Winter Retreat
Our annual 10-week retreat offers an opportunity for deepening ones meditation practice.
11 January 2024 - 21 March 2024
Leader: Karma Zangpo
Cost Information: These include full veggie/vegan board. All accommodation for our Winter Retreat is in a single room:
Up to 28 nights @ £30 per night
29 to 56 nights @ £28 per night
57 to 70 nights @ £26 per night
Course outline
The Winter Retreat on Holy Isle is an opportunity for engaging in dedicated meditation practice. We offer a supportive environment for all those wishing to engage in the Preliminaries Practices (Ngondro) and also welcome others from all traditions. It is important, however, that participants receive the relevant instructions for their practice before commencing a period of retreat with us
THE RETREAT STARTS ON THE EVENING OF THURSDAY 11TH JANUARY AND DEPARTS ON THURSDAY 21ST MARCH IN THE MORNING.
THE MINIMUM PERIOD FOR ATTENDING THIS RETREAT IS THREE WEEKS.
THE LOCAL FERRY WILL MAKE A CROSSING EACH THURSDAY THROUGHOUT THE RETREAT, WEATHER DEPENDING AND YOU CAN START AT ANY THURSDAY DURING THE 10 WEEKS.
Karma Zangpo - who has many years of retreat experience - will be present throughout the 10 weeks and available for support.
The Winter Retreat is designed essentially for individual practice, with people following their sessions in their own rooms, but all are welcome to join the daily Green Tara and Chenrezig group sessions that are part of the Holy Isle regular morning and evening schedule.
Lama Yeshe Rinpoche, Abbot of Samye Ling and Founder of the Holy Isle Project, asks that all people attending the Winter Retreat take advantage of this opportunity to practice by making a firm commitment to follow the retreat programme, keeping to the following scheduled times:
5.45 Rising Gong
6.00 - 7.00 Green Tara or Individual Practice Session
7.00 Breakfast
8.00 - 9.00 Work period
9.00 - 10.30 Individual Practice Session
10.30 - 11.00 Tea break
11.00 - 12.30 pm Individual Practice Session
12.30 - 2.30 Lunch
2.30 - 4 Individual Practice Session
4 pm - 4.30 Tea break
4.30 - 6 Individual Practice Session
6 - 7 Soup
7 - 8 Chenrezig or Individual Practice Session
There will be silence every day from 7 p.m. until 1 p.m. the following day.
WORKING WITH COMMUNITY
As many of you know, the Holy Isle Project is run by a team of resident volunteers and in order to support their participation in the Winter Retreat we shall ask all retreatants to help for an hour after breakfast with community tasks in the kitchen, house care or garden. We shall also set up a rota for each retreatant to spend a morning helping the cook prepare lunch. Depending on the number of retreatants and length of your stay this would most likely only be once every 3 weeks or so.
Applications to join the retreat:
Please do not use the 'Book now' button! Please send an email to holyisle.retreat@gmail.com indicating your background and retreat experience and your proposed dates. If you are new to the Holy Isle or the Winter Retreat, we may ask for further information from you or arrange to have a conversation.