Welcome to The Barn, a meditation retreat centre based on the Buddhist tradition in the beautiful Devon countryside of South West England.
Listed in 'Eight of the best retreats in Britain and Europe'
~ Simon Horsford, Sunday Telegraph 6 February 2011
Set in a stunning hillside location overlooking the River Dart, the Barn has been a friendly retreat centre for 25 years. It is a place where people are given the opportunity to reconnect with themselves and with nature in a tranquil, supportive environment.
Through a mixture of mindfulness practice, teacher-led inquiry and working meditation in our organic garden, small groups of retreatants can focus on and support the development of mindful practice in everyday life.
The centre is non-denominational - people of all faiths and none are equally welcome - although teaching at The Barn is based on Buddhist traditions, including Insight (Vipassana), Zen and Tibetan.
Who are Barn retreats suitable for?
All retreats at the Barn are suitable for beginners as well as experienced meditators - in fact anyone who is willing and able to:
- Fully commit to doing a Buddhist meditation retreat for the period of their stay
- Be part of a small community and follow our weekly structure
- Undertake the Five Precepts described below
The Five Precepts
Knowing they would lead to a happier and more fulfilling life, the Buddha suggested his lay followers take the following Five Precepts, and we ask our retreatants to do the same for the duration of their stay:
"I undertake the training to refrain from..."
- harming any living being
- taking what is not offered
- sexual and sensual misconduct
- false speech (including idle gossip, harsh and divisive speech)
- taking substances which disturb the balance of the mind (and may lead me into committing any of the above)
