Chenrezig Weekend Retreat: Awakening the Heart of Compassion

This Chenrezig weekend retreat is a meditation retreat in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, held at the Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity in Colville, on New Zealand's Coromandel Peninsula. Guided by Venerable Thubten Khadro, it offers a gentle introduction to the practice of Chenrezig (Avalokiteśvara), the embodiment of universal compassion. It is open to anyone who wants a more open heart and a calmer, clearer mind, whatever their background or belief.

What to Expect

The retreat runs from a Friday afternoon to a Sunday lunchtime. Registration and check-in begin at 4:00 pm on Friday, followed by an opening session and orientation. Saturday is given to the core practice: morning and afternoon meditation sessions, guided Chenrezig visualisations, mantra recitation practice and teachings on compassion. On Sunday there are final meditation and practice sessions and a closing ceremony, with departure by 1:00 pm.

The practices include meditation, gentle visualisation and the recitation of Om Mani Padme Hum, the mantra traditionally associated with Chenrezig. Compassion is approached here as a skill that can be developed rather than an abstract ideal. The aim is to help you meet challenges, emotions and relationships with more balance, warmth and understanding, and to reconnect with the kindness, empathy and inner strength already present in you.

About the Mahamudra Centre

The Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity is a Tibetan Buddhist retreat centre on 8 acres in the Colville Valley, surrounded by native bush, farm land and the hills of the Coromandel range. It is a charitable trust affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an international organisation in the Gelugpa tradition, and works under the guidance of FPMT's Spiritual Director, Kyabje Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.

The Centre began in the early 1980s, when Colville locals Roy Fraser and Sally Barraud saw the chance to build a retreat centre and bring Tibetan Buddhist meditation teachers to the area. On the advice of their teacher, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, they bought a local farmhouse and land, and with the help of many volunteers and community members turned it into the retreat place it is today.

The Setting

The retreat takes place on the Centre's rural grounds at 2183 Main Colville Road, Colville. Several ways of staying are offered:

- Day retreat only, attending all sessions and arranging your own accommodation off-site
- Camping on the grounds in your own tent or camper van, with unpowered sites and shared bathroom facilities
- A bed in a shared triple room, with two other participants and shared bathrooms
- A private single room or a private double room, both with shared bathroom facilities
- A single cabin, a single deluxe cabin or a double cabin, each private and self-contained

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and refreshments are provided throughout the weekend.

Before You Go

The retreat is designed for beginners through to those with some experience. No prior meditation or Buddhist background is needed. It is taught in English.

Included are all meditation and retreat activities, meals and refreshments for the duration, guidance from Venerable Thubten Khadro, and access to the retreat facilities and grounds. Accommodation off-site is not included for those attending by day only.