A Series of Led Retreat Days with Bristol Insight Meditation for 2026

Day retreats take place mostly in a setting of companionable silence, including during the lunch period. Silence offers an opportunity to attend to one’s own experience without the need to be anyone for other people.

There will be a chance for a chat with a cup tea at the start and end of the day and during the day there will usually be time for questions and discussion with the teacher.

You will be asked to sit quietly for periods of up to 30 minutes, with varying amounts of guidance. These sittings are interspersed with periods of walking and movement.

We recognise that this level of silence may be challenging for newcomers and is not always suitable for everyone at every time. If you have any concerns or wonder whether a retreat is the right thing for you at this time, you are welcome to get in touch with us.

Some retreats do require attendees to have some prior meditation experience. If this is the case it will be stated in the retreat description.

We welcome volunteers to help on the day, if you would like to help in this way please contact us.

Fees

We ask for a booking fee to cover costs of venues, teachers’ expenses, ongoing administrative costs. We offer an Early Bird (closes 1 month before the event) and Tier 1 rates. A freely given rate is also available so that no-one is excluded.

Dana

Dana can be translated as cultivating generosity or giving. The teachers who lead our retreats receive their travel costs and ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses but do not receive any payment for their teaching. However they are happy to receive voluntary contributions from participants in the events they lead. These offerings are traditionally called dana. Most of our teachers depend on dana for most or all of their livelihood.

Our teachers are following an ancient tradition, offering teachings freely just as they received them freely from a previous generation of teachers. In this way the dharma (the teachings of the Buddhist tradition) is not made an object of commerce, and the relationship between teacher and student is based upon trust, freedom, and mutual generosity.

If you attend one of our events and appreciate what the teacher has offered, we warmly invite you to make whatever contribution you feel appropriate. If you do so, you will be making a vital contribution to their livelihood and helping them to continue teaching on this generous basis, particularly in situations where people cannot afford to pay anything.

Saturday 28th February 2026 - ONLINE Retreat Day - The Consolation of the Five Regular Contemplations with Bhante Bodhidhamma.

A day of practice in the traditional of the Mahasi Sayadaw of Myanmar.

During this online daylong we will explore the following: The Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma, one of the most influential meditation teachers of the last century, developed a combination of techniques, primarily noting and going slow, to develop the steadiness of attention needed for insight into the impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and insubstantiality. Such insights lead to a greater well-being and ease of living and, ultimately, to liberation from all suffering.

A day of practice with Bhante, beginning with the Refuges and Precepts, periods of sitting and walking meditation. There will be a short talk to raise curiosity, a Factor of Awakening, with some time for questions and answers.

Bhante Bodhidhamma began his meditation in the Soto Zen tradition in 1978 and has practised widely in the Theravada tradition, centring on the Mahasi tradition. In 1986, he ordained and subsequently spent eight years at Kanduboda Meditation Centre in Sri Lanka. From June 2001-2005, he was the resident teacher in residence at Gaia House. He founded Satipanya Buddhist Retreat (https://www.satipanya.org.uk), dedicated to the Mahasi tradition, on the borders of Wales in 2007. The centre has gone through extensive development and now accommodates 10 meditators in single rooms.

Saturday 25th April - Jaya Rudgard in Person at Glenfrome School

Info coming shortly

Saturday 6th June - Healing the Wounds of Spirit, Being and Belonging with Maura Sills (In Person at Glenfrome School)

During our day together through meditation, small group practices, dialogue and talks we will explore the places in ourselves that may feel constricted or split off from the qualities of the open heart. The possibility of reconnecting with our inherent goodness to enter the deep flow of well-being. Re joining us with and nourished by the Benediction of the Great Emptiness.

Maura Sills is the Founder of Core Process Psychotherapy which offers an innovative psycho-spiritual approach to therapy. Karuna Dartmoor integrates western psychotherapeutic models with Buddhist psychology and mindfulness practices. Drawing on over 40 years of experience, Core Process Psychotherapy offers a depth understanding of what helps and hinders healing insight and transformation. She was a nun in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition with Taungpulu Sayadaw of the Burmese Forest Tradition. Maura has led Meditation Retreats for over forty years in both the Theravadin and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Maura is an Honorary Fellow of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and Director of Training at Karuna Dartmoor which offers Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and various retreats.

