www.samatha.org
Developing Jhāna Consciousness
An Intensive 8 day Residential Buddhist Meditation Retreat
Learning A Traditional Theravadin Yogāvacara Meditation Practice
For meditators new to
Samatha Concentration Practice
Sunday 22nd June to Sunday 29th June 2025
at The Samatha Centre, Powys, Mid-Wales
The course is primarily for those who have prior experience of other types of meditation practice and and are interested in learning a traditional method of jhāna meditation.
Samatha breathing mindfulness
Samatha breathing mindfulness meditation (ānapānasati) was introduced to England in 1962 by Nai Boonman, a Thai meditation teacher - see Tricycle Magazine article “The Jhāna Underground” by Wendy Biddlecombe Fall ’22 edition https://tricycle.org/magazine/nai-boonman/
This residential retreat offers a structured introduction to this particular Samatha breathing mindfulness technique. You will learn from two very experienced meditation teachers. Although silence will be the general rule there will be daily opportunities for individual guidance from these experienced teachers.
There will be daily group meetings, during which stages of the meditation are progressively introduced and practised. There will be periods of individual practice, time for both sitting and walking meditation and one-to-one consultations.
Practical Arrangements
Life at the Centre is run in a way that supports meditative practice. Residents abstain from sexual activity, alcohol and recreational drugs. Reading, too, is generally a distraction. The use of mobile phones and other electronic media devices is discouraged.
Meals are prepared and eaten communally. All participants help in the kitchen working mindfully to provide meals, wash up. Participants are also work together on small tasks such as cleaning personal and communal spaces at the end of the course.
Meditators will have their own room. Bathrooms and toilets are shared. Duvets and pillows are provided. It’s helpful if meditators bring their own bed linen.
Cost - The charge of £400 covers the cost of food and upkeep of the centre. Apart from courses, such as this, the Samatha Trust relies entirely on donations from course participants, members and friends. The teachers leading the course give their time freely. The teaching is freely given, teachers receive no payment or remuneration of any kind.
Mental Health Safeguards
Whilst Samatha meditation can benefit most temperaments, a weekend or week-long retreat may not be appropriate if you have significant mental health difficulties, particularly if you are new or relatively new to the practice.
The intensive nature of these courses can bring unresolved thoughts and feelings to the fore and if strong these may be difficult for you to deal with on the course. It may be better instead to develop meditation or mindfulness in a setting where there are more possibilities for active external engagement for the mind and where there is easier access to one's usual support. A number of mindfulness based therapies are also now more widely available.
Meditation should not generally be seen as a substitute for psychiatric treatment and we recommend that those with significant psychiatric disorders should approach meditation practice cautiously and inform the teacher of their condition prior to starting practice.
The Samatha Centre: Greenstreete
The course takes place at the National Samatha Centre, Greenstreete
The national Samatha Centre at Greenstreete, Llangullo, is a converted farmhouse with individual accommodation, forest meditation huts and a purpose built shrine hall. There are regular courses for beginners and experienced meditators.
The house has been extensively renovated; a Meditation Hall has been constructed on the site of an old barn and six meditation huts built for those who would benefit from more solitude.
Gardens, woodland and a wetland area have been cultivated in collaboration with the local wildlife trust. The farmhouse and Meditation Hall are surrounded by 88 acres of hills, woodland and streams, providing varied and peaceful settings for meditation.
The Samatha Centre, Greenstreete, Powys, Wales, UK
If you feel ready to commit to this intensive course
Apply through the online form by clicking the link below
If you can’t access the form or have any questions, email
developing-jhana-consciousness@samatha.org
All appicants will meet with one of the course teachers before being accepted on the course.