Tara International Kadampa Retreat Centre

All Retreats 2024/2025

On this page, you will find every retreat we have on at Tara IKRC in chronological order. From one day retreats to 6 week retreats. Every type of retreat you need to find meaningful inner peace

beginners weekend retreat with Gen Kelsang Dema

Creating Inner Space

27th - 29th September

Real happiness only comes to us when our mind is peaceful. Even if we have all the best conditions in our life such as good friends, money, good health and so on, if our mind is disturbed or irritated in any way it is very hard to feel truly happy. When we distract ourselves with various pleasures the relief we feel is fleeting and soon disappears. On this weekend we get a chance to experience real inner peace through meditation and set up good habits to carry into our daily routine. Methods from the ancient wisdom of Buddhism made accessible for our busy modern lives. Everybody is welcome to join.

Five days of guided retreat on the practice of Meditation and Recitation of Solitary Vajrasattva.

A Pure Life - Monday Sep 30th-Fri Oct 4th

According to Buddha's wisdom teachings all our unhappiness, problems, fears, dangers andunfulfilled wishes are the result of our own previous harmful actions; also spiritually wecannot make any progress unless we purify these negative actions. Practising this suprememethod of Vajrasattva purification with the four opponent powers of regret, reliance,opponent force and promise we can definitely purify even the heaviest negative actions.

Friday Oct 11th - Sunday 13th Oct

Welcome to your Pure Land

Enjoy the blissful taste and transformative power of Tantra in meditations and talks on this very profound and liberating inner path to complete enlightenment. We will explore the essential meanings of the entire Tantric path for both absolute beginners and those with experience drawn from the recorded authentic experiences of the great Tantric master Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.

beginners weekend retreat with gen kelsang losel

Learning Meditations that Work

18th - 20th October

A gentle introduction to the ancient art of meditation in easy to learn steps. Meditation essentially familiarizes our minds with the causes of real happiness. It is a type of concentration that is single-pointedly focused on things that will give us a calm and peaceful mind - and this in turn leads us to be happy. Although we need to meditate in a quiet environment regularly, once we have learned how to control our mind in this way we can be focusing on things that keep us peaceful throughout the day and night - everyone needs this and everyone is welcome!

Sat 2nd Nov | 10:00am-4:00pm

The Power of Patience

Everyone experiences difficulties in their life and situations they do not want and this can
result in a lot of frustration, anguish and stress. However, through developing a mind of
patience acceptance we can maintain a peaceful and positive mind in the face of distressing circumstances.
On this day retreat we will use the power of contemplation and meditation to develop this
beautiful mind of patience so that we can cope with all the challenges that arise in our life in a constructive and beneficial way that helps both ourself and others.

Gen Kelsang Ananda, NKT National Spiritual Director for Germany and Resident Teacher for Tharpaland KMC.

Attaining Inner Pure Dakini Land

8th - 3th November 2024
International Post-Fall Festival Retreat

Why not bathe in an ocean of blessings enjoying Tara International Retreat Centre's special retreat conditions? This is the perfect way to strengthen your meditations on the completion stage of Venerable Vajrayogini.

Friday 22nd -Sunday 24th November

Serenity and Stillness 

Hectic modern life seems to only increase our inner tension; even when we try to relax wefind ourselves seeking excitement and stimulation which give only a temporary relief fromour underlying stress. What we really need in our life is peace, calm and stillness withinwhile we are engaging with the maelstrom of daily modern living - we need to feel still andserene.

23rd-26th December 2024

Discover Your Hidden Depths

Guided by Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab

A special relaxing mid-Winter retreat on exploring your inner potential, a refreshing and lightweight deep-dive into the power of your mind.  Each of us has within us a deep reservoir of inner peace - all we need to do is learn how to access it.  This means we have to gently develop and maintain new habits of mind to tap into this infinite resource. 

Drawing Close to the Wisdom Dharma Protector

Empowerment, Commentary and Close Retreat of the Great King, Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden

Friday January 3rd - Sunday February 16th 2025 with Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab

This retreat is in conjunction with the Wishfulfilling Jewel sadhana.  We collect 100,000 of each of the two mantras, concentrating on the meaning.  We then complete our retreat with Vajradaka burning offering to purify mistakes. Everyone with the empowerment of Dorje Shugden is welcome.

Amitayus Retreat

21st - 23rd February 2025
with Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab

This annual weekend retreat is an opportunity to focus on the meditation practice of Amitayus, the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, which is a special method for increasing our lifespan, wisdom and merit.

