LCM - 7-Day Silent Intensive Chan Retreat

We are pleased to announce that Venerable Chang Wu will come to lead a 7-day intense silent retreat at the Claret Centre, Buckden Towers, near St. Neots, Cambridgeshire. The retreat is set to commence on 17^th August (Saturday) and conclude on 24^th August 2024 (Saturday). We are now accepting applications from individuals who are interested in participating. Please refer to the linked application form for details about the retreat. Due to the high demand in our past retreats, we will prioritise our volunteers and regulars. We will confirm your place as soon as possible. As all our volunteers have day jobs and are organising this retreat at their discretion and with their personal time, thank you for your patience.

Application Form


What to Expect

The whole retreat will be in noble silence, apart from Q&A and interview sessions. Silence means no speaking, no reading, no mobile phone or any digital devices, and no writing (other than essential communication). We will keep your mobile phone(s) secure for you during the retreat. We will share a number with you before the retreat as an emergency contact number for your friends & family.

During the retreat, we will start the day at 5:00 am and finish the last sitting at 10:00 pm. If you are travelling from a different time zone, we suggest you arrive a few days earlier to adjust your body clock.

The daily practice consists of a series of 30 to 40 minutes of sitting and walking meditation (either indoor or outdoor). In between, there will be light physical exercises, eight-form moving meditation, and simple stretching yoga.

There are individual interviews with the teacher, and also morning and/or evening Dharma talks given by Venerable Chang Wu.

The retreat may be intense for some, especially those who have never attended a retreat before. There is no need to stress as you will have plenty of time to rest, and our teacher and timekeepers will look after you. Three vegetarian meals will be provided (i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner). And we will share some housework-type tasks among us, e.g. assisting in the kitchen, cleaning and washing dishes.

Most of us will stay in a single room. Bathrooms are shared with other rooms. Bedding (e.g., pillow, duvet) will be provided by the venue. A limited number of tents are allowed by prior arrangement with LCM on a first come first served basis.



Retreat Teacher

Venerable Chang Wu is currently the Abbess of Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre, and one of the teachers of London Chan Meditation (Dharma Drum London). In the past 15 years, she delivered regular classes in Buddhist philosophy and meditation to a wide range of people from different backgrounds and age groups. She led regular intensive meditation retreats to seasoned practitioners in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada and various meditation centres in the USA, Mexico, and Taiwan. Apart from leading meditation retreats, she was a teacher of Buddhism and meditation practice at the Sheng Yen Academy and Dharma Drum Sangha University in Taiwan. In addition, she played an active role in organizing and participating in scholarly conferences and interfaith dialogue around the world.



Suggested Donations

Your donations cover the seven days accommodation, use of venue, full board vegetarian meals, use of meditation cushion & mat at the Chan hall, and relevant costs directly associated with this retreat (e.g., teacher's flight tickets, van hiring for equipment shipping). LCM does not expect to have any excess funds left over after covering the costs of retreat, but if any excessremains it will be small and will be used as a donation towards LCM (e.g., only £1K was left from the 2023 retreat, which is £30 per person on average). There are four tiers of donations, as shown below.  
 
*The event may be subject to change. Please visit London Chan Meditation's website for the latest information.