Meditation Courses, Retreats & Events
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Avalokiteshvara Purification & Fasting Retreat
Sat 12 - Sun 13 April
6.30am - 4.15pm both days
With Kadam John McBretney
Heruka KMC, London
The Power to Change: Peace is Possible
Sat 17 May
10am - 1.15pm
With Kadam John McBretney
Heruka KMC, London
Spring Festival: Buddha Maitreya Empowerment
23 - 28 May 2025
With Gen-la Kelsang Jampa
at Manjushri KMC
Away Retreat to Kailash International Retreat Centre
Fri 13 June - Mon 16 June
Fri eve supper and introduction
Mon lunch and depart
With Kadams John and Ai Peng McBretney
Kailash IRC, Swiss Alps
Summer Festival - Buddha Green Tara Empowerment
25 July - 9 August 2025
With Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong and Gen-la Kelsang Jampa
Manjushri KMC, Cumbria

Meditation and Evening Meal
Friday night out with a difference
Friday 31 January 2025
6.45pm
At Heruka Kadampa Meditation Centre, Golders Green
The evening starts at 6.45pm with 45 minutes of relaxing guided meditation to let go of all the stresses and strains of the week, followed by a delicious three-course meal and complimentary drinks.
Our mouth-watering vegetarian and vegan menu is lovingly prepared in our World Peace Cafe. Bring your friends and loved ones to enjoy this relaxing Friday night together!
Suitable for all, everybody welcome.
£22 for the meditation, talk and evening meal.
£12 for members (Become a member)

Calm Clear Mind
Guided Silent Retreat
Saturday 8 February 2025
10am to 3pm
At Heruka Kadampa Meditation Centre, Golders Green
With Kadam Ai Peng McBretney
Learn how to take some time out and get the most out of our life by reducing our busyness and developing a calm and peaceful mind. Often our mind is very busy, always moving from one thing to the next. This can be exhausting and stressful – robbing us of our mental space and clarity.
On this silent retreat we will discover how we can quieten our mind and find mental peace and stillness through training in meditation. By reducing distractions and developing a more focused mind we can learn to enjoy our inner peace even in the midst of our busy modern lives.
The break times during the retreat will be silent and there is plenty of space for you to relax and reflect or with a cup of tea at the centre.
Schedule
- Registration - 9.30am - 10am
- Session 1 - 10am - 11am
- Break - 11am - 11.45am
- Session 2 - 11.45am - 12.45pm
- Lunch - 12.45pm
- Session 3 - 2pm - 3pm
Free for Silver, Gold & Platinum members.
Available live-streamed on Zoom for Silver, Gold and Platinum members

The Liberating Prayer - Finding Love and Strength Within
Friday 14 Febuary 2025
7:30pm to 8:45pm
At Heruka Kadampa Meditation Centre, Golders Green
With Kadam John McBretney
Meditate on the Liberating Prayer for a Heart Full of Peace
This Valentine’s Day, nurture your inner love and strength with a special meditation class inspired by The Liberating Prayer. Explore how this profound prayer can open your heart, uplift your mind, and guide you toward unshakeable peace.
Join Kadam John and the Heruka KMC community for an evening of guided meditation, contemplation, and inspiration. Experience the blessings of a mind centered in love and wisdom.
Schedule
- Registration - 7pm - 7.30pm
- Teaching and practice - 7.30pm - 8.45pm
- Refreshments and discussion - from 8.45pm

Refuge Retreat
Saturday 15 to Sunday 16 Feb 2025
9am to 6.30pm - 4 sessions a day
At Heruka Kadampa Meditation Centre, Golders Green
Unguided silent retreat
Refuge Retreat is the first of the four great preliminary guides that we need to practise if we want to enter into Buddhism and make progress on our spiritual path to enlightenment. Through training in sincerely going for refuge we enter the gateway to Buddhism; and training in the compassionate mind of bodhichitta we enter the gateway to the Mahayana – the main path to the state of enlightenment.
If we do not have a practice of refuge in the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – we will not enter Buddhism and this means we have no opportunity to attain permanent liberation from suffering or the supreme happiness of Enlightenment. Then we will have lost the meaning of human life.
There will be four unguided sessions a day, and the practice is accomplished within the sadhana Essence of Good Fortune.
Please note: this is not a guided retreat.
This retreat is part of the Teacher Training Programme. It is suitable for those with some experience of Buddhist meditation and practice, but everyone is welcome.
Lunch may be available for a small price.
Please email us at epc@meditateinlondon.org or phone 07949 916 144 or 0208 455 7563 for more information
Schedule
- Session 1 - 9am - 10.30am
- Session 2 - 11.30am - 1pm
- Session 3 - 2.30pm - 4pm
- Session 4 - 5pm - 6.30pm

