you have mental or physical health issues, and are on “serious” medication. Most special diets (for medical reasons) can be catered for, but please talk to us to beforehand.