Thank you for your interest in this project, here are further details of the retreat. We have tried to keep it as brief as possible, and such things as how to get to the retreat will be accessible after you register your interest. The registration of interest form is at the end of this page, if you wish to participate please complete it.
The work retreat will be preceded by a silent meditation retreat. We find both parts support the experience of the retreat as a whole. The silent retreat helps us to slow down and connect before engaging with the work. While the work retreat can be a wonderful way of expressing our compassion and wisdom.
If you would like to do only one of the two parts of the retreat; just the silent retreat or just the work retreat, please choose the appropriate option on the registration form. PLEASE NOTE: The option to do only the work retreat is limited to people who have been with us to Anandwan before. We do make exceptions to this sometimes, please contact us to discuss this possibility.
The daily schedule begins at around 6 am and ends at around 9 pm. This will include sitting and walking meditations, teachings, time for yoga, chi gong or other exercise, and the opportunity for both group and one-to-one meetings with a facilitator. The facilitators will be offering teachings and practices based on the spiritual traditions of Buddhism.
Three vegetarian meals a day will be served, and accommodation is in shared rooms.
The silent retreat takes place in Somnath, which is near Anandwan but not the same place. We will share information about this on the next page.
Next on this page is the information about the work retreat if you are not interested in this please skip to Facilitators
This part of the retreat will combine social engagement and meditation through compassionate action.
We will work about 5 hours a day with the people of Anandwan. The work is an integral and important part of the retreat, allowing us to meet the community through shared activities. We can also explore our relationship to roles and where our sense of self arises.
There will be time for meditation together 3 times a day, and group sharings and dharma discussions several times a week.
The work retreat is an opportunity to practice generosity and service with like minded people. The support of others in the group assists us to deepen and meet the challenges that may come up.
| 6:45 - 7:30 | Meditation | |
| 7:45 | Breakfast | |
| 8:00 - 10.30 | Work ( Approximate Timings ) | |
| 11.30-12.15 | Meditation | |
| 12:30 | Lunch | |
| 14:30 | Chai | |
| 14:45 - 17:00 | Work ( Approximate Timings ) | |
| 19:00 | Supper | |
| 20.00 - 20.45 | Group Activity Or Chanting and Meditation |
One day a week will be a full silent day for meditation, and one day a week will be unscheduled with no work or group events.
Hospital & Home for the Elderly: Dressing wounds, personal care, or massage with the patients and the elderly.
Schools: Offering activities in the schools for hearing and visually impaired children, including arts, crafts, music, and games, as well as extra-curricular activities.
Kitchens: Chopping vegetables and making chapatis.
Workshops: Card making, printing, mechanics, electrics, sewing, leather work, woodwork.
Farming: Working in the fields or in the plant and tree nurseries.
There can be other possibilities depending on people's skills and interests.
Bringing work and meditation together in Anandwan creates an opportunity to explore our relationship to being and doing, and to investigate what really helps.
Anandwan is a living communal expression of compassion. As such it can be a place we meet suffering, yet it is also a place drenched in love and joy. Sometimes these two poles of a spectrum seem so closely entwined they share the same breath. When we are here we may touch the tenderness of life that includes pain, illness and even death.
We hope this retreat will be a positive life transforming experience.
Anandwan was founded in 1951 by the Amte family as a home for the leprosy afflicted. The emphasis of the project is not only on treating the physical disease, but on allowing every individual to live a full and productive life: they say "Give them a Chance not Charity".
Over time Anandwan opened its gates to many people, and today it is home to 5000 residents. These include leprosy patients and their families, visual and hearing impaired children who receive an education there, the physically and mentally disabled, as well as volunteers who have dedicated their life to this community.
Although leprosy is a curable disease, and these days it can be easily diagnosed and efficiently treated, there is still a lot of prejudice and fear towards the disease. Most people in the community have been ostracised and outcast from society, our coming there is an act of solidarity and friendship and is truly valued.
For more info about the 'forest of bliss' -the meaning of Anandwan please see their website Anandwan.in
Both retreats will be facilitated by Nathan Glyde and Zohar Lavie
The cost of this retreat does not include a fee for the facilitators. The facilitators are offering their time and teaching as part of an ancient system of ‘Dana’- an old word from the time of the Buddha meaning ’generosity’. This is a gift economy in which teachings are offered freely, and those who come to hear them are invited to offer donations to support the teachers to continue offering more in the future. At Anandwan the opportunity to practice dana will be available at the end of each retreat.
Three vegetarian meals a day are provided, but you should bear in mind that it is traditional Indian fare. We will additionally have 2 pieces of fruit per day, salad once a day, and we will be growing sprouts. Sorry, there is no possibility of catering for special diets.
We have water filters for the use of the group, in our experience they are safe and efficient. Anandwan has a policy of reducing plastic so please bring empty bottles that you can fill up. If you feel this system is inadequate, please bring your own means of filtering/purifying water.
Anandwan is a low-risk area for malaria, and we will not be there in the malarial season. But there is still the possibility to contract malaria so the doctors there recommend taking preventative medicine.
During the retreat we provide a homeopathic preventative medicine against malaria. We ask that you bring your own mosquito repellant.
The silent meditation retreat in Somnath will cost 12,040 Indian rupees.
The work retreat in Anandwan will cost 34,400.
Doing both the silent and the work retreat (including the day between retreats) will cost 48,160 Indian rupees.
Keep in mind that this is a great place to buy gifts for friends and family. People have typically spent an extra 8,000 - 11,000 Indian rupees during the weeks in Anandwan.
To register your place for this retreat we require a non-refundable deposit of approximately 40% of the total cost. Details about this are on the next page.
If you would like to join the retreat but require financial assistance, please do contact us. If you are touched by this project but cannot join us, you could also help by sponsoring someone else to go, please contact us for further information on how to do this.
Fill out the registration of interest form below and you will be forwarded to our info letter page with more information, such as how to get there, and how to pay the deposit.
If nothing happens, or if you have any questions, please contact us immediately.