Empowerment of Buddha Amitayus, Commentary & Guided Retreat
At Heruka Kadampa Meditation Centre, Golders Green
With Resident Teacher, Kadam John McBretney
Saturday 22 to Sunday 23 February 2025, from 10am both days
Amitayus means "immeasurable life span." When we receive the blessing empowerment of Buddha Amitayus, and open our heart to his help and guidance, he will help us increase our wisdom, our merit (our ability to fulfill our wishes) and, most importantly, he will help us protect our most precious possession — our life. Through his blessings, we increase our energy and lifespan with which to complete the spiritual path.
The weekend provides an ideal opportunity to draw close to Buddha Amitayus and learn how to rely upon him through profound and effective meditations anyone can practice. Through this training, we will gradually free ourself from all obstacles and unhappiness, enjoy a long and happy life, and develop profound ability to benefit others.
An empowerment is a blessing ritual and guided meditation through which we make a deep connection with a Buddha and create the cause to actualize that Buddha's enlightened state.
Kadam John will grant the empowerment, explain the practice of the Yoga of Buddha Amitayus, the Buddha of Long Life, and guide the retreat. This beautiful practice helps us to lengthen our own and others’ lifespans and increase our wisdom and good fortune. With this practice we will find meaning and happiness in our busy daily lives, and gradually free ourself from all obstacles and unhappiness. It is traditional to engage in this practice early each year for the auspiciousness of the whole year.
We are very fortunate to have this precious opportunity which will give great meaning to our lives.
Everybody welcome.
Saturday
• Blessing empowerment: 10.30am – 12.30pm
• Vegetarian lunch
• Commentary and practice: 2.30 – 4.30pm
Sunday
• Session one: 10am - 11.15am
• Session two: 11.45am - 1pm
• Vegetarian lunch
• Session three: 2.15pm - 3.30pm
£50 whole weekend.
£40 Saturday only.
£15 Sunday only.
50% discount for Silver members, not including lunch.
100% discount (Free) for Platinum & Gold members, not including lunch.
Lunch £5 each day.
Become a member.

The Happiness Hour
Saturdays 8, 22, 29 March 2025
3pm to 4pm
At Heruka Kadampa Meditation Centre, Golders Green
With Richard Batty
Ease into Your Weekend - The Happiness Hour
Ease into your weekend with a gentle hour of calm and contemplation. These Saturday afternoon sessions offer uplifting guided meditations and thoughtful teachings to help you discover the true source of happiness—inner peace.
Shantideva’s timeless poem, Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, offers profound insights into living with wisdom, compassion, and kindness. The Happiness Hour draws inspiration from this cherished Buddhist text, offering practical ways to bring peace and meaning into our daily lives.
Perfect for beginners and experienced practitioners alike.
Led by Richard Batty
Free for Silver, Gold & Platinum members.
Available live-streamed on Zoom for Silver, Gold and Platinum members
Free for Silver, Gold & Platinum members.
Available live-streamed on Zoom for Silver, Gold and Platinum members

Avalokiteshvara Fasting & Purification Retreat ~ Nyungnay
With Kadam John McBretney
Saturday 12 to Sunday 13 April 2025
This special fasting and purification retreat is performed in conjunction with the meditation practice of thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion. Engaging in this retreat is very powerful for purifying negative karma of body, speech and mind and for pacifying strong delusions such as desirous attachment and hatred. It is also a special method for receiving the blessings of Buddha and improving our experience of love, compassion and bodhichitta.
On both days Kadam John will grant Mahayana precepts at 6.30am where we take vows to abstain from certain actions for 24 hours. Everyone attending the retreat will need to take precepts at 6.30am. For Mahayana precepts we use the sadhana called A Pure Life, available from Tharpa UK.
On the first day it is customary to abstain from all meals apart from lunch. On the second day we engage in a complete fast, abstaining from all food and drink for 24 hours. On both days, we will do three sessions of meditation, combining prostrations with chanted meditation. Those who are unable to engage in a complete fast can still participate in the sessions on the second day by abstaining from all meals apart from lunch.
For each session we will engage in the Drop of Essential Nectar sadhana with time for visualizations and mantra recitation as explained in the sadhana. We have some copies of the sadhana to borrow, but you might like to consider buying your own.
Session times, both days
Mahayana Precepts: 6.30 to 7.15am
Session 1: 8am – 9.15am
Session 2: 10.30am – 11.45am
Session 3: 3.00pm – 4.15pm
This is an in-person event.
Free for Silver, Gold and Platinum members. Become a member.

