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  1. Western Chan Fellowship
  2. Resources
  3. Retreat Reports
  4. Other Retreats

Retreat Reports: Other Retreats

Not all of our retreats have been Chan retreats. John Crook was authorised to teach Tibetan Mahamudra, and from time we have hosted outside teachers from other traditions.

  • Person sitting cross-legged overlookinglandscape

    Daily Menu - A Cook's Retreat

    Anonymous | 2011-12-15

    Sunday

    Courgette, coconut and Lemon soup.
    Bread rolls
    Citrus and poppy seed cake.
    Mushroom and Lovage stew
    Creamy polenta
    Green allotment salad.

    The beginning of a Hua-Tou retreat, my first retreat of the year and I feel I really need it. Somehow, I’ve lost focus and cannot see beyond grey clouds. There is a nice group of people, balanced; John and Jake as teachers, which is quite a treat.

    I came a…

    Read more of: Daily Menu - A Cook's Retreat
  • Person sitting cross-legged overlookinglandscape

    Surrounded by Silence and Care

    Anonymous | 2005-09-18

    Solitary Retreat at Maenllwyd: Sept. 6 - 13th 2005

    On arrival, I felt overjoyed to be at the Maenllwyd and tears flowed on seeing the garden's bright flowers. The sign, "Free" on the outside toilet summed up my hopes and expectations for the week. Before unpacking the car I rang the mule bells, then went up to the Buddha room and lay down on the cook's bed in the alcove where I had planned to…

    Read more of: Surrounded by Silence and Care
  • Person sitting on stone block overlooking landscape

    Well There We are Then

    Anonymous | 1999-02-28

    Mahamudra Retreat February 1999, my Retreat Report

    My practice at home had been going well. I had read 'The Yogins of Ladakh' shortly after it was published and had enjoyed it very much. I particularly found Tipun's Notebook revealing. Often I have found the words we use not useful for me in working out where I am in terms of practice (a karmic problem). But somehow the Notebook approached the…

    Read more of: Well There We are Then
  • Pam Butler

    Learning to be a Zen Cook

    Pamela Hopkinson | 1998-06-01

    Driving home from the January Mahamudra retreat I thought obsessively about taking up the opportunity to cook. Finally, decided to drop it, not think about it for a few days and just see if the situation clarified.

    Next morning, the postman knocked and handed over a parcel. It turned out to contain a Christmas present from my brother - a teapot and a book on vegetarian cooking! I decided the…

    Read more of: Learning to be a Zen Cook
  • The Natural Great Perfection

    Nigel Farrar | 1997-10-01

    A 3-week Dzogchen retreat with Lama Surya Das: Canandaigua, New York, 1997

    Perhaps it was hearing John Crook talking about the Tibetan practice of Dzogchen which first sparked my interest. For some time I had been practising Tibetan Buddhism in the Karma Kagyu school, finding its gentler approach a welcome complement to the more rigorous practice of Chan/Zen. Dzogchen, which is sometimes referred…

    Read more of: The Natural Great Perfection
  • Person sitting on stone block overlooking landscape

    An Experience with Mahamudra

    Anonymous | 1996-11-30

    A particular attraction of this retreat was for me the possibility of examining the stages of meditation as it deepened. In order that the process of moving towards a reasonably quiet and spacious state could become rather less haphazard, I had been trying to identify progression in my own meditation. I found the Mahamudra immensely helpful in this respect, clarifying the exact point where it is…

    Read more of: An Experience with Mahamudra
  • Person sitting on stone block overlooking landscape

    On an Empty Hill - Not a Retreat Report

    Anonymous | 1995-12-01

    Walking across the hillside the fresh spring sunlight warmed the skin, the distant fir woods glistened and a pair of buzzards were playing in the sky.

    "Funny!" he said to himself, "I am not here."

    There were the feet, two of them, his feet, steadily pacing through the grasses; looking down he could see his coat collar and the binoculars hanging from their strap. Lifting his hand he observed the…

    Read more of: On an Empty Hill - Not a Retreat Report
  • Person sitting on stone block overlooking landscape

    Good Medicine Always Tastes Horrible

    Anonymous | 1994-07-31

    Tantric Retreat, Maenllwyd, July 1994

    Driving up to Maenllwyd, knowing that I would be asked, I tried to formulate the reason as to why I wanted to participate in the retreat. I couldn't really think of an answer and was quite relieved when not asked. With hindsight I think that I went because I was curious as to what "Adding Tantra to the Path" entailed and wanted to experience the same "high"…

    Read more of: Good Medicine Always Tastes Horrible
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©Western Chan Fellowship CIO 2023. May not be quoted for commercial purposes. Anyone wishing to quote for non-commercial purposes may seek permission from the WCF Secretary.

The articles on this website have been submitted by various authors and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the Western Chan Fellowship.

Permalink: https://w-c-f.org/Q774

View our retreat programme

May 24th
Investigating Koans
Residential Retreat
7 Nights
June 8th
Kent Chan Day Retreat
Day Retreat
 
June 28th
Mid-Summer Silent Meditation Retreat
Residential Retreat
5 Nights
July 18th
Silent Illumination Retreat
Residential Retreat
9 Nights
August 23rd
Western Zen Retreat
Residential Retreat
5 Nights
September 7th
Kent Chan Day Retreat
Day Retreat
 
September 26th
Weekend Chan Retreat
Residential Retreat
2 Nights
October 4th
Investigating Koans
Residential Retreat
7 Nights
November 15th
Silent Illumination Retreat
Residential Retreat
7 Nights
November 29th
Western Zen Retreat
Residential Retreat
5 Nights
December 7th
Kent Chan Day Retreat
Day Retreat
 

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