Introductory Weekend: Kindness February 2025

Introductory Weekend: Kindness February 2025

7 - 9 Feb 2025
Led By: Vidyamani

This weekend is suitable for newcomers and is an introduction to loving kindness (metta) as a way of being, as a meditation practice, and as part of a spiritual path. Practising metta can, over time, bring ease, relaxation, and delight into our lives, and transform our relationships.

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Metta is wishing well to ourselves, to others and to all beings and in a way that takes us beyond our usual limits and preferences.  2,500 years ago, the Buddha described and taught metta or loving kindness as a way to develop positivity and warmth, to leave behind harmful emotions, and to connect with other people at a deeper level.   He saw it as liberating and called it ‘freedom of heart’.  Our experiences of ourselves and other people can change for the good in ways we could not have imagined.

To develop metta, we need to acknowledge – also with kindness – our actual habitual emotions, and the views and expectations that can hold us back.  We can then contact our natural sense of connection with other living beings and move towards a compassionate or even joyful response.

We will fully introduce the Metta Bhavana meditation (the development of loving kindness).  In a series of structured stages, we begin with developing kindness towards ourselves, which is deeply important but doesn’t always feel easy!  We then send our well-wishing to a range of individuals and then to all living beings.  The retreat will also include activities to explore bringing kindness and compassion into our daily lives, small discussion groups, presentations, and some time for ourselves: to relax, let go and appreciate sitting quietly or walking in the landscape.

The retreat is led by women who are ordained within the Triratna Buddhist Community and are experienced meditators and teachers.  They may well have very different lifestyles and be different ages.  They may be living in the spiritual community at Taraloka, working in the world or bringing up a family.  However, they will look forward to sharing the vision and practice of metta with you and within the beauty of Taraloka and its landscape.

Suggested donation (in addition to the booking fee): £200 waged / £140 unwaged

Booking Fee: £65.00

Booking Form

Waiting List Booking Form

Bookings are closed for this event.

Paying for your retreat

Taraloka runs on generosity.

To book a retreat you pay a booking fee. This is the only charge made for coming on retreat. As far as possible, we don’t want anyone’s financial situation to stop them from coming to Taraloka.

At the end of your retreat, you have the opportunity to give money towards Taraloka. If you are able to donate, you are giving to another person who otherwise could not afford to come on retreat. And you are helping to give the gift of Taraloka to the women of the future.

We have suggested donations as these reflect the basic income needed to make a retreat viable. However, they are only suggestions. It is genuinely fine to give ten times these amounts, nothing, or anything in between.

Running on generosity is radical – thank you for being part of that.

For more information see what does it cost and a flow of generosity