Live Online Foundation Retreat

What is the Online Foundation Retreat?

This is our signature retreat that people return to time and time again, year after year. It is designed to be a full spectrum immersion course into the discipline, technique and energetics of meditative practice.  If you have joined Burgs online for meditations and/or an online weekend retreat, this week will allow you to go to a deeper space and will take your practice to the next level through continuity of practice.

What makes this retreat unique is that it is not pre-recorded material but broadcast as a fully live and interactive experience which means a high level of transmission and support.

What are the benefits?

During this retreat, Burgs expertly guides you through a seven day journey into deep meditative practice which explores experientially how your mind and body function and different aspects of consciousness and life. The benefits include:

 - Transform your meditative practice - bringing more texture and appreciation into your life

 - Deep personal healing

 - Free your mind of the roots of suffering (negative habit patterns and conditioning which are detrimental to your health and wellbeing)

 - Learn the foundations of the Buddha’s path out of suffering in a way that is relevant to the times we are in now

 - Providing you with clarity to your life and how you can steer it more effectively

 - A rare opportunity to receive precious teachings from one of the foremost meditation teachers in the Western world - making ancient teachings accessible to a modern context and audience.

How can you participate?

There will be a full retreat schedule with daily live instructions and Q & A for all participants. You can participate in either of the following two ways:

1.      75 places are available to join live online for those of you who wish to attend from the comfort of your own home - £75 joining fee plus donation (dana) for teachings.

2.      20 places are available for people to sit together for 7 days in the held retreat environment at Sandon Hall in Staffordshire - prices from £350 plus donation (dana) for teachings (includes all meals).

What is the time commitment?

The minimum time requirement to receive all the instructions is four hours per day (two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon). However, you will get the most benefit by following the full retreat schedule (if this is possible) and secluding yourself as much as you can. 

Each full day (20th – 25th March) will be made up of three sessions:

-        Morning (8.30am to 12.30pm)

-        Afternoon (2.30pm to 6.30pm)

-        Evening (7.30pm to 8.15pm)

Generally, the first two hours of the morning and afternoon sessions will include all the instructions and the last two hours of these sessions will be guided practice. This means, if you cannot attend all day, you are still able to receive all the instructions.

If you would like to participate, it is important to make a commitment to minimise as many responsibilities as possible and create as much space as you can. Ideally, this would include no work commitments at all (or reducing them to an absolute minimum) as these would be a significant distraction.  However, it would be possible to attend the retreat as well as care for children at certain times of the day, for example. 

(Please note on Sat 19th March there will only be an evening session at 7.30pm and on Sat 26th March there will only be a morning sharing of merits session which will end by 9.30am).

What are the entry requirements?

You must have attended either an in-person or online weekend retreat with Burgs.

How to book?

The registration fee for the online retreat is £75. In addition, you will be invited to make a donation (dana) to the teacher at the end of the retreat. This is a way of expressing our gratitude for the teachings that you have received, and a way to support both the teacher and the teachings, so that they can carry on being offered to others.

The basis for the successful practice of meditation is sīla (virtuous / moral conduct). It is extremely difficult to develop Strong Concentration (samadhi) and Insight / Wisdom (panna) while our mind is unrestrained and disorganised.

• When the Buddha taught meditation he suggested that those hoping to make real progress adhere to a simple code of conduct that would support this endeavour. While on retreat we will likewise follow these same guidelines.

• It is our aim to offer retreats which enable the student to develop and deepen their practice in the most supported environment possible. As such, each student is asked to observe a few simple rules so that they may get the most out of their time on retreat.

• The basic tenets with which we ask you to follow are:

– To abstain from killing any living being.
All meals will be vegetarian during the week.

– To abstain from taking what is not given.
All basic requirements will be provided for during your stay such as food.

– To abstain from sexual activity.
Male and female students will have separate rooms for sleeping accommodation during the retreat.

– To abstain from untruthfulness.
Noble silence will be observed for 6 days of the retreat.

– To abstain from all intoxicants.
No smoking, alcohol or other drugs use will be permitted. Please inform us of any prescribed drugs you will be using whilst on retreat.

Noble Silence is a key aspects to your retreat. It is the foundation on which your meditation practice and progress will be built upon.

• It is a key part of this experience and will be maintained for 6 days of the retreat. The final afternoon on the last full day will be an opportunity to slowly start to come out of retreat mode.

• Although many people find the idea of remaining silent quite daunting at first, almost all find that it adds considerably to the whole experience of being on retreat.

• The main benefit of this practice is to allow the internal mindfulness of the student to develop over the week allowing them to be undistracted during their retreat.

• There will be opportunities to ask questions and seek clarification from the teacher or any of his assistants at appropriate times. It is not considered to be breaking your silence to seek clarification on what you are being asked to do.

Below are some aspects of Noble Silence we ask you to follow:

• Handing in Mobile Phones and other technology. All participants are asked to hand in their mobile phones at the start of the retreat (after supper on arrival day). This also includes smart watches, laptops, ipads and other tech devices you might have.

• To be secluded from your daily life for a whole week allows you to fully engage with the teachings being shared in an undistracted way.

• If there is a need to be contactable due to special circumstances such as family illness, then please use the emergency phone number provided. Please discuss this with an assistant upon arrival.

• No talking to or distracting of other students. Many people find it hard to take time away from their busy lives to attend retreat. If you feel you are struggling with the silence then you can always speak to one of the assistants who can help you with this.

• No reading. No note taking. No writing diaries or journals. All these activities engages the mind which undermines the process you will be engaging with during the week. There will be an opportunity to make notes and write in your diaries once we have broken silence on day 6.

• No physical contact with anyone is permitted as this disturbs all parties involved.

• Eye contact should be avoided within reason. Seeking to distract people while on your retreat is something that we advise against as this disturbs both you and the other person(s) involved.

Introducing The 7 day Healing Retreat And What It Might Do For You

A little about how this retreat will help teach you to meditate. How learning to concentrate brings so much more texture and appreciation to our lives.