Skip to main navigation Skip to main content Skip to page footer
Western Chan Fellowship logo Western Chan Fellowship logo
  • Home
  • About
    • About the WCF
    • Lineage
      • Lineage
      • Lineage Chart
      • Chan Master John Crook
      • Chan Master Sheng Yen
    • Teachers
    • Liturgy
      • WCF Liturgy
      • Retreat Centre Opening Ceremony
      • Mealtime Ceremonial
      • Maenllwyd Mandala
      • Heart Sutra Transliteration
      • On Pursuing that which Leaves no Tracks
      • Exhortation, Benediction
      • Heart Sutra
      • Diamond Sutra
    • Donations
    • Contacts
      • Contacts
      • Contact WCF Administrator
      • Avoid the spam folder
      • Keeping in Touch
      • Links
    • Gallery
    • Membership
    • History
    • Documents
      • WCF Documents
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Constitution
      • Policies
    • Supplies
      • Dharma supplies
      • Make a Meditation Bench
    • Search
    • About this Website
  • Retreats & Events
    • Considering a retreat? Read on:
    • Retreats & Events Calendar Select a retreat or other event from our calendar
    • General Retreat Information Pre-booking information and advice
    • Retreat Booking How to book a place on a retreat
    • Preparing for Retreats Preparing to attend a retreat
    • Venues Venue information
      • Shawbottom Farm
    • More Events and Retreats Non WCF events which may be of interest
    • Retreat Reports Reviews and testimonials
  • Online Activities
    • Online activities
  • Meditation Groups
    • Local Chan Groups
    • Local Groups Map
    • Birmingham
    • Bristol
    • Cardiff
    • Derbyshire Dales
    • Forest of Dean
    • Glastonbury
    • Hatfield / Welwyn Garden City
    • Kent
    • Leek
    • The Lizard
    • London
    • Manchester
    • Mid-Wales
    • Newbury
    • Nottingham
    • Portsmouth
    • Scottish Chan
    • South Devon
    • Swindon
    • Warsaw - Poland
    • Winscombe
    • Other Groups
  • Resources
    • Dharma Resources
    • Selected Articles Articles for newcomers
    • Retreat Reports Reviews / testimonials
      • Retreat Reports
      • Western Zen Retreat
      • Silent Illumination Retreat
      • Koan Retreat
      • Other Chan Retreat
      • Other Retreats
    • Dharma Library Many articles on Chan Buddhism, meditation and retreats
    • New Chan Forum
    • Chan Magazine
    • Free Books
    • Books Sheng Yen / John Crook
    • Reading Lists
      • Chan Buddhism Reading List
      • Buddhist Reading List by John Crook
    • Good Reads
    • Audio Video
  • News
    • News
    • Newsletters
    • Mailing Lists
  • Login
    • Login
    • Set Preferences
    • Registration
    • My Retreat Bookings

You are here:

  1. Western Chan Fellowship
  2. Retreats & Events

Western Zen Retreat

zafus

5 night Residential Retreat

7:00pm Saturday 29th November to
2:30pm Thursday 4th December 2025

Leader: Simon Child

Venue: Shawbottom Farm, UK

Booking: Book now

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.

Covid precautions for retreat

Please read our Covid plan which will apply to this retreat (unless we update it in the meantime). It requires some commitments from you, and some actions by you before the retreat. Please read and consider it before making your retreat booking.

Booking

Fees

  • Standard Fee: This meets our costs in providing your retreat place.
  • Supported Fee: A number of half-price concessionary places are available on each retreat, supported by our support fund. Select that option when making your booking.
  • Understanding fee options

Fees for this event

  • Standard Fee: £365
  • Login to view availability and fees for Supported Places

Make a Booking

  • Before you can book you will need to register and then login and return to this page.
  • If you are already registered, click the "Book online" link below. That will take you to login, then redirect you to the booking page to make the booking.

Places available: 4 or more:

  • Book Online
  • Book by Post

Essential Reading

  • Pre-booking information and advice on retreats
  • Booking and Cancellation advice, fees and supported places, terms and conditions
  • Preparing to attend a retreat
  • Covid precautions for retreats

Leader: Simon Child

Simon Child
Simon Child

Chan Master Simon Child, Jing-hong Chuan-fa, is the Guiding Teacher of the Western Chan Fellowship. He is the third Dharma Heir of the late Chan Master Sheng Yen. Simon trained for over thirty years with both Dr John Crook and Master Sheng Yen. He was the Secretary of the Western Chan Fellowship from its founding in 1997 until his appointment as Guiding Teacher in 2011.

Simon is married with two adult sons. His main career was as a GP. He also worked part-time as a Clinical Informatics Advisor for the National Health Service.

Shawbottom Farm

Shawbottom viewed from the hillside, isolated and standing alone in the valley
View of Shawbottom from the Roaches

Shawbottom Farm, known as Peak District Retreat, is a 23 acre (9 hectare) farm property. It nestles within a wildlife corridor connecting two nature reserves. It is in the south-west of the Peak District National Park in England, UK.

