Details:
Date: Friday 3rd – Saturday 11th July
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 3rd July / Retreat ends: with lunch on 11th July
Recommended arrival: 3pm – 5pm on the 3rd July 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
The Buddhist path to awakening is often described as two wings of a bird: wisdom and bodhichitta. Only when both wings are fully developed can we truly take flight.
In this retreat, Ven. Mary Reavey will guide us in exploring these two essential aspects of practice. We will look more deeply into the Lamrim—the graduated path to enlightenment—focusing on cultivating wisdom and the compassionate intention of bodhichitta. The emphasis will be not only on intellectual understanding, but on using meditation to feel and experience the teachings directly, so that they become a living part of our practice.
Whether you are relatively new to the Lamrim or already familiar with it, this retreat offers the chance to strengthen both wings, bringing greater clarity, balance, and depth to your spiritual journey.
What Will be Offered?
Each day will gently weave together practice, reflection, and rest, allowing you to explore these qualities both in meditation and in everyday experience.
- Teachings that offer insight into how wisdom and compassion can guide us through challenges and open the heart to greater clarity and understanding.
- Meditations that help calm and steady the mind, while nurturing a natural sense of kindness and care for yourself and others.
- Discussions that create space to reflect, ask questions, and share experiences in a supportive and respectful atmosphere.
- Time for stillness to walk in nature, rest quietly, or absorb the teachings at your own pace.
- A steady rhythm of practice that encourages both inner transformation and the integration of these qualities into everyday life.
Who is This For?
This retreat is open to anyone with an interest in exploring wisdom and compassion in a supportive, experiential way. It may be especially meaningful if you are:
- New to retreats and curious to experience meditation, teachings, and discussion in a gentle, welcoming environment
- Looking to deepen your practice and integrate Buddhist principles more fully into daily life
- Seeking time for reflection away from the pace and pressures of everyday routines
- Interested in community and sharing the journey with others who value kindness, curiosity, and growth
No prior retreat experience is necessary — only an openness to explore, reflect, and engage with the practices offered.
Why Attend?
By attending, you will have the opportunity to:
- Reconnect with yourself in a peaceful setting
- Explore wisdom and compassion as practical tools for daily life
- Deepen your understanding and experience of the Buddhist path
- Join a supportive community of like-minded practitioners
Whether you are new to retreats or an experienced practitioner, this gathering offers a nurturing and inspiring environment to help wisdom and compassion become lived experiences.
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.