Breakthrough to Zen Retreat (Online)

The three-day (64hr) retreat is based on the “group sanzen” format developed by our teacher Zen master Shinzan, together with the dyad work of American teacher, Charles Berner and current neuroscientific research around what has come to be called “the breakthrough experience”. This creates a uniquely powerful combination. Thousands of students have reported life-changing shifts in awareness. The work is stabilised and grounded through the “naikan” Zen practices taught by Zen master Hakuin and detailed in “Practical Zen”. This retreat format requires no particulaar worldview and has been transformative for people from many spiritual traditions and none. If you are willing to simply face the reality of who and what you are, you give yourself the best chance of benefiting. This retreat is suitable for those with no prior meditation experience, but can also be very powerful for those who have an on-going or developing practice.

For more information about these retreats click here.

We do not charge a fixed amount for these retreats, and instead would suggest a donation of between £100 and £250, depending on your means.

Things to think about before you commit:
Unlike for our residential retreats, in these online retreats the onus will necessarily be on you to create a suitable retreat environment. You will be asked to maintain silence for the duration of the retreat – including at night time. This means having no unnecessary interactions with anyone outside the retreat group (including your partner/family). You’ll need to think about how to make a distraction-free space for the duration of the retreat, putting aside your normal responsibilities, making sure you’re in a comfortable space and have easy access to suitable food and a good internet connection. You may want to think about putting the money you would normally spend on travelling to the retreat and on accommodation towards your food supplies. Some people have already decided to rent an AirBnB apartment specifically for the retreat.

If you’re new to this retreat-style, or are unfamiliar with video conferencing and the Zoom platform, we will ask you to attend an orientation session with one of our more experienced members before the retreat starts. We’ll organise that once you’ve signed up.

If you have any questions or are unsure about anything, please get in touch.