Shawbottom is between Leek (Staffordshire), and Buxton (Derbyshire). It lies up on the moorlands near the Roaches which are well-known rocky outcrops visited by walkers and climbers.

Shawbottom's buildings are modernised and converted to group accommodation, in particular for retreat accommodation. It is an ideal property for isolated rural meditation retreats.

It is secluded, with access via a private track which does not lead to any other properties. This reduces disturbance and interruptions, creating ideal conditions for learning and practising meditation.

It is not open to casual visitors, only for pre-arranged visits.

 

Show larger version for: Location map for Peak District Retreat at Shawbottom, just off the A53

Location

Shawbottom is about a mile from the A53 between Leek and Buxton, turning off near the Winking Man public house.

Address

Shawbottom, Upper Hulme, LEEK, ST13 8UQ, England, UK

Directions

Map and travel advice at Peak District Retreat website

what3words

///indulges.unfit.chuckling

The road gate entrance to Shawbottom
The road gate at the beginning of the track to Shawbottom

Accommodation

Upstairs there are four large bedrooms. These are used as small dormitories. There are also three bathrooms, giving three toilets and three showers.

The ground floor has a bedroom designated as an accessible bedroom. This can be used as an ordinary bedroom for two people.

There is an accessible wetroom with toilet, washbasin and shower. There are also two more bathrooms on the ground floor, one with toilet and shower, and one with toilet only.

In total there are six bathrooms, with five of them having showers. In addition, each of the four upstairs bedrooms has a wash basin.

Also on the ground floor there is a large kitchen diner. This has capacity for 26 people.

There is more detail and photos on the Peak District Retreat website.

Chan meditation hall
The meditation hall

All of the bedrooms offer long views across the surrounding countryside.

The building has been fully renovated and modernised. The insulation exceeds current standards. There is underfloor central heating.

The meditation hall is well-equipped. It has underfloor heating and a range of sitting options.

Meditation equipment

  • mats
  • kapok and buckwheat filled round cushions
  • various styles and sizes of kneeling benches, some of them adjustable
  • some kneeling chairs, and some different styles of upright chairs

Hearing loop

At Shawbottom Farm ('Peak District Retreat') the meditation hall has a hearing loop. This improves your hearing of talks and instruction if you are a user of loop-enabled hearing-aids.

Four recently hatched barn owlets on nestbox ledge, at Shawbottom
Two-month old barn owlets, ready to fledge and disperse
A group of red deer visiting Shawbottom
Some of the local wild red deer visit Shawbottom from time to time

Wildlife

There is a wildlife blog, and live barn owl nest box cameras.

Electric Vehicle Charging

There is a Zappi v2 EV charger. Subject to availability and operating condition you may use this to top-up your electric vehicle.

The charger has a tethered Type 2 cable. If your car has the older Type 1 connector you will need to bring a Type 2 to Type 1 adaptor.

Charging is at standard daytime tariff rates. Terms and conditions for use of the charger are subject to change without notice.


American Express Mastercard JCB Maestro Visa Debit
Powered by WorldPay
  • Retreats & Events Calendar
  • General Retreat Information
  • Retreat Booking
  • Preparing for Retreats
  • Venues
  • More Events and Retreats
  • Retreat Reports

©Western Chan Fellowship CIO 2011-2025. 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/Q487-479

View our retreat programme

September 26
Weekend Chan Retreat
Residential Retreat
2 Nights

October 4
Investigating Koans Retreat
Residential Retreat
7 Nights

October 25
Spiritual Faculties, Spiritual Powers
Day Retreat
 

November 15
Silent Illumination Retreat
Residential Retreat
7 Nights

November 29
Western Zen Retreat
Residential Retreat
5 Nights

December 7
Kent Chan Day Retreat
Day Retreat
 

 
Cookie Settings
X

We are using cookies.

We are using cookies on this web page. Some of them are required to run this page, some are useful to provide you the best web experience.

I accept

Individual Cookie Settings

Only accept required cookies.

Privacy Notes Imprint

X

Privacy settings

Here is an overview of all cookies used

Cookies for Statistics

Statistics cookies anonymize your data before use. This information will help us to learn how visitors are using our website.

Show Cookie Information

Hide Cookie Information

Google Analytics

Google analytics is a service which provides statistics and analytical tools that help us understand the activity on the website.

Provider:Google Inc
Cookie name:_ga,_ga_gtag
Cookie lifetime (days):365
Privacy policy:https://policies.google.com/privacy
Host:google.com

Save

BackOnly accept required cookies.

Privacy Notes Imprint

Sitemap

Contact

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Office 7511
PO Box 6945
London W1A 6US
England

https://westernchanfellowship.org/contact-us

Contact us

Credits

Sun icon by gravisio from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
Bed icon by IconMark from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
Computer icon by Jony from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram
  • YouTube