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7 Day Chan Meditation Retreat Ireland

Mon 28 Jul 2025 15:00 - Mon 4 Aug 2025 11:00 Moyhastin, Wesport, County Mayo, F28DR31

7 Day Chan Meditation Retreat Ireland

Mon 28 Jul 2025 15:00 - Mon 4 Aug 2025 11:00 Moyhastin, Wesport, County Mayo, F28DR31

Description:

This is a residential Chan Buddhist (Chinese Zen) Meditation Retreat, which incorporates the basic principles of Chan Buddhism, and offers opportunities for comprehensive meditation practice. The retreat is 7 days (7 nights) in length and will be led by Guoxing Bhikshuni from Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Monastery in Taiwan.

This retreat will be held in silence and will include sitting mediation as well as periods of walking and moving meditation, mindful work practice, chanting, and gentle yoga exercises. The retreat will include opportunities for individual guidance (interviews) with the teacher regarding the method of practice, as well as daily Dharma talks to illustrate points of meditation and Chan. 

In order to support one another and benefit fully from the practice, we ask all participants to follow the retreat schedule in full. 

Chan (Zen)  is lively wisdom, experienced in one’s everyday life. Chan meditation practices develop a foundation of calmness and awareness for practitioners to deepen their understanding of Buddhist concepts, cultivate compassion and wisdom, and to realise Chan in everyday life. This practice of meditation also benefits people physically, psychologically and spiritually.

Level of experience: suitable for both beginners and more experienced practitioners. Please indicate level of experience in the form so we can best assist you. 

IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE: After registering you will receive an email which includes a retreat form - you must fill this out and return to us. The information included in this form is important for us to ensure the smooth running of the retreat. Once we have received the form we can confirm your place on this retreat. Thank you.


Additional guidelines for this retreat:

  • We will be collecting phones at the beginning of the retreat and returning at the end. If you use your phone as a timepiece or alarm please bring an alternative watch or alarm clock. Everyone is asked to hand in their phone unless there are extenuating circumstances. In case of any emergencies, friends or family members can contact the retreat manager and they will pass any messages to you.

  • Three communal meals a day will be served: breakfast and a substantial main meal for lunch, followed by a lighter dinner.  All meals will be vegetarian. We also will not be cooking or serving any onions, garlic or leek. We can cater to lactose and gluten intolerance (please let us know beforehand on the registration form). We can not guarantee catering for other allergies but please indicate in the form any other allergies and we will try our best to help you.

  • There is limited indoor accommodation available for this retreat. All rooms are shared (segregated by female and male). If you are physically capable please consider one of the camping options so that those who are older and less physically able can avail of indoor bedding. Indoor accommodation will be allocated based on age and physical ability first and afterwards rooms are allocated based on a first come first-served basis (we try to guarantee anyone age 50+ can avail of indoor bedding)

Cost/Donation:

In line with Buddhist principles of Dana (generosity), this retreat is offered on a fully-donation basis. Donations are made voluntarily to support the costs involved in running this kind of retreat. 

There are, of course, costs involved in running a retreat like this as we need to cover the cost of location rental, food and other necessities.  We have calculated that the bare minimum in order to break even for this retreat in terms of food, accommodation rental,  petrol costs for lifts and shopping, and other costs would be €245 for the full retreat, or €35 a night. This would be the minimal amount needed to cover the costs of the retreat -- we have tried to keep costs to an absolute minimum, and are therefore able to offer this retreat for less than many other centres in Ireland. In order to support that those who have lesser means to also attend this retreat (including those who might not be currently employed, students etc.), please consider offering more if it is within your means to do so (€300 - €335). Similarly, if you can not cover the cost, please offer what you can - everyone is equally welcome regardless of financial means. 

You can donate before or after the retreat - cash donations can be made on arrival and departure. For those who wish to donate electronically ahead of time, we will include details by email after you have successfully registered. Please consider donating ahead of time as this helps us to front some of the costs needed to buy food and amenities for the retreat beforehand. 

All donations, big or small, are appreciated and will help ensure that we can cover the costs of this retreat and continue offer more like this in the future. 

Location, Directions and travel : Moyhastin, Co. Mayo

  • EIRCODE - F28 DR31 (leaves you 20 meters short. Go forward to post boxes then turn left)

  • Sat Nav Coordinates N 53*46.722' W 009*30.642’

  • Google Map Coordinates 53.7787,-9.5107 (see below) 

  • There will be a collection from Westport town train station to the retreat centre on Monday the 28th at 2pm.  Please indicate on your registration form if you wish to be collected and please ensure that you have provided a mobile number you can be contacted by. The collection will happen outside Westport train station at that time. We will similarly offer a lift back to Westport town on departure day after the retreat ends.

  • It is very important that you let us know if you wish to be collected. You can indicate in the registration from if you wish to do so. If you arrive after collection time or miss collection please let us know as soon as possible - you may need to avail of a local taxi service as we can not guarantee lifts outside of the scheduled collection (Westport Taxis: 086-850-6129; 087-980-2345)

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Please register by clicking the 'register' button on this page. We will send you a retreat form once you've registered, please fill this form and return to us that we can confirm your attendance. 

Any questions or queries can be sent to buddhanaturechan@gmail.com

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Retreat leaders biography: 


About Guoxing Bhikshuni:

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Guoxing Bhikshuni is a fully-ordained Buddhist nun (Bhikshuni) from Taiwan, ordained in the Dharma Drum Mountain Lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen. 

She embarked on learning Chan meditation while researching the Church-State Relationship in Mexico during her Master's degree studies in Latin American Studies. Since then, she actively engaged in retreats led by Master Sheng Yen. She was tonsured under Master Sheng Yen in 1999. Following the completion of Dharma Drum Mountain, the DDM monastic community recommended her to pursue a doctoral degree to further DDM’s dedication to the higher education of Buddhism. She obtained a second Master's degree in Religious Studies from Columbia University in 2010, followed by a Ph.D. from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) in 2018.

Her research centres on themes associated with Chan Master Hongzhi Zhengue, as encouraged by Master Sheng Yen, who urged her to explore the teachings of both Chan Master Hongzhi and his own Silent Illumination Chan. Currently, she serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Buddhist Studies at Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts in Taiwan. 

Location

Moyhastin, Wesport, County Mayo, F28DR31