Details:
Date: Tuesday 26th – Sunday 31st May
Retreat Leader: Ven Mary Reavey
Requirements: Everyone is welcome
Cost: Generosity Model – Donation only (by clicking the ‘Donate Here’ button below). Land of Joy provides: All meals, accommodation, workshops, materials and good firewood for soulful nights.
Format: Onsite only / Retreat begins: 7pm on the 26th May / Retreat ends: with lunch on 31st May
Recommended arrival: 3pm – 5pm on the 26th May to join for supper and get settled into the space
Accommodation: Land of Joy wishes for everyone who visits the centre to feel welcome, accepted, safe and secure. Our accommodation options are very limited, with mostly single-sex shared accommodation and a very limited number of single rooms. Single accommodation can therefore only be offered on a priority basis. Please read the relevant sections of the booking form carefully.
About the Retreat
This retreat offers a journey into the close and complementary relationship between Shamatha (calm abiding) and Vipassana (insight). Together, these two practices form a bridge between cultivating a stable, balanced mind and uncovering the wisdom that sees reality as it truly is.
Guided by the clear and precise teachings of B. Alan Wallace, you will explore how Shamatha and Vipassana can be practiced in harmony to transform both meditation and daily life.
Whether you are just beginning your journey or are looking to deepen your meditation practice, this retreat offers a supportive environment to begin or continue your journey.
As Alan Wallace reminds us:
“No matter your level of meditation, you can benefit from training your attention. With this skill we can uproot negative habits, develop Bodhichitta, experience insights into the nature of reality, and radically alter our relationship to the rest of the world.”
Shamatha – Training the Mind
Shamatha is the practice of developing attention. By learning to place the mind on a chosen object—such as the breath—without distraction, agitation, or dullness, we refine and stabilise our awareness. This clarity of attention becomes the foundation for deeper practice.
Vipassana – Seeing Clearly
Vipassana builds on the stability of Shamatha, applying the trained mind to direct enquiry. Through mindfulness and investigation, we will examine our lived experience in light of the Three Marks of Existence and the Four Applications of Mindfulness. This process opens the door to genuine insight, freedom, and a transformed way of relating to the world.
Who Is This For?
This retreat is suitable for anyone with an interest in meditation—whether you are new to the practices of Shamatha and Vipassana, or already have experience and want to deepen your understanding.
- Beginners will be guided step-by-step in developing stable attention and mindful enquiry.
- Those who are beginners and are seeking an overview of shamatha on the breath and its relationship to the nature of reality (Vipassana).
- Experienced meditators will refine their skills and open to deeper insights into the nature of reality.
- As the focus of this retreat is meditation, it isn’t recommended for those experiencing mental health difficulties.
Why Attend?
Land of Joy offers space away from the bustle of daily life—quiet surroundings, natural beauty, and a setting that encourages stillness. This supports the cultivation of deep focus in Shamatha and openness for insight in Vipassana.
Retreats give you time you might not have at home: longer sittings, periods of silence, fewer distractions. This concentrated period helps mind-training settle more deeply and insights arise more clearly.
- Learn how to calm, balance, and focus your mind through Shamatha.
- Discover how to apply that stability to Vipassana on the journey to cultivating genuine insight.
- Gain practical tools for working with distraction, agitation, and dullness.
- Explore how mindfulness can transform your relationship to thoughts, emotions, and daily challenges.
- Take home practices that support long-term growth, clarity, and inner freedom.
Retreat Boundaries:
To help create the best conditions for meditation practice, this retreat will be held within a supportive framework:
- Silence – Silence will be observed outside of group sessions during some periods of the day to encourage calm and inward focus.
- Technology-free space – You will be encouraged to switch off phones, laptops and other devices for the duration of the retreat, except for reading texts and other dharma related material.
- Respecting the schedule – Participants are asked to attend all sessions on time, as consistency supports both personal practice and the group environment.
- Mindful living – Meals and daily activities will be approached with awareness, becoming part of the retreat practice itself.
These boundaries are not restrictions but supports — creating a safe, focused space in which the mind can settle and deepen.
About Ven Mary Reavey
Born in Dundee, Scotland, Ven Mary was a staff nurse when she first encountered Buddhism at the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition’s mother monastery – Kopan – in Nepal in 1978. It was her love of adventure and trekking that led her to Kopan. Ven Mary attended a month-long course taught by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa who emphasised the importance of meditation and taking complete responsibility for your own actions and their effects.
In 2001 Ven Mary took ordination as a nun with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, then until 2012 taught meditation and Buddhist philosophy at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, Buddhist centres in Preston, Liverpool and at Armley Prison, Dumfries Prison, Wakefield & Full Sutton, Leeds General Infirmary, St James’ Hospital and Wheatfields Hospice where she held regular meditation sessions. Ven Mary went on to take full Bikshuni ordination in 2015.