Details:
Date: Friday 12th February – Sunday 21st February
Retreat Leaders: Phara Khenchen Rinpoche (Tulku-la) & Di Carroll
Requirements: Ideally one would have received a full kriya tantra empowerment. However it is possible to join if one has received a Medicine Buddha ‘Je Nang’ permission to practice.
Cost: Generosity Model – Donation only (via the donation form at the bottom of the page; no set amount). Land of Joy provides: All meals, accommodation, workshops, materials and good firewood for soulful nights.
Format: Onsite Only / Retreat begins: 7pm on the 12th February / Retreat ends: after lunch on 21st February
Recommended arrival: 3pm – 5pm 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.
A Precious Opportunity for Practice
We are delighted to offer this precious Medicine Buddha Retreat during the Fifteen Days of Miracles—the auspicious period following Tibetan New Year (Losar), when the effects of virtuous actions are traditionally said to be greatly multiplied.
Medicine Buddha practice is particularly associated with healing, purification and the alleviation of suffering. This retreat offers an opportunity to step away from everyday life and spend sustained time with the practice, making prayers and dedications for our own wellbeing, for those who are unwell or experiencing difficulties, and ultimately for the healing and liberation of all beings.
Practising together during the Fifteen Days of Miracles makes this a particularly meaningful time for retreat. Alongside Medicine Buddha practice and mantra recitation, there will be an opportunity to observe the Eight Mahayana Precepts for one day and to use this precious period to accumulate merit, purify negativities and make heartfelt aspirations.
What will be offered
The retreat will be structured but gentle, creating the conditions to settle into the practice and go deeper day by day. You will experience:
- Daily Medicine Buddha sadhana and mantra recitation
- Guidance and discussion with the retreat leaders
- Spacious time for silence, reflection and integration
- Supportive community conditions that help stabilise practice
- An opportunity to observe the Eight Mahayana Precepts for one day
Time to make prayers and dedications for those experiencing illness, difficulty or suffering
Why Attend?
Medicine Buddha practice offers a powerful way to work with suffering while cultivating compassion, purification and the wish to benefit others. Practising in retreat gives us the time and space to become more familiar with the practice, allowing it to deepen beyond what can sometimes be possible in daily life.
Taking part during the Fifteen Days of Miracles offers particularly auspicious conditions for practice, when positive actions are traditionally understood to have greatly increased power. It is an opportunity to dedicate our practice not only for ourselves, but for loved ones, those experiencing illness or difficulty, and all beings.
Set amid the quiet Northumberland countryside, Land of Joy offers supportive conditions for retreat, with simple accommodation, nourishing vegetarian food and the space to turn inward and focus more fully on practice.
Retreat Boundaries
To help create the best conditions for 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.
- Ethical conduct – Participants are asked to respect and follow the five precepts for the duration of the retreat
These boundaries are not restrictions but supports — creating a safe, focused space in which the mind can settle and deepen.
About the Retreat Leaders
Phara Khenchen Rinpoche
Phara Khenchen Rinpoche (Tulku-la) is recognised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the highly realised and respected Buddhist teacher, Khensur Pema Gyaltsen. In 1990, at the age of four, he was smuggled out of Tibet to South India, where he was lovingly cared for and educated at Drepung Monastery.
Under the close guidance of his beloved teacher, Geshe Wangchen, Tulku-la trained for 25 years, completing his monastic education and achieving the Geshe Degree. He then went on to study for a year at Gyumed Tantric College, deepening his understanding of tantric practice.
Tulku-la is widely appreciated not only for his profound and powerful spiritual qualities but also for his cheerful, relaxed, kind, and humble personality. His guidance brings together depth of study, authenticity of lineage, and a warm presence that inspires confidence and devotion.
