Chinese Zen Meditation Retreats, Silent Retreats

To celebrate 20 years of South Devon Chan Group we are holding a residential weekend at Karuna Dartmoor. This will be led by Alysun Jones who has led several stimulating day retreats for us recently.

The themes addressed on the weekend will be the eight worldly concerns, and the liberation offered by the three marks of existence of not self, impermanence and dukkha.

In addition to our online weekly meetings, we also offer the opportunity to meet in person for more extended periods of practice. This day retreat, with guest leader Juliet Hackney, will be held at the Bodhicharya Buddhist Centre in Rochester, Kent and the day runs from 10.00am to 4.30pm.

This day retreat will include sitting and walking meditation and other mindful movement practice.

The Diamond Sutra will be the source of inspiration for the day, giving ourselves the opportunity to experience its final verse:

"All composed things are like a dream,
a phantom, a drop of dew, a flash of lightning.
That is how to meditate on them,
that is how to observe them."

Silent Illumination is a profound meditation practice which leads to a mind of great calmness and insight, using ancient Chinese Zen methods which are just as applicable to the modern West. It is the origin of the Japanese Soto Zen practice of Shikantaza but is approached somewhat differently and full instruction will be given.

This seven-night silent retreat is an opportunity to learn and deepen this practice through intensive meditation, with instruction and personal guidance by individual interviews with an experienced teacher. Whether or not a breakthrough to Enlightenment may occur, establishing a practice gives a firm basis for subsequent ongoing mindfulness and compassion in everyday life.

Previous experience of a residential retreat is recommended. Serious beginners may also be accepted.

Read retreat reports by past participants of silent illumination retreats.

Who am I? Thoroughly confronting this question can take us directly to the centre of our being. Over the course of this five night retreat you will investigate the question "Who am I?". This is done within a standard retreat framework, using silent meditation in conjunction with a unique method of verbal inquiry. This format allows you to use words to go beyond words and thereby enter the main gate of Chan.

The intensive nature of this process of inquiry drives each practitioner into a self-presentation that is difficult to experience in other ways. To guide and support you, personal interviews with the teachers are offered regularly throughout the retreat. With whole-hearted engagement this retreat may lead to the acceptance of self, the experience of "self at ease," and may even provide an opportunity for direct insight into the ground of being.

Read retreat reports by past participants in the Western Zen Retreat.

Open equally to beginners and established meditators.

The ancient Chinese Zen practices of investigating Huatou and Gongan (Koan) are best practised in a supportive environment. As one becomes deeply absorbed in the practice in intensive silent retreat, mental constructions drop away. One is confronted by a realisation that one does not know the nature of existence, and one's fundamental assumptions of life are groundless. Staying with and cultivating this 'doubt', it can become all-consuming 'Great doubt'. Great doubt may 'shatter', with a direct insight into reality which may be what is known as an Enlightenment experience.

In addition to our online weekly meetings, we also offer the opportunity to meet in person for more extended periods of practice. This day retreat will be held at the Bodhicharya Buddhist Centre in Rochester, Kent and the day runs from 10.00am to 4.30pm.

The day of practice will include sitting and walking meditation, and other mindful movement practices. The day is best suited to anyone with prior experience of meditation practice, and we recommend you should have attended a weekly WCF class before attending.

The profound Chan meditation practice of mozhao* or in the words of Master Sheng Yen ‘method of no method’ is the origin of the Zen practice of Shikantaza or ‘just sitting’. In this retreat we will go back to the root and practise Zen adopting the original Chan approach to meditation, tailored to be applicable to modern times.

This five-night silent retreat in central Scotland is suitable for beginners and experienced meditators. Intensive meditation, meditation guidance and individual interviews with an experienced teacher create the conditions for personal reflection and a deep exploration of this practice. Mozhao meditation is a doorway to awakening of insight and compassion and stabilises mindfulness, leading to beneficial effects in everyday life.

* Mozhao was translated by Rev. Jiyu Kennett as Serene Reflection

Silent Illumination is a profound meditation practice which leads to a mind of great calmness and insight. We use ancient Chinese Zen methods which are just as applicable in the modern West. It is the source of the Japanese Soto Zen practice of Shikantaza but is approached somewhat differently. Full instruction will be given.

This seven night silent retreat is an opportunity to learn and deepen this practice through intensive meditation. You will be supported by instruction and personal guidance by individual interviews with an experienced teacher. Whether or not a breakthrough to Enlightenment may occur, establishing a practice gives a firm basis for subsequent ongoing mindfulness and compassion in everyday life.

Who am I? Thoroughly confronting this question can take us directly to the centre of our being. Over the course of this five night retreat you will investigate the question "Who am I?". This is done within a standard retreat framework, using silent meditation in conjunction with a unique method of verbal inquiry. This format allows you to use words to go beyond words and thereby enter the main gate of Chan.

The intensive nature of this process of inquiry drives each practitioner into a self-presentation that is difficult to experience in other ways. To guide and support you, personal interviews with the teachers are offered regularly throughout the retreat. With whole-hearted engagement this retreat may lead to the acceptance of self, the experience of "self at ease," and may even provide an opportunity for direct insight into the ground of being.

In addition to our online weekly meetings, we also offer the opportunity to meet in person for more extended periods of practice. This day retreat, with guest leader Dan Meron, will be held at the St Benedict's Centre in West Malling, Kent and the day runs from 10.00am to 4.30pm.

The day of practice will include sitting and walking meditation, and other mindful movement practices. The day is best suited to anyone with prior experience of meditation practice, and we recommend you should have attended a weekly WCF class before attending.

The ancient Chinese Zen practices of investigating Huatou and Gongan (Koan) are best practised in a supportive environment. As one becomes deeply absorbed in the practice in intensive silent retreat, mental constructions drop away. One is confronted by a realisation that one does not know the nature of existence, and one's fundamental assumptions of life are groundless. Staying with and cultivating this 'doubt', it can become all-consuming 'Great doubt'. Great doubt may 'shatter', with a direct insight into reality which may be what is known as an Enlightenment experience.

To progress in these methods requires a sustained focus. Therefore this retreat is recommended particularly for those with previous experience of intensive retreat. Prior attendance at a Western Zen Retreat is advisable. Serious beginners may also be accepted.

Silent Illumination is a profound meditation practice which leads to a mind of great calmness and insight. We use ancient Chinese Zen methods which are just as applicable in the modern West. It is the source of the Japanese Soto Zen practice of Shikantaza but is approached somewhat differently. Full instruction will be given.

This seven night silent retreat is an opportunity to learn and deepen this practice through intensive meditation. You will be supported by instruction and personal guidance by individual interviews with an experienced teacher. Whether or not a breakthrough to Enlightenment may occur, establishing a practice gives a firm basis for subsequent ongoing mindfulness and compassion in everyday life.