One and a half day online zen meditation retreat

Join us for a one and a half day online Zen meditation retreat. The retreat will be held in silence except for two dharma talks with the opportunity to ask questions. Silence is often distant from our everyday lives as it invites and takes us to the unknown. When we meet ourselves in silence, we are meeting something that is us and simultaneously infinitely greater than us. Silence and stillness allow us to reach our deepest level of experiencing.

This retreat is suitable for beginners and experienced meditators alike as full instruction will be given at the start of the retreat on Friday evening. It will give you a taste of one of our week-long periods of intensive meditation practice that we facilitate at Karuna Center in the Algarve twice per year.

Cost of the retreat

In order to make our retreat as accessible as possible, we have two prices depending on your circumstances: - Regular price: 40 euros - Price for those with current financial difficulty: 30 euros

About the Teacher

Hamid has been a student and practitioner of Zen for thirty years and was ordained as a monk in 2000. He is a disciple of Zen Master Ryotan Tokuda who in 2010 gave him sanction to teach. Since that time, he has organized silent meditation retreats in different places and has been offering regular one-week intensive retreats at Karuna Center in Monchique since 2017, a place that feels like his sanctuary and spiritual home. Hamid is a counsellor in practice. He has spent over ten years in India and Indonesia where he has taught meditation, philosophy, and comparative spirituality. The teachings are inspired by both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions in particular by the Zen Buddhist tradition.

How the retreat will unfold

The retreat will start at 6pm (Central European time) on Friday 22nd January and will finish at 8pm on Saturday 23rd January. We will hold the retreat on zoom and you will receive login details for the event after registration.

Friday 22nd January - 6pm - 7pm: Introduction - 730pm – 930pm: Zazen (Zen meditation)*

Saturday 23rd January - 730am – 930am: Zazen * - 10am – 11am: Dharma talk and discussion - 11.15am – 1.15pm: Zazen* - 1.15pm – 3pm: Break for lunch - 3 – 5pm: Zazen* - 5.15pm – 6.45pm: Dharma talk and discussion - 7pm – 7.30pm: Zazen - 7.30pm – 8pm: Closing talk

*Zazen: Each two hour meditation block is comprised of three periods of 30 minutes sitting (zazen) and two periods of 10 minutes walking meditation (kin hin.) Full instruction will be given to you about how to do the sitting and walking meditation during the introduction on Friday evening.

How to register

Email maitri-retreats@outlook.com and we will send you payment details.

Other online events

We also hold an online meditation session and talk every Wednesday evening at 8pm central European time. Please contact us to receive more information.