Besides organizing volunteers to work as the teachers, we can also organize meditation retreats just for you! Our monastery is located outside of Kathmandu, overlooking the Kathmandu valley, and surrounded by a forest with fresh air. Inside the monastery is a calm, peaceful and beautiful setting where Buddhist monks live, Study, pray and eat . It is here that you can live with the Buddhist monks, learn about Buddhism, be guided in meditation and stay for your retreat. Come and join us in Nepal and allow yourself to get away from the stresses and worries of everyday life.
So come and immerse yourself in Nepali culture, learn about Buddhist meditation, meet the Nepali monks and see the beauty that can exist in a quiet and spiritual place. We welcome you to Nepal! We encourage you to start your journey.
There are three main components of this program:
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- The first is that you will have teaching sessions with Guru Dr. Lopen Tashi Chhiring Sherpa on some essential points of the Buddhist doctrine.
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- Secondly, you will be given an introduction to basic meditation techniques and will have regular meditation sessions that will be led by the student monks.
- Finally, you will be able to be involved in discussion sessions with monks and other Buddhist students from the monastery.
Our guru will teach you the meditation to the limits of your own abilities. Skill level is varied and to be embraced. Meditation is not a competition, but an individual experience. And it is absolutely for everyone. Just remember to breathe and appreciate where you are and go slowly. We will tailor the time and the group and the costs to suit what you need and want (as much as possible according to the monk’s availability). We do however need a minimum of five people to go ahead with a retreat. The best thing to do is to email us!
You will be given accommodation in the monastery, which is in Sundarijal, Kathmandu, and eats there as the monks do. Two vegetarian meals are served daily: usually Dhal Bhat (cooked rice and lentil soup), cooked vegetables with Roti (flat bread) or Thukpa (Tibetan noodle and vegetable soup). The meals will be served hot, and are delicious.
You will be living and study amongst the monks (who are very helpful and welcoming). We do though, ask all of our participants to pay due respect to the monks’ privacy and the monastic environment. This includes refraining from killing (any type of animal or insect), stealing, lying, sexual misconduct and taking intoxicants (including cigarettes and alcohol) on the premises. We also ask all participants (both male and female) to dress modestly: such as long pants/skirts, no mid-riff tops and keeping shoulders covered. This will show respect to the monks and ensure everyone is comfortable.
Program Booking Fee: 65$ (for 3 days program) – is a non-refundable fee which covers processing your application and pre-departure support and is not deductible from program fees. Costs may be tailored and change, depending on how many people attend the retreat (five as a minimum) and other variables – just email us for a quote!
We can organize a retreat for a different length of time depending on what you want. The optimum lengths of time are listed below so select one, contact us and we’ll talk more!
Please download Application Form for Private Retreat.
Length of Stay: 3 days (2 nights)
Length of Stay: 15 days (14 nights)
- You can stay longer in case you are volunteering in our monastery as a teacher. From 2 weeks up to 5 months. (As long as your visa allows you)
The program fee covers:
Transportation
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- Airport picks up by our staff with Nepali culture.
- Pick up from Buddha Stupa or Central Bus Station. (For all, there are buses available to reach here or you can take a taxi on your own)
Program Induction
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- 10 hours of Nepali language course
- Nepali culture (Do’s & Don’ts)
- Health & Safety Tips
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- A half day sightseeing of Darbur Square / Boudhanath Stupa (Our boys can be your guide to those places) or anywhere you want to go by yourself.
- Giving advice for safe travel, trekking, adventure assistance (We can help you to choose the best ones)
Food & Accommodation
- Accommodation at the school with sleeping bags in case hosting more than two volunteers
- 2 meals of standard Nepali food/day
Administrative Cost
- Regular follow up support
- Free wireless internet
The program fee excludes the following:
- Airfare, Visa, and Visa extension fee – (check with your embassy or Nepal Immigration for the latest fee structure)- Visa (tourist) fee in US$:
15 days:- US$25
30 days:-US$40
90 days: US$100
Per additional day:- US$2;
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- Stationeries during volunteering period if you wish to use much
- Breakfast and dinner during program induction (€5 per day will be enough)
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- Return transfer to airport – Our staff can help you to drop you off the airport if you need help
- Transportation during to travel around
- Entrance fees to the cultural Heritage – $22 max for main cultural sites
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- Personal travel and sightseeing (trekking, jungle safari etc. If you are interested we can organize for you with affordable prices)
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- Laundry, internet access, telephone, drinks or other costs accrued during training and placement
- Gifts to project staffs if you wish to buy any
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- Should you wish to spend more time in Kathmandu pre and post placement period, please remember to budget accordingly!
- Travel and medical insurances, immunization, health expenses
- You will also need a weekly budget of up to US$20 to cater for all your other expenses like bottled water.
Without the program fees that you pay, our school would be unable to sustain the platform upon which both our project work and the support that we provide to volunteers are based. Our School is a Nepal-based registered organization. We are not an agency and we place volunteers in our own programs directly. The majority of our staff is local. All of your program fee goes directly to either fund your time in Nepal, including transport, food, accommodation, induction or towards funding our community programs, along with the everyday administrative costs that these things incur, as well as providing better food and facilities for our students.