Saturday 19th September - Seven points for Leading a Good Life with Bernat Font (In Person at Glenfrome School) -

What comes after mindfulness? Is being mindful all there is to it? One answer to this is the Buddhist teaching of the 7 factors of awakening. These continue on to enquiry, courage, joy, relaxation, collectedness, and culminate in balanced engagement – what is often called equanimity.

During a day of meditation, teachings and discussion, Bernat Font will show how the 7 factors of awakening are an incredibly versatile teaching which can help our meditation just as much as our day to day. They are one of the best templates to examine how to lead a good life – they hide a pragmatic ethical teaching – and to be creative in order to make the dharma our own, embodying awakening.

Bernat Font teaches with a combination of scholarly rigour, everyday examples, and a playful sensibility. He met the Dharma at a very early age, and has been mainly influenced by Stephen Batchelor, Sayadaw U Tejaniya & the Thai Forest tradition.

A faculty member at Bodhi College and a founder of Espai Sati in Barcelona, he has a PhD in Buddhist Studies, translates Pali texts into Catalan and Spanish, and is also a jazz pianist.

More information can be found on his website: http://dharma.cat.

Saturday 7th November - Engaging wise intention to navigate worlds of change. Explore meeting the unknown using relational Insight Dialogue meditation with Jane Cutler (In Person at Glenfrome School)

In Buddhism, ‘wise intention’ involves cultivating a mindset of renunciation (letting go), goodwill and non-harm. It is the underlying motivation behind our thoughts, words, and actions. It is vital for reducing suffering by counteracting greed, hatred, and delusion - the delusion that we are individuals separate from the web of life and that our actions have no consequences. Wise intention acts as a compass, guiding our choices and aligning our efforts towards the goal of freedom and inner peace.

Insight Dialogue is an interpersonal meditation practice rooted in the early Buddhist teachings that bring together meditative awareness, Buddhist teachings and relationship to self, other, community and world, to understand and reduce suffering. Six relational meditative guidelines support you to investigate aspects of the Buddhas teachings with a partner or in small groups.

Embodied practice and meditational inquiries on practical, daily life challenges are emphasised. This can enhance our approach to life and daily interactions, creating opportunities for greater ease.

Jane Cutler has been practicing meditation since 1972. She has been facilitating Insight Dialogue practice since 2010 and is an Insight Dialogue teacher. She leads an ID facilitator training cohort, and will be supported by experienced trainee facilitators for these day retreats.

The first retreat of the series is taking place online via Zoom and the link will be sent to you via email after booking.

In Person Retreat Day Venue: Glenfrome Primary School, Bristol, BS5 6TY

These days are run by Bristol Insight Meditation group from 10-4 with a shared lunch. You can arive as from 9.30 to havea bit of time for a drink and to settle in before we start at 10am.

So please bring the following items with you on the day:

• a vegetarian dish to share (or your own pack lunch if you prefer),
• a yoga mat,
• cushions and blankets so you can be comfortable for the day.
• Outdoor gear for mindful walking
• Cash/cheque for the teacher's dana

Chairs and gym mats are provided.

Booking:

We have suggested donations for our retreat days which are as follows:

Early Bird Booking covers booking made over e month before the event and is £20 waged and £10 unwaged (plus booking fee).

Tier 1 Booking is for bookings made closer then a month to the retreat date and are £25 waged and £12.50 unwaged.

Suggested Ticket cost:

The fee that you pay covers the running costs for the retreat – the hire of the venue, teachers’ travelling and accommodation expenses, publicity, insurance, etc. Fees are charged on a sliding scale chosen by you according to your means.

Please pay the standard or sponsor rate if you are able to - this helps us to cover our costs and keeps our events open and accessible to all.

Gift Aid:

If you are a UK tax payer and happy to sign up for Gift Aid then we would be really grateful for this as Bristol Insight then receives the Gift Aid on each ticket. You con find out more information about gift aid here: https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid

Our freely given tickets are available for anyone with limited or no means to pay. We warmly welcome and encourage anyone who wishes to attend. No one will be excluded for lack of funds.

Dana:

We ask for dana (donation) to be given on the day to cover the cost of the teacher so please bring cash/cheque if you wish to donate towards the cost of the teaching itself.