What is 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.
What happens on a Buddhist retreat?
There will be periods of meditation, talks on aspects of Buddhism, as well as Buddhist rituals. As the retreat progresses there will often be more meditation sessions and longer periods of silence to allow for more reflection. There will also usually be small groups led by a team member in which you can share your experience of the retreat. We’ll expect you to fully engage with the daily programme and ask you not to bring work or study tasks.
Do you need to be a Buddhist?
Although Adhisthana is a Buddhist retreat centre, you don’t need to be a Buddhist to participate on some of our retreats. Some of our retreats (particularly our young people events) are open to people of any of level of experience but you’ll notice most of our events are only for Order Members and/or Mitras. All our events are clearly labelled.
Living Communally
Living communally is an important and enjoyable element of the retreat. We eat together and accommodation is in shared single-sex rooms. We require couples to stay in separate rooms from one another. 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.
technology, alcohol & drugs
During the retreat we ask you to turn off all mobile phones and not to contact anyone outside the retreat. The same goes for laptops, tablets and smart watches. If you need to be contacted in an emergency the phone number is 01531 641726 – we check this number daily. Please don’t bring alcohol or any recreational drugs onto the retreat.
Food and Restricted Diets
All the food at Adhisthana is vegan. We can only cater for genuine medical conditions and need to be informed each time you book. If you have a complex diet (i.e there are more than 3 things you can’t eat) we will contact you to discuss options.
Is thE retreat suitable for you?
It is important that you let us know if you have any serious health problems or clinical mental health problems. Please email and through discussion we can establish if this is a suitable retreat for you. Likewise, please get in touch if you or anyone you are booking for is under 18 years of age.
What to bring
Toiletries and a towel, indoor shoes (you may also want to bring walking boots), warm comfortable clothes, watch/clock, a raincoat and a pen and paper. Meditation gear (including the option of a chair) is provided. Unless travelling from overseas, we ask you to bring your own bed linen (single sheet, duvet cover and two pillowcases) – this helps us to save a lot of electricity and water. We will of course provide linen if you need it.