personal retreat
Mahamudra Centre is a teaching and retreat centre offering the perfect environment for short and long-term individual retreat.
​​What is ‘retreat’?
Solitary retreat involves ‘retreating’ from normal, daily activities, comforts, hobbies, routines and attachments so that one is free to look deeply within. Engaging in solitary meditation retreat requires preparation on both a mental and physical level. It’s important to ensure that personal affairs are in order and that there is the mental and physical space in life to commit completely to the experience of retreat.
Learn more about the purpose and benefits of engaging in retreat.
Mahamudra Centre offers its facilities for use by retreatants of different capacities for both short or long retreats. We welcome retreat applications from all Buddhist traditions and other contemplative faiths.
To support the retreat environment, we require that all people engaging in retreat adhere to the five basic Buddhist precepts and respect the protocols of the retreat centre.
Mahamudra Centre has 6 retreat cabins – each is self contained with living area, bedroom and kitchen and bathroom facilities.​
The Centre Manager provides discreet support to people in retreat as agreed and according to their needs. We strongly suggest that bookings are made well in advance of the time you actually plan to commence retreat.
short term retreat
Mahamudra Centre has several retreat cabins available for short-term retreat for those wishing to take time out and rejuvenate in the beautiful and tranquil environment of Mahamudra Centre.
​
The cabins are self contained, with kitchen and bathroom facilities. Our centre manager is available on site to assist you during your retreat.
Mahamudra Centre has several retreat cabins available for long-term retreat and the environment here is very conducive - quiet and peaceful.
​
The monthly rental is dependent on the cabin and is a special rate to support and enable practitioners to engage in retreat. This includes all utilities except gas and food, which will be billed separately according to individual use. Retreatants may identify sponsors to help defray expenses.
​
Retreatants order their own supplies and prepare their own food and our kind manager delivers groceries to the cabins as needed – weekly, or fortnightly. Communication between meditators in strict retreat and staff, including passing on the shopping lists, and managed via a note system that is checked weekly. Of course, more direct communication will handle any emergency situation.
​
Those who wish to apply for retreat at Mahamudra Centre please contact the centre.
You will receive an application form to complete. When it is returned the director will contact you to schedule an interview via Zoom or telephone. Applicants will also need to provide reference(s) from a fully qualified Buddhist teacher who can attest to their suitability for intense daily practice in a secluded environment.
long term retreat
ngodro (Tib); sngon ‘gro (Wyl)
The practices that prepare the mind for successful tantric meditation by removing hindrances and accumulating merit. These practices are found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and are usually done 100,000 times each; the four main practices are recitation of the refuge formula, mandala offerings, prostrations and Vajrasattva mantra recitation.
The Gelug tradition adds five more: guru yoga, water bowl offerings, Damtsig Dorje purifying meditation, making tsatsas and the Dorje Khadro burning offering practice.
​
-
Prostrations
-
Mandala offerings
-
Refuge and bodhichitta
-
Water bowls
-
Guru-yoga
-
Vajrasattva 100-syllable mantra
-
Samayavajra mantra
-
Tsa-tsas
-
Dorje Khadro Burning Offering
With a Stupa and private individual cabins, Mahamudra Centre is a perfect setting to complete some or all of your Ngodro.
preliminary practices