Tibetan Thangka Art & Meditation Intensive Retreat
Brahma Vihara, North Portugal
4th - 13th September 2025
Please email us for availability of room type and to join the waiting list
Co-hosted by Burgs and Carmen Mensink, this 10 day retreat will be a very special and unique event giving students an immersive and nourishing experience while learning new skills
whilst simultaneously working at your meditation practice.
Learning to draw the Buddhas we will be using the ancient grids, geometry and proportions that have been passed on for centuries to help our creations become sacred art. Buddhist practitioners not only find this retreat extremely therapeutic but they will surely also notice that this week of
Dharma based art will deepen their practice at a number of levels.
A Introduction from Burgs…
While I was working to heal my brain from the traumatic effects of my brain trauma I found art, calligraphy and various other crafts to be extremely therapeutic in helping me to reset my brain from the fight or flight setting it had got locked into in response to the trauma.
Hand on heart I can say that when my brain was really misfiring and struggling to find its balance, these things were as, and if not more important in my recovery that even my meditation. I learned so much from this experience, and as a result during our long winter retreat this year I incorporated painting and other crafts into the programme because of the special role they can play in helping an over active brain slow down.
The role they can play in helping to build patience, serenity as well as sustained and focused concentration I feel is enormous. And especially since they are easier to learn and engage in than meditation. What is more, anyone who already knows how to partially quieten their mind through meditation will also find such arts and crafts to be tremendously healing and helpful. There are even greater depth to these activities that we can discover as meditators with some foundation in concentration. For many of us it might give us the first experience of genuine absorption, and because they require such concentration as to engage us sufficiently to quieten the egoic mind to give an experience of ‘No Self ’ that approaches absorption.
I myself have for a long time wanted to learn the Art of Tibetan Thangka painting, and I recently had two of my most precious statues re-guilded and painted by a renowned thangka painter called Carmen Mensink.
A little bit about Carmen…
Carmen Mensink was born in the Netherlands and is an internationally renowned painter of thangkas, the traditional Tibetan scroll paintings of Buddhas and Mandalas. She is the founder of the School for Tibetan Buddhist Art, which offers classes both online and on location. Carmens website is tibetanbuddhistart.com
In addition to completing her studies at the Academy of Arts, Carmen studied for twelve years with Andy Weber (one of the first Western thangka painters) and has been teaching Tibetan Buddhist art, meditation and philosophy for over two decades at her classes and lectures in museums, universities and Buddhist centers throughout Europe, Asia and the United States.
Through the dedication and joy she expresses in her retreats and passes on to her students, Carmen has guided and inspired thousands of people on the path of Buddhist art and philosophy. During the retreat she gives a lot of personal guidance and works to bring everyone up from their current artistic level.
The retreat is suitable people of all levels, also those without any previous drawing experience
Outline of the retreat
Day 1: Retreat will begin in the early evening. Carmen will introduce herself and give a discourse on the art of thangka painting and its history and purpose.
Day 2: Students will learn how to draw the Face of the Buddha. Traditionally this is the subject that all people start with, you could say, the doorway into thangka.
Day 3-9: Learn how to draw The Buddha (Buddha Shakyamuni), the historical Buddha of our time, including the offerings in front of him and how to create a landscape around him. Receive lectures during which you'll get to know everything about the Buddha’s background and iconography, and you will learn the Buddha's mantra and how to work with it. With the addition to the meditations it makes it a very deep immersive experience.
Day 10: The retreat finishes at 12 noon on 10 day. We will have the morning to finish some last touches on our drawings, and Carmen will go around to answer all your questions and if your work is not finished she will make sure you know how to continue at home. The morning ends with a wonderful little exhibition showing all artworks, followed by a dedication ceremony.
However, each day will comprise of two painting sessions, morning and afternoon, various guided meditations with Burgs, lectures and discourses by both Carmen and Burgs, an exercise session (chi kung/yoga) as well as downtime to go for walks in the beautiful countryside and use of the pool (afternoons).
