Top 5 Best Meditation Centers in the UK
People are becoming more aware of the mental health advantages of meditation and mindfulness than ever before. If you're trying to maintain balance in your ... read more...life, a wellness retreat may be the right solution. For some, this may be single camping or glamping trip to get away from it all and immerse themselves in nature. Here are the 5 best meditation centers in the UK to help you discover and develop tranquility, knowledge, and compassion through meditation and mindfulness practice.
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Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, a world-renowned meditation master who created hundreds of centers around the world as part of the New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union, founded Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre.
He is a Spiritual Guide to thousands of individuals all over the world. Venerable Geshe-la has the essence of Buddha's teachings in his heart, which he conveys to current-day people in very practical ways through the accessible methods of modern Kadampa Buddhism that he has introduced into contemporary culture through his many teachings and writings. The sympathetic presence of Venerable Geshe-la can be felt throughout the center, which he has called home for almost 30 years.
Manjushri KMC is committed to world peace by providing everyone with the chance to cultivate lifelong mental serenity via meditation and related disciplines.
The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU), founded by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, is the mother center of the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU). NKT-mission IKBU's aim is to bring Kadampa Buddhism - a particularly clean and practical presentation of Buddha's teachings - to individuals in the modern world.
The meditation center is located at Conishead Priory in the Lake District, near Ulverston. It is a wonderfully tranquil spot, situated on the shores of Morecambe Bay, and is loved by individuals interested in learning about Buddhism and Meditation, as well as members of the general public who wish to see the Buddhist Temple, historic house, and 70 acres of gardens.
Phone: +44 1229 584029
Website: http://manjushri.org/
Email: info@manjushri.org
Address: Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre Conishead Priory, Ulverston LA12 9QQ, United Kingdom
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The Sharpham Trust, as one of the best meditation centers in the UK, is a 40-year-old mindfulness retreat and teaching institution that has received international recognition. Since 1982, The Sharpham Trust has been connecting people with the environment and themselves on a beautiful 550-acre estate on the River Dart in South Devon, UK.
The Sharpham Trust's desire to create a more aware, compassionate, and environmentally sustainable world is at the heart of the Sharpham Trust's mission. Sharpham Trust aspires to create a world that is more thoughtful, compassionate, and environmentally sound. Sharpham Trust brings people closer to nature and to themselves through retreats, workshops, and events held on the picturesque Sharpham Estate.
The Sharpham Trust is a conservation and education organization based on the Sharpham Estate, which spans 550 acres along a beautiful stretch of the Dart River and is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Sharpham House, its Capability Brown-designed landscape, and 18th-century walled garden are all Grade 1-listed Georgian Palladian villas that the Trust strives to maintain and conserve.
The Sharpham Trust's program of retreats, mindfulness training, outdoor learning, and the arts connects individuals with nature and encourages mindfulness and well-being. Mindfulness enables us to pay attention in a specific way: intentionally, in the present moment, and without judgment. Since the 1980s, Sharpham has been a mindfulness center, and the practice is at the core of many of our activities.
Mindfulness is now widely acknowledged as a scientifically established technique that can aid in stress reduction and overall health and wellbeing. The Sharpham Trust provides secular mindfulness retreats at Sharpham House (including beginner mindfulness retreats) and at the renowned Barn Retreat Centre on the Estate. The Barn has been offering Buddhist-based retreats for over 25 years and has been named one of the best 8 retreats in the UK and Europe by The Sunday Telegraph.
Retreatants benefit from the opportunity to experience the estate's tranquil, reflective, and life-enriching setting, and many individuals form strong emotional bonds with it. The Sharpham Trust provides mindfulness workshops in Sharpham, as well as in the neighboring towns of Totnes and Torquay, to assist individuals to learn about the principles of mindfulness and meditation.
Sharpham House offers secular retreats for anybody wishing to restore, revitalize, relax, de-stress, and reconnect with themselves and nature in a stunning natural setting. They're ideal for people who are new to mindfulness and meditation as well as those who have more experience and want to incorporate their practice into their daily lives. The Sharpham Trust also facilitates mindfulness development through themed retreats that include yoga, singing, art, food, and wandering in the soul-nourishing countryside. Sharpham House's retreats are fully cooked and supported by house staff, giving a relaxed time in which retreatants can take advantage of the venue's peaceful atmosphere.
