Retreat Programme
Chinese Zen Meditation Retreats, and More
We lead intensive meditation retreats at Maenllwyd our main retreat centre in Wales, and also at other meditation centres in England and Scotland. We also have facilities for solitary retreats.
Some of our retreats follow closely the traditional methods of teaching and practice, and others such as our 'Western Zen Retreat' include adaptations to match the needs of Westerners. We also use some Tibetan Buddhist meditation practices such as Mahamudra. Most of our retreats are silent retreats - read the retreat descriptions for details.
Download the full Retreat Programme Brochure 2008 as a pdf file.
The Application form is on the Booking Details page.
Retreat Calendar
(errors and omissions excepted)
Silent Illumination Retreat
September 6th - 13th 2008
Leader: Simon Child
Venue: Maenllwyd
Fee: £295 (concessions: £148)
This traditional week-long retreat will allow the time and space for serious practitioners to learn, practice and cultivate the method of Silent Illumination. Simple yet difficult, within this space you may encounter an opening that allows you to come to rest and find freedom, peace and lucidity. This is not a place to opt out but enables effective engagement with daily life. Facilitated in a kindly and supportive manner we will present the teaching and methods of Master Sheng-yen, through practice, talks and individual interviews. The format will be that of a full Chan retreat, rising early, a rigorous schedule of meditation and exercise, with work periods for food preparation and keeping the Maenllwyd (Grey Mountain) log fires glowing. In the still heart of Wales, join us for this intensive Seven Day Chan Retreat.
Five Day Chan Retreat in Devon
October 3rd - 8th 2008
Leader: Jake Lyne
Venue: Golden Buddha Retreat Centre, Devon
Fee: £210 (concessions: £105)
This retreat will be held at The Golden Buddha Retreat Centre on the Southern edge of Dartmoor. It will follow the same format as the Five Day Chan Retreat at the Maenllwyd (see description below). The Retreat centre, near the site of an ancient hermitage, is next to a small Dartmoor river. Bedding is provided in comfortable individual or shared rooms. Pete Lowry, Zen vegetarian cook, and South Devon Chan Group Leader will be cooking. Please book through the Membership Secretary using the normal WCF application form.
The five-day Chan Retreat is similar in format to the full Silent Illumination Retreat, based on the teachings of Master Sheng-yen, and the teachings of the Western Chan Fellowship. It is suitable for beginners, and for experienced practitioners who are unable to commit to the full seven days. There will be an emphasis on Silent Illumination practice, though you may prefer to work with the breath. Practice will be supported through meditation instruction, mindfulness in daily activity, community in silence, Dharma talks and personal interviews, together with all of the other features of a Maenllwyd Retreat.
Koan Retreat
October 18th - 25th 2008
Leader: John Crook
Venue: Maenllwyd
Fee: £295 (concessions: £148)
This retreat focuses on traditional koans as a means of training. This retreat is designed for Westerners based in the writings of Linji, Hsu Yun, Hakuin, and Dogen, and incorporates both Chinese and Japanese approaches in a fresh format. Previous experience of either a Western Zen Retreat or Chan/Silent Illumination retreat is required.
Audio Talk on Koan Retreat
Audio files of a talk on the Koan Retreat, given by John Crook in New York in March 2006. Total length 100 minutes, divided into two files:
Lo res files 16kbit, faster to download, about 5.7Mb each, sound quality adequate but not quite as good:
Hi res files 100kbit vbr, slower to download, about 37Mb each, sound quality better:
Mahamudra Retreat
November 15th - 22nd 2008
Leader: John Crook
Venue: Maenllwyd
Fee: £295 (concessions: £148)
An opportunity for practitioners to deepen their insight through an introduction to a profound Tibetan meditation system that originated in India during the richest period of Mahayana evolution. Preliminary exercises create the motivation for receiving an empowerment to practice methods evoking compassion and wisdom with humility and self-understanding. The retreat provides the first steps in "becoming a Buddha in one lifetime" through the mental yogas of the Mahamudra meditation system. Previous experience of either a Western Zen Retreat or Chan/Silent Illumination retreat is required.
Western Zen Retreat
December 6th - 11th 2008
Leader: Hilary Richards
Venue: Maenllwyd
Fee: £210 (concessions: £105)
A simple monastic regime enables the mind to face the major paradox - Who am I? - in creative mutual questioning. People work in turns with each member of the group in exploring this fundamental Koan. The intensive focus drives each into a self-presentation that is difficult to experience in other ways. The outcome may be a profound sense of the unity of self and possibly a direct insight into the 'ground of being', in traditional Zen considered to be a glimpse of Enlightenment. Whether or not such an insight happens, participants share a rich experience in new self-knowledge and understanding others. Open equally to beginners and established trainees.
Read Retreat Reports and Articles relating to the Western Zen Retreat.
General Information
- This programme may be subject to changes. Check this page for updates and amendments.
- Retreats usually start about 7pm on the first evening. Seven day retreats finish after breakfast, shorter retreats either during the morning or after lunch.
- Full directions will be given on booking.
- Before booking, you should read all the general information and links below.
The Western Chan Fellowship offers retreats providing training in Zen insight and fresh ways of being. The Maenllwyd Retreat Centre has been providing disciplined Zen, Tibetan and Chan (Chinese Zen) retreats for over 25 years. Participants need not be Buddhist, and indeed, probably the majority are not.