Entry Requirements:
All are welcome to join this retreat. It would be helpful if applicants have some experience in meditation, and possibly have attended one of the following: any online course or online weekend retreat; an in-person weekend retreat with Burgs, attended a residential 7day retreat with Burgs.
Students will not need to have any art / drawing experience.
Venue Details
Surrounded by olive and almond trees, this venue is a hidden gem nestled in the gentle rolling hills of northern Portugal. The quiet surrounds lends itself perfectly for deep meditation and spiritual practice. Providing an intimate, secluded environment with capacity for a maximum of 18 people, offering all ensuite bedrooms, single or twin sharing. With easy access to Porto (2hrs by car) and the Spanish border.
Please Note: The use of all art materials is included!
(Paper, pencils, rulers, erasers and coloured pencils).
Important:
- If in addition you have any specific drawing materials or other art materials you like to work with please bring them
- Also, if you prefer to paint please bring your favourite paints, brushes etc.
- You may want to bring a notebook and pen to make notes during the lectures.
- For traveling back after the retreat it will be handy to bring a (cardboard) tube of min. 50cm long for your artwork.
Retreat Details
Cost of Retreat
The cost of retreat venues has gone up considerably since we last ran a retreat, but we have done our best to keep the prices down as much as we can.
The cost of your retreat is broken into two parts.
1. To book accommodation and food for the retreat, the cost is dependent on room price. (£1550 single ensuite / £1250 twin ensuite)
Cancellation Policy:
If you wish to cancel your retreat, please email us as soon as possible. We do ask that you give us as much notice as is possible.
If you cancel your retreat, we will refund you the advanced donation for the teachings you might have made, regardless of when you cancel.
If you cancel your retreat outside of 4 weeks of the published start date, there will be a 50% cancellation fee applied to your accommodation (venue) payment.
If you cancel your retreat within 4 weeks of the event, you are eligible to pay for the whole cost of the retreat, ie. 100% cancellation fee.
Concessionary Rates:
We do our best to try and support those who really are in financial difficulty. We are currently looking at ways in which to do this, such as a possible bursary to provide subsidised places on retreat. More information on this will be available in the coming months. Feel free to email us to enquire about the availability of bursary places.
Basic Retreat Info
The guided meditation sessions on retreat generally start at 20minutes, building up to 30 – 40 minutes.
Regular 20 minute breaks are given between sessions.
There are guided exercise sessions at least twice a day, along with a 2 hour lunch break to enjoy walking outside or to have a nice afternoon rest.
Meditation sessions are guided by the teacher (or assistants on occasion).
These sessions are supported by regular discourses which help clarify and explain the process and practice of meditation.
There are regular opportunities to ask Burgs questions as needed to clarify the practices being taught.
The food provided during the retreat will be fully vegetarian. This will generally consist of a buffet breakfast, a full lunch (main meal), and a light soup evening meal.
Instructions are always repeated throughout the day so there’s no need to remember anything during the week.
6.45am Wakeup
7am Morning Meditation (unguided)
7.30am Breakfast
8.30am Morning session (instructions and meditations)
11.30am Exercise session (chi kung / yoga)
12.30pm Lunch
2.30pm Afternoon session (clarifying discourses and meditations)
5.30pm Exercise session (chi kung / yoga)
6.30pm Soup
7.30pm Evening Discourse and Meditation (generally of a motivational and inspirational nature)
8.30pm Bedtime
House Rules
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.
Silent Retreat - Aligning to a Devoltional Attitude
We may keep silence for short periods of time during the day.
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 physical contact with anyone is permitted as this disturbs all parties involved.
Waiting List
Our retreats do get booked quickly so it’s a good idea to book as soon as you can.
If however you find that the retreat is already full, then it is a good idea to get onto the waiting list (via email contact).
We do usually get a few last minute cancellations and people transferring to other retreats, so you might find that we can offer you a place on the retreat of your choice.
This is particularly applicable to those of you who can make arrangements at short notice.
You will still need to complete the booking process (pay for retreat place and accommodation ) when a space becomes available.