Finding Peace

In busy modern life it can seem that the sources of our frustration, disappointment and worry are endless. It can sometimes feel that no matter how hard we try cannot find the happiness that we in our heart of hearts yearn for.

On this retreat we will learn simple methods coming from ancient wisdom on how to develop a lasting inner peace.In this way we can eventually experience for ourself a deep happiness that remains unchanging no matter what our external circumstances.

Supreme Inner Protection

17th - 21st March 2025

Going for refuge is the first of the four great preliminary guides which lead us to the state of full 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.

Blessing Empowerment of Je Tsongkhapa with Vajrayana Mahamudra Retreat

Abiding in the Blessings of Guru Sumati Buddha Heruka

March 21- March 26th 2025

Teacher: with Gen la Kelsang Khyenrab

Before engaging in this special retreat we will receive the blessing empowerment of the Wisdom Buddha Je Tsongkhapa and instructions on how to engage in the meditation practice.  These instructions are very blessed.  Je Tsongkhapa himself received them direct from Manjushri and passed them to his close disciples from whom we have received them from our Spiritual Guide Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.  We should rejoice in our unique good fortune.

Finding Stillness Within

When faced with the pressures of daily life it can feel as if we are constantly being pulled in many directions and that we are rarely still.

On this retreat we can taste for ourself the stillness and joy that naturally come when we apply simple yet profound methods for developing our inner peace. We will also learn how we can carry this experience into our day to day so that we can maintain our inner stillness regardless of how busy our external circumstances may be.

Nyungnay Retreat

13-15 Apr 2025
with Gen Kelsang Losel

Nyungnay Fasting Retreat is one of our precious Kadampa Dharma Jewels, the second day is on Buddha’s Enlightenment Day, April 15th.

Learn to Meditate

Everyone experiences difficulties in their life and situations they do not want and this can
result in a lot of frustration, anguish and stress. However, through developing a mind of
patience acceptance we can maintain a peaceful and positive mind in the face of distressing circumstances.

On this day retreat we will use the power of contemplation and meditation to develop this beautiful mind of patience so that we can cope with all the challenges that arise in our life in a constructive and beneficial way that helps both ourself and others.

Guru Yoga and Mandala Offering Retreat

5th -9th May 2025

Guru Yoga and Mandala Offering retreat combines two of the four great preliminary guides that we need to practise if we want to gain Mahamudra realizations – the quick path to enlightenment.

We all wish for spiritual realizations, but these depend upon creating certain inner conditions such as purifying negativity, accumulating merit, and receiving blessings. In the brief retreat we can enjoy these three activities. Everybody is welcome! If possible please bring your own mandala kit.

Sat 17th May | 10:00am-4:00pm

Happiness Toolkit

 In this day retreat we will learn about these transformative ways of thinking and through contemplation and meditation on them equip ourselves for a happy and peaceful life that helps ourself and others.

Guru Yoga and Mandala Offering Retreat

16th - 20th June 2025

Guru Yoga and Mandala Offering retreat combines two of the four great preliminary guides that we need to practise if we want to gain Mahamudra realizations – the quick path to enlightenment.

We all wish for spiritual realizations, but these depend upon creating certain inner conditions such as purifying negativity, accumulating merit, and receiving blessings. In the brief retreat we can enjoy these three activities. Everybody is welcome! If possible please bring your own mandala kit.

With Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab

Post-Summer Festival Retreat 2025

Sunday 10th - Saturday 16th August 2025

The Festival itself will emphasise teachings and meditations on Advice from Atisha’s Heart. All Venerable Geshe-la’s oral transmissions on the verses will be taught including his special advice on how to engage in retreat on this text. By keeping Atisha’s Advice in our heart we can maintain a peaceful, happy mind, our human nature and good qualities will improve, we will show a good example in this troubled world and we will quickly attain full enlightenment. Everybody welcome to this special Kadampa retreat.

Free your mind

Free your mind from all your burdens, and let go of your stress, anxiety and frustration.
Immerse yourself in the beautiful, tranquil environment of Tara IKRC and enjoy being guided into an experience of real inner peace and contentment, through meditation.

Our potential for peace and happiness is limitless and we can unlock this through following Buddha’s teachings on wisdom and compassion enabling us to become a happy, relaxed and peaceful person who brings great benefit to others.