The programme of retreats with the Western Chan Fellowship provides a progressive series of events designed to deepen self-understanding and insight into the Buddhist path. Serious practitioners, and this includes beginners, are invited to take advantage of these rare opportunities for practice and self-discovery in an atmosphere of warmth and the cultivation of kindness.
Western Zen Retreats and Shorter Chan Retreats are open to beginners and adepts alike. Mahamudra and full Chan retreats are open to those who have already attended a Western Zen Retreat or an equivalent retreat. Details required on application.
These retreats are serious and quite demanding. Participants gain important insights into their lives and into the Buddhist path and many return for further retreats. Some indeed make these retreats their main practice. The atmosphere is caring and supportive and interviews (opportunities to speak to the teacher) are always available. You are welcome to enquire further when considering whether a retreat is right for you.
Retreats may be led by John Crook, PhD. DSc Chuan-deng Jing-di, Simon Child Chuan-fa Jing-hong, Hilary Richards, Jake Lyne, Fiona Nuttall, or Ken Jones.
- John Crook and Simon Child are both Dharma heirs of Chan Master Sheng-yen of the Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Culture, Taipei and New York, and are fully authorised teachers in the lineages of Linji (Rinzai) and Caodong (Soto) Chan.
- Hilary Richards is a long-term practitioner with Dr John Crook and Master Sheng-yen, is the past Chair of the Western Chan Fellowship, and leads retreats at Maenllwyd and at Gaia House.
- Jake Lyne and Fiona Nuttall are long-term practitioners with Dr John Crook and Master Sheng-yen, and are senior fellows of the WCF.
- Ken Jones has been for many years a prime mover in "engaged Buddhism" on which he has written three influential books. He is also a leader of intensive workshops and retreats. His prize-winning poems (Haibun) often appear in NCF.
- Retreat Booking
- Preparing for Retreats
- Bursaries (Concessions)
- Retreat Centres
- Daily Schedule
- Solitary Retreats
You may also want to read Reports on their Retreat Experience submitted by past participants in our retreats.
More Retreats
The following events are not run by the Western Chan Fellowship. However they are listed here since they may be of interest to visitors to this website.
The Zen of Relationship
with Ken Jones
Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th July 2008
At Hourne Farm, Steel Cross, Crowborough
Several writers, in the new wave of Buddhist books focusing on everyday life as the field of practice, have emphasised the importance of intimate relationship -- an emphasis far removed from the traditionally received quasi-monastic model. ("No sex, please -- we're Buddhists!"). On this experimental workshop retreat, based each on our own experience, we shall examine how relationship can become a major element in our practice. Our enquiry will necessarily include sex, romantic love, co-dependency and related topics. The event will feature talks and small group work on a foundation of meditation, with individual interviews so far as time may permit. Numbers limited - book early... we'll try for an equal gender balance.
Cost: £110 / £60 concession. The full programme and booking form is available from Stuart McLeod on 01634 571659 or email medwaytownschan(at)westernchanfellowship.org For more information about the retreat content, phone Ken on 01970 880603.
Introduction to Chan (Chinese Zen) Meditation
with Fiona Nuttall
Thursday 9th – Sunday 12th October 2008
At Hourne Farm, Steel Cross, Crowborough
In silent retreat the mind may calm and open, enabling the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. Whether you are already on the journey or are just beginning, a period of dedicated practice can give you a taste or a deepening of Chan insight. There will be teaching in Chan methods for newcomers, and ample practice opportunity for experienced practitioners. We shall rise early with a concentrated programme of sitting meditation and exercise sessions. Personal interviews will be available. Newcomers are particularly welcome.
Cost: £110 / £60 concession. The full programme and booking form is available from Stuart McLeod on 01634 571659 or email: medwaytownschan(at)westernchanfellowship.org
Overseas Events
These events are not run by the Western Chan Fellowship, but you may like to know about them.
New York, USA: Simon Child and Hilary Richards will lead a Western Zen Retreat in New York in October 2008 - keep an eye on www.dharmadrumretreat.org.
Simon Child will lead a five-day retreat in Poland in November 2008.
John Crook also leads retreats in Poland, Norway, and other countries. Contact John Crook. Phone/Fax +44 (0) 1934 842231 Evenings when available. teacher(at)WesternChanFellowship.org.
Background Reading
On Western Zen Retreats
- See: Chapters 8 and 13 in Space in Mind: East-West psychology and contemporary Buddhism (eds John Crook and David Fontana) Element Press 1991.
- See also retreat reports by past Western Zen Retreat participants.
- An article on the Western Zen Retreat.
On Silent Illumination and Koan Retreats
- Any of the works by Master Shengyen. Dharma Drum Press.
- With particular reference to Maenllwyd See: Illuminating Silence: The Practice of Chinese Zen Watkins.
- See also retreat reports by past Chan Retreat participants.
Audio Talk on Koan Retreat
Audio files of a talk on the Koan Retreat, given by John Crook in New York in March 2006. Total length 100 minutes, divided into two files:
Lo res files 16kbit, faster to download, about 5.7Mb each, sound quality adequate but not quite as good:
Hi res files 100kbit vbr, slower to download, about 37Mb each, sound quality better:
On Mahamudra
- See: Crook J. and J. Low 1997. The Yogins of Ladakh. Motilal Banarsidass. Delhi.
- See also retreat reports by past Mahamudra retreat participants.
© Western Chan Fellowship, UK, 2007. May not be quoted for commercial purposes. Anyone wishing to quote for non-commercial purposes may seek permission from the WCF Secretary.
This page was last updated on July 1, 2008