Phone: 01803 732542
Website: www.sharphamtrust.org
Email: bookings@sharphamtrust.org
Address: Sharpham House, Ashprington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7UT
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Gaia House is a meditation retreat center offering silent meditation retreats in the Buddhist tradition. As one of the best meditation centers in the UK, Gaia House welcomes people of every age, ethnicity, cultural heritage and religious background, socio-economic group, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and we are actively working to investigate and remove barriers to inclusion.
Gaia House is a silent meditation retreat center, a sanctuary of contemplative calm set amongst the gentle hills and quiet woodlands of South Devon. Founded in 1983, Gaia House is a registered charity committed to preserving, protecting, and enhancing emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual health through meditation.
Through a year-round program of the weekend and week-long group retreats, Gaia House offers meditation instruction and teachings drawn from a wide variety of Buddhist traditions. Additionally, Gaia House caters to long-term solitary meditators and work retreatants.
Buddhist meditation retreats are an opportunity to explore and develop serenity, wisdom, and compassion through meditation and mindfulness practice in a supportive environment. All retreats at Gaia House share the common aim of Buddhist contemplative traditions: to free the mind and heart from confusion, self-centeredness, and anguish. This opportunity allows participants to cultivate moment-to-moment awareness that nurtures inner stillness and peace, insight into the nature of our experience, and the fostering of emotional resources with which to respond more fully to suffering.
Gaia House is predominantly based on the Buddhist practices of Insight (Vipassana), Loving-kindness (Metta), and Zen meditation. Despite the varieties of meditation practice, all of our Dharma teachers share an aspiration to encourage a continuity of self-awareness and experiential learning.
The teachings and practices offered at Gaia House are found in the spiritual teachings of the Buddha, who lived 2,500 years ago. Through his own deep interest in life and commitment to discovering freedom, he came to a profound realization of the understanding and practices that ennoble and liberate a human being.
Phone: +44(0)1626 333 613
Website: http://www.gaiahouse.co.uk/
Email: info@gaiahouse.co.uk
Address: West Ogwell, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6EW, England
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Dhamma Sukhakari, one of the best meditation centers in the UK, is located in Walnut Tree Manor, a ten-acre estate on the outskirts of Haughley Green in the Suffolk countryside, just miles from Stowmarket railway station. The center offers new and returning students ten-day courses as well as three-day courses for returning students. On the day the course begins, all students are asked to appear between 2 and 5 p.m. for registration. The training will begin with a light dinner and an orientation. The 10-day sessions will end at roughly 7:30 a.m. on the last day. At 4 p.m., the three-day classes come to a close. All new students, as well as former (returning) students, who are enrolled in a full course, must stay until the finish.
Dhamma Sukhakari is around 100 miles northeast of London, 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from Junction 49 of the A14 between Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds. Dhamma Sukhakri's most convenient airport is London Stansted (STN), which has affordable flights from a variety of European places. Take a direct train to Cambridge and then a direct train to Stowmarket from London Stansted airport, or take a coach to Chelmsford and then a train to Stowmarket (journey time about 1 hour 40 minutes). It takes roughly 1 hour 10 minutes to drive from London Stansted to the city center.
The center is located on ten acres of property on the outskirts of Haughley Green, Suffolk, and is bordered by fields and woods. Walnut Tree Manor is a historic farmhouse that dates back to the 17th century. Students can sit and meditate together in the former sports hall, which has been turned into a wide and spacious meditation hall. Students and servants sleep in male and female dormitory blocks that are plain but cozy. The restroom facilities have recently been updated and are shared by the students. The new location is gradually being converted to provide students with woodland walking places.