Stop Overthinking, Find Stillness Within
Saturday 26 April 2025
10am to 1.15pm
At Heruka Kadampa Meditation Centre, Golders Green
With Kadam John McBretney
Do you find it hard to quieten your mind and just let go? While we all need to think – to reflect, understand and make decisions – sometimes we can end up overthinking. Our thoughts become repetitive, negative, unclear or stuck. We find it hard to ‘switch off’, which can be exhausting and unproductive.
Buddha’s insight into the nature and function of the mind can help. Certain meditations in particular can help us to balance our thoughts and feel calmer as we navigate our busy, modern world with all its stress and stimulation.
You will learn how to:
- Identify unhelpful thoughts
- Learn to stay relaxed, peaceful and calm
- Protect your mind from stress and worry
Led by Kadam John McBretney, our Resident Teacher. Includes teachings and guided meditation, with time for Q&A.
Schedule
- Registration - 9.30am - 10am
- Session 1 - 10am - 11am
- Break - 11am - 11.45am
- Session 2 - 11.45am - 12.45pm
- Lunch - 12.45pm
Free for Silver, Gold & Platinum members.
Available live-streamed on Zoom for Silver, Gold and Platinum members






Nuturing Our Body and Mind in the Pure Air of the Swiss Alps
Away Retreat at Kailash International Retreat Centre
Friday 13 June to Monday 16 June 2025
with Kadam John McBretney
and Kadam Ai Peng McBretney
Escape to the serene beauty of the Swiss Alps for a transformative Kadampa meditation retreat at Kailash International Retreat Centre (IRC). This unique retreat offers an inspiring blend of meditations and teachings on love, compassion, and wisdom to help you unlock the profound potential of your mind. Surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty, immerse yourself in transformative guided meditations and teachings that awaken your limitless potential for love, compassion and wisdom.
No matter your level of experience, this retreat provides the perfect opportunity to rejuvenate your mind and spirit while embracing the timeless wisdom of Kadampa Buddhism.
This special meditation retreat is open to everyone, regardless of experience. Whether you’re new to meditation or already on your spiritual journey,this retreat will inspire and empower you.
- Suitable for all – no prior experience necessary.
- Spaces are limited, so book now!
Take this unique opportunity to retreat from the busyness of daily life and reconnect with your heart and mind in a setting of extraordinary natural beauty.
The teachers, Kadam John McBretney and Kadam Ai Peng McBretney, have 30 years’ experience of teaching modern Buddhism and meditation.
Retreat address
Kailash International Retreat Centre, Goldbiel 3, 3923 Törbel, Switzerland
Book your retreat - spaces are limited
Price includes accommodation, retreat sessions and three meals a day.
The prices are for three days and three nights, arriving for supper on Friday 13 June and arriving after lunch on Monday 16 June. A packed lunch can be provided on Monday, if required.
If you would like to arrive earlier or leave later, please contact us for price and availability by emailing info@meditateinlondon.org.
Select your accommodation
Accommodation
Guests bedding, towels and shower gel/shampoo are provided in all the rooms.
If your preferred accommodation is not available, you can join a waiting list by emailing info@meditateinlondon.org, however this does not guarantee you the accommodation. Alternatively, phone 020 8455 7563.
Prices: The prices are per person, except twin rooms, which are per room, see below.
Twin rooms: The twin room prices are per room. Please give the name of both people in the Order notes textbox on the Checkout page.
Meals
All the prices include three vegetarian and vegan meals meals each day, starting with supper on Friday 13 June and finishing with lunch on Monday 16 June. A packed lunch can provided on the last day if required.
Tea and coffee making
Free tea making facilities are accessible for everyone in the dining room. After breakfast coffee is available for CHF 1 (approx 90p) from a coffee machine in the dining room.
TRAVEL SUGGESTIONS
Gatwick to Geneva, by air, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Return fare from £65-£70 at the moment.
Geneva to Visp, by Swiss train, about 2 hours 35 minutes. Return fare about £40 if booked more than 30 days in advance.
Visp to Kailash IRC, by bus about 36 minutes.
FAQs about meditation courses
Everyone is welcome
"Happiness is a part of the mind that experiences inner peace, or peace of mind, so the real source of happiness must lie within the mind, not in external conditions."
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso