What is a Buddhist Retreat?

On a Buddhist retreat you can leave behind the concerns and demands of your everyday routine. By being away from the noise and clutter of the city, you can begin to truly relax and open up.

At the same time our retreats aren’t just ‘holidays away from it all’. They are an opportunity to deepen your awareness of yourself, other people, and the world around you. They enable the process of clarifying what is essential in your life from what is merely ‘the business of living’. As such, a retreat can be both challenging and very rewarding.

People who go on Buddhist retreats often feel more grounded, calmer and more alive. If they go on retreat regularly, they find these qualities pervading the rest of their lives, and a new sense of abundance and stability emerges where once there was chaos and stress.

Periods of meditation, discussion and silent reflection all provide the context for this process. 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.

Our introductory retreats are open to everyone. That means you don’t have to be a Buddhist or indeed have any intention of becoming one.

The daily programme varies depending on what type of retreats you come on. But retreats generally include meditation, periods of silence, and other activities such as talks, workshops, study groups, and sometimes yoga. There are also short work activities, along with plenty of free time. Our retreats include some Buddhist ritual that you are free to join or not, as you please.

Our retreat diary gives details of our Buddhist and Buddhist meditaton retreats available this year.

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