THE EUROPEAN WINTER RETREAT PROGRAM 2026
3 months Winter Kyol Che
over 40 years of experience in organizing intensive silent retreats in the tradition of Korean Zen.
Starts in....
3 month Winter Kyol Che
Seon Mun Sa, Czech Republic
Seon Mun Sa, Czech Republic
REACH US
Get Direction to Seon Mun Sa
Vrážné 3, 569 43, Vrážné Česká Republika
Teachers / Schedule
03.01 – 10.01.26
George Hazlbauer JDPSN
10.01 – 17.01
Dušan Silváši JDPSN
17.01 – 24.01
Yuval Gil JDPSN
24.01 – 31.01
TBD
31.01 – 14.02
Barbara Pardo JDPSN
14.02 – 21.02 - Intensive Week
TBD
21.02 – 07.03
Zen Master Gu Ja
7.03 – 21.03
Zen Master Dae An
21.03 – 27.03
Knud Rosenmayr JDPSN
Winter retreats
Meet our Zen Centers for hosting the Winter retreats
Bori Sa, Spain
REACH US
Get Direction to Bori Sa
Poli, Sales de Llierca, 17853, Alta Garrotxa (Girona)
Bori Sa (Retreat Center)
Poli, Sales de Llierca, 17853, Alta Garrotxa (Girona), catalunya
28.02 – 07.03
Knud Rosenmayr JDPSN
07.03 – 14.03
Barbara Pardo JDPSN
03.01 – 10.01.26 (2 weeks)
Zen Master Bon Shim
Wu Bong Sa, Poland
REACH US
Get Direction to Warsaw Wu Bong Sa
Małowiejska 22, 04-962 Warszawa, Poland
01.02 – 08.02.26
Arne Schaefer JDPSN
08.02 – 15.02
Agata Hae In JDPSN
15.02 – 22.02
Zen Master Dae An
22.02 – 01.03
Zen Master Joeng Hye
The Tradition
We have over 40 years of experience in organizing intensive silent meditation retreats in the tradition of Korean zen brought from the East by Zen Master Seung Sahn.
FAQ
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What is a
Zen Retreat ?
Zen Meditation Retreats are a traditional Korean Zen meditation retreat held in temples and monasteries. The experience of a whole group immersed in silence, looking deeply into the question “Who am I?” can change your life forever.
Why Join
the meditation Retreat ?
In a long meditation retreat, we can easily see that our habits do not need to control our lives. That we can live our lives in a more simple way, in a more joyful way, with wisdom. This wisdom is a door to liberation, and it is something we can give back to this world.
Scholarships!
If you are a School member with financial difficulties or long term Sangha volunteer, a scholarship may be available for you to attend. Please visit our Scholarship page for more information.
Participants talk about joining a retreat
It is hard to describe what happens when you sit a week long retreat. I can see my mind at work and I see good things and bad things appear, which may not always be pleasant. At the end of the week something has shifted and my mind has become a bit clearer. It is a subtle change, but it has a positive impact on how I respond to everyone around me and to daily life. This is the reason why I will be back to sit another week of Kyolche when I have a chance and I wish that more people will share this experience with me.
Kyolche can vary depending on a person and throughout years of my practice it has been all. In the beginning it used to be a challenge for body and mind showing that I am capable of going beyond my own limitations and not moving (not leaving!) regardless of the mind weather – no matter if my leg hurt, my roommates were snoring or being hurtful, the schedule was harsh, my own feelings leaned towards worthlessness, envy nor even bliss. Then it changed into deeply transformative experiences of finding energy in stillness and presence of something eternal in simple things. And lately it’s been mostly a peaceful, bright, space-like, somehow transparent experience of easing into every day life filled with sitting, eating, sleeping, drinking tea, working in the kitchen, looking at friends. Who knows what comes next?
Sound in the morning. The bell and moktak right after. Going down from the attic in the morning requires at least a bit of non sleep. Cold water touching face in the bathroom helps to wake up even more without thinking what awakening is. Everything is not to think. I have read “Confessions of a buddhist atheist”. These couple of days showed me what one feels, when the letters forming words in the book become the experience beyond any wording. It has been three days since I left the retreat, but I don’t know, I don’t know how to understand as soon as I look at it more clearly. But I’m still there. It’s like a dose of stillness applied straight into the blood. Moktak. Bowing, sitting, chanting, meals, work, kitchen, forest walk. In the evening you feel every inch of your body, you close your eyes and it’s already dawn. I know for sure I want more. But I can’t say anything more for now.