Good to know:

• We will serve three meals per day – all vegetarian or vegan.
• All participants will be asked to do a light karma yoga of about 30 minutes per day.
• Parts of the retreat will be in complete silence; we will ask you to store away your phone and gadgets in a safe before the retreat starts. In case you need to be reached for an emergency or an important matter, Nalanda’s office telephone number will be provided.
• The retreat will be spoken in English and interpreted into French & Spanish. 

Ven. René met the Dharma at the November course at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, which was taught by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the founders and spiritual directors of the FPMT.

He received monastic ordination 1985 and then studied four years at Nalanda Monastery with Khensur Jampa Tegchok, former abbot of Nalanda and Sera Je Monastic University, India. After his studies, ven. René went into a two and half year solitary retreat at Oseling retreat centre. He has served as the resident teacher at Vajrapani Institute in California for seven years and guided several retreats around the world.

These days, he spends most of his time in solitary retreat in the United States, and sometimes leads group retreats in different places. 
Ven. René guided three appreciated meditation retreats at Nalanda Monastery in 2016, 2017 and 2024. In 2023, he guided the November Course at Kopan Monastery and the meditations of the Light of the Path retreat.

Please note that the daily schedule may slightly change:

• 06:00 – 07:00 Session (morning prayers and meditation)
• 07:00 – Breakfast
• 08:30 – 09:30 Session
• 10:00 – 10:45 Session
• 11:15 – 12:00 Session
• 12:30 – 13:30 Lunch
• 14:30 – 15:30 Session
• 16:00 – 16:45 Session
• 18:00 – 19:00 Dinner
• 19:00 – 20:00 Session (Questions and answers/meditation)

Click on the following links:

Prices for lay / Prices for Sangha

Register here! (link coming)

For your registration to be secured we will ask you make a payment soon after your registration. We will limit the places to circa 90 participants and rooms might run out soon. When you fill the registration form, you may chose the type of accomodation – please be aware that the number of private bedrooms is limited.

Nalanda Monastery applies the following cancellation policy for this retreat:

• If you cancel your registration before 1st of June you will be refunded 100% of your paid retreat fee.
• Cancellations in June will be refunded with 70% of the paid retreat fee.
• Cancellations in July will be refunded with 40% of the paid retreat fee.
• Cancellations in August will not be refunded except in exceptional cases, such as admission to hospital after a serious accident or the death of a very close family member (parents, spouse, or children), whereby official documents will be asked.

Please be mindful that late cancellations causes the monastery losses in revenue and might hinder others from joining the retreat.

Feel like getting to know Venerable René, or want to start preparing yourself for the retreat?

Here is a playlist from the previous retreat with Venerable René at Nalanda. Feel free to get to know his teaching style, meditations….