Walnut Tree Manor is a historic farmhouse that dates back to the 17th century. The site has undergone some significant changes and additions over time, reflecting the evolving demands of the families and companies who have called it home. Lady Eve Balfour, who pioneered organic farming at the property, and the Soil Association, which used it as its headquarters and continued her work, are among its more renowned tenants. Walnut Tree Manor became the site of Hillcroft Preparatory School in 1985 and a children's activity center in 2006.
The current site includes the Manor House (a listed building from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries) and the Coach House (from the twentieth century), as well as a large accommodation block, a kitchen, dining rooms, a meditation hall (former sports hall), and various outbuildings (old classrooms) with office and storage space. Fields and wooded areas surround the structures.
Phone:01449 833080
Website: info@sukhakari.dhamma.org
Email: facebook-admin@sukhakari.dhamma.org
Address: Walnut Tree Manor, Haughley Green, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3RQ
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Vipassana means "to see things as they are", and it is one of India's oldest meditation techniques. It was rediscovered approximately 2,500 years ago by Gotama Buddha, who taught it as a universal treatment for universal illnesses. This non-sectarian technique aims for the complete removal of mental impurities, as well as the highest enjoyment that comes with full liberation. Vipassana is a method of self-improvement based on self-observation. It emphasizes the profound interconnection between mind and body, which may be immediately experienced by paying attention to the physical sensations that constitute the body's life and constantly interconnect and condition the mind's life. Mental impurity is dissolved through this observation-based, self-exploratory trip to the common root of mind and body, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.
Dhamma Dpa, which translates to "Island of Dhamma", is a Vipassana meditation center in Herefordshire. The site, which was purchased in 1991 as a riding school, has since transformed into a fully functional meditation center because of decades of hard labor by servers and local artisans. Herefordshire, which borders South Wales, is a lovely area with undulating hills, rivers, valleys, and apple orchards. The center is situated between Hereford and Ross-on-Wye in the green Wye Valley. The tranquility of the rural setting is suitable for deep meditation.
The center has a capacity of 130 students, and classes are held throughout the year. Every year, over 2,500 people from all walks of life come to learn this technique and meditate.
Students should arrive between 2 and 5 p.m. on the first day of class. Following registration, a small meal and orientation will be served prior to the start of the session. On the last day of the course, the course will end at about 7:30 a.m. All new students, as well as former (returning) students, who are enrolled in a full course, must stay until the finish. Part-time old students will not be allowed to leave on metta day, the tenth full day unless an emergency arises or a previous arrangement has been made with the assistant instructors.
There are various options for getting to the centers. All paths will eventually get you to one of the three closest towns/cities: Ross-on-Wye (7 miles), Hereford (10 miles), or Gloucester (25 miles).
Students can sit and meditate together in a specially created meditation space at the center. The maximum number of pupils allowed is 128. Students who have been practicing for a while may be given a cell to sit in to develop their meditation. The cells eliminate the potential of becoming distracted. Students and servants sleep in male and female dormitory blocks that are plain but cozy. Disabled access is available in some rooms.
Volunteers create delicious and nutritious vegetarian cuisine in a spacious, modern kitchen. Herbs are cultivated on the premises and produce is acquired locally. The center's upkeep is overseen by servers operating from a central workshop and tool store. To minimize disruption, maintenance work is scheduled.
Vipassana Trust, a charity and a business limited by guarantee formed in England and Wales, is responsible for the continuous operation of Dhamma Dpa. The trustees are elected annually from old pupils and meet seven times a year at Dhamma Dpa. A number of committees supervise the actual activities at the center and report to the Trust. Site maintenance, cooking, building, communication, finance, registration and course organization, gardening, and household are all covered by each committee.
The charity's objects are to advance education by promoting the late Sayagyi U Ba Khin's principles, the study and practice of meditation and meditation techniques, and the development of concentration, insight, and higher moral standards as originally taught by the Buddha through public dissemination of the said teachings and in other ways as the Board members see fit, provided that any services are free.
Phone: 01989 730234
Fax: 01989 730450
Website: www.dipa.dhamma.org
Email: webmaster@dipa.dhamma.org
Address: St Owens Cross, Pencoyd, Hereford HR2 8NG, UK Get Directions