Introduction to Buddhism Course & Retreat

Introduction to Buddhism Course

7-day retreat with Ven. Michael Yeshe

8 - 16 July 2022

Registration is Closed

Update: We’re happy to announce that the very first monk and director of Nalanda – Ven Gyatso will join Ven Michael Yeshe to give teachings and share his own experience.

All teachings session during the retreat will be live-streamed in both English and French language. No recordings will be available publicly. To have access to live-streams, please submit your email here.

Nalanda Monastery is happy to invite everybody for our first Introduction to Buddhism course in a retreat environment, happening from 8th to 16th of July 2022.

Give yourself a break and reconnect with reality. Unwind from social media, distractions and see how ancient wisdom of the enlightened masters can still be relevant for you in this day and age. All of this at the feet of the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery located in the South of France.

To study about Buddhism is to study yourself.

During this 7-day introductory retreat, Venerable Michael Yeshe, the main teacher for this course, will explain the key points of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and meditation from a modern perspective. The goal is to help you taste and apply the Buddha’s wisdom to increase peace, happiness, and compassion in your daily life.

Topics which will be covered during the course include:

The Mind and Emotions
Karma
Rebirth
Love and Compassion
The Nature of Reality

During this course you will:

Learn what Buddhism is in a nutshell
Learn how to do meditation
Strengthen and refine your meditative practice (if you already have one)
Learn how to develop a daily meditation practice

Please be aware that this course can be intensive. It involves periods of strict silence, abstaining from internet and electronic devices and sharing a relatively small space with other participants for a prolonged time.

All teachings will be given in English. Translation into French will be offered by Catherine Fradet.

An inspiring life-story of Venerable Michael Yeshe (talk given last year at Institut Vajra Yogini):

Course Schedule

Please note that the schedule may slightly change at short notice.

8 July: Check-in Day

14:00	Check-in & Registration
17:00 – 18:00	Welcome & Introductory talk
18:00	Dinner
19:00	Course Introduction by Venerable Michael Yeshe

9 – 15 July: Teaching & Meditation Program

06:00	Wake up
06:45 – 07:30	Mindfulness Meditation
07:30	Breakfast
09:00 – 11:00	Teaching session #1
11:15 – 12:00	Stretching (if teacher available) or Walking Meditation
12:30 – 15:00	Lunch & Karma Yoga Jobs
15:00 – 16:00	Discussion Groups
16:00	Tea Break
16:30 – 18:00	Teaching session #2
18:00	Dinner
19:30	Guided Meditation

16 July: Check-out Day

06:00	Wake up
06:45 – 07:30	Mindfulness Meditation
07:30	Breakfast
09:00	Final Talk & Feedback
12:30	Lunch
14:00	Check-out

Please Note: All participants must come on time and are expected to attend all sessions of the course. Late arrivals or early departures are not permitted. Please make your travel arrangements to Nalanda accordingly.

Retreat Conditions

In order to create the best possible conditions for a fruitful retreat we ask all participants to be mindful of the following rules:

Silence: Starting after dinner till the lunch time the next day, all participants must observe strict silence. Speaking is only allowed in the ‘Question and Answer sessions’ and in case of emergency.
No smartphones or other electronic devices. All devices will be collected at the beginning of the retreat and returned at the end. There will be an office phone provided to make and receive calls in case of emergency only.
Full participation: Participants must attend all sessions.
Food: All meals are vegetarian or vegan. We offer breakfast, lunch and a light dinner.
Karma yoga: Participants will be assigned a light task to do every day (for example: cleaning or dishwashing).
Punctuality: It is very important to arrive on time for all sessions. A wristwatch will be useful.
The 5 basic precepts: We ask everybody to refrain from killing, stealing, lying, taking intoxicants (including cigarettes), and engaging in sexual activity while staying at Nalanda.

Course Fees

Fees for participants checking-in on 8 July and checking-out on 16 July:

Single room (very limited amount): 380€
Double room (very limited amount): 330€
Dormitory tent (up to 14 people per tent): 300€
Individual tent (bring your own) or camping van: 250€

What’s included: The fees cover the rent of the room/tent, three meals a day, tea/coffee, and full access to the course.

If you want to arrive earlier or stay longer days at Nalanda, please refer to Accommodation and Fees page for your stay options.

Please note: As Nalanda is a monastery, we, unfortunately, don’t have too many individual or double rooms available for women. We will try our best to offer your first choice but the registrations happen on a first come basis.

Access to the live teachings

Please leave your name and email address to have access to the live-streams of the teachings given by Ven. Michael Yeshe and Ven. Gytso during this retreat. We will send you the links a few days before the start of the retreat. The recordings won’t be available – that means you will only be able to access live during the teachings are given.

Venerable Michael was born in London in 1966 to a Greek father and a Belgian mother. He was raised in Kopan Monastery in Nepal and has been a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition since the age of 7. At age 13, he entered the Sera Jey Monastic University in South India where he spent the next 18 years studying Buddhist Philosophy.

Since 1996, Venerable Michael Yeshe has been invited to Buddhist centres in America, Singapore, Malaysia and Holland as a translator and teacher. For 11 years he was residing at the Tara Institute in Melbourne where he served as a translator for Venerable Geshe Doga.

He is currently a resident teacher at Yeshin Norbu, Sweden, where he leads buddhist courses and retreats.

Ven. Thubten Gyatso (1943, Dr. Adrian Feldmann) is residing at Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery near Bendigo, Australia, which he also started. Ven. Gyatso was the first monk who arrived at Nalanda in 1981 after being invited by Lama Yeshe. Therefore he was also the first director of Nalanda Monastery, serving from 1981 to 1985. He also wrote an autobiography about his early Buddhist and ordained years, which is published in a book called ‘A Leaf in the Wind’.