Dathün – A Month of Meditation

A dathün is a month-long meditation retreat where we have the time to be with ourselves, touch our basic humanity and make friends with the simple reality of just being, without the need for further embellishment. We can fully experience what it means to be alive, and just be who we are. In this way, we nourish the friendship with ourselves and discover the wisdom of our living existence. To just be is a precious opportunity in our busy lives, a gift that we can give ourselves.

Teaching Team

This retreat will be taught by an international team: Anne von der Eltz (Germany), Peter Nowak (Austria), Sylvie Deraime (France) and Toni Imfeld (Switzerland).

Program Content

Over the first two weeks of the retreat, we will explore thoughts from the Hinayana teachings of how to be present. According to the Buddha we are naturally wakeful. From this point of view, awareness is not a struggle but our natural state of being that we can find in the midst of our confusion and uncertainty.

In the last two weeks, we will explore the inspiration of the Mahayana teachings of Buddhism: going beyond the fascination of the self and of our own happiness, expanding our view to include others with friendliness into our practice and our daily activities. We will start to practice the noble method of Tonglen (sending and receiving).

During the whole programme, the sitting practice of meditation will be our stabilizing main practice.

However, we will also have

• other mindfulness and awareness practices
• Walking meditation
• Silence practice
• Experiential exercises
• Mindful eating practice
• Body exercises

as well as

• One on one meditation instruction
• Talks by senior teachers
• Study periods

Each day follows a traditional schedule, incorporating the elements listed above:

7:00am Early Morning Practice Session with body exercises
8:00am Breakfast
9:00am Morning Practice Session
12:30pm Oryoki Lunch
2:00pm Rota Period
3:00pm Afternoon Practice Session
4:30pm Tea Break
5:00pm Late Afternoon Practice Session
6:45pm Dinner
8:00pm Evening Practice Session
9:00pm End of Day

For beginners as well as advanced practitioners, this programme will be a powerful experience, regardless of your age or stage in life. 

Participants are encouraged to attend the entire dathün. As we know that this is not possible for all interested persons, it is also perfectly fine to attend the first two or the last two weeks of the dathün separately.

Practical information

Arrival day: Sunday March 2. You’re invited to come from 4 pm in order to register and settle in your room. Dinner is served at 6:30 pm, followed by an introductory talk at 8 pm.
End of programme: Thursday March 27. Closing circle and banquet in the evening.
Departure day: Friday March 28. You may leave anytime (no programme). You’re welcome to stay for breakfast.

Price: in order to make this as accessible as possible, we are only charging food and accommodation for participants who wish to do the entire retreat.

If you require financial assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us: [email protected]

This programme is taught in English and will be translated into French (please indicate your request for translation on the registration page). 

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