7-Day Retreat at Healing Spring

If you are looking for a mindfulness retreat in France, the 7-Day Retreat at Healing Spring is a week of silent-leaning, unhurried practice at Healing Spring Monastery in Thénac, in the Dordogne. It is a wellness and meditation retreat held together with the monastic community, and it welcomes people of all genders, beginners and experienced practitioners alike. The program is simple on purpose: slow down, rest, and be nourished by peace and togetherness.

The retreat is taught in English by a monastic Dharma teacher of the monastery, and the practice follows the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition.

What to Expect

Days are built from a small number of practices: sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful meals, service to the community, sharing and teachings. You learn and deepen your meditation alongside the monks and other lay practitioners. Some days, people who come for a day of mindfulness on Sunday may practice with the group too.

Mornings generally begin around 6.30. Noble silence starts at 21.30 and continues through the night until the breakfast dishes have been washed the next morning. This is not a whole-day silent retreat, so there is room for conversation, sharing and teachings during the day. A sample schedule is available from the organizers.

The monastery notes that all of its programs embrace impermanence. If conditions are not sufficient, elements of the retreat may be adjusted, rescheduled or cancelled.

Who Guides the Retreat

The Dharma teacher is a monastic teacher of Healing Spring Monastery. Deep Listening of the Heart is listed as a meditation teacher, seeking on the way of the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition.

That tradition goes back to Thich Nhat Hanh (1926 to 2022), known to his students as Thay. He was a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist, and he founded the Plum Village Tradition. He is widely credited as a major influence on how Buddhism and mindfulness reached the West. Ordained as a monk in 1951, he co-founded the School of Youth for Social Service in the 1960s and created the Order of Interbeing, a community of monastics and laypeople built around the Five and Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. He also coined the term "engaged Buddhism", the idea that mindfulness and compassionate action in the world belong together.

The Setting

The retreat takes place at Healing Spring Monastery in Thénac, Dordogne. Check-in begins at 15h00 on the day of arrival, and check-out is at 09h00 on the day of departure. Three vegan meals are served each day. Directions to the monastery are provided by the organizers.

Before You Go

- Age and experience: The retreat is open to anyone 18 and over, with or without prior meditation experience.
- Language: English only.
- Gender and community: All genders are welcome. The monastery is home to monks, so men may sometimes be the majority of those present.
- Children and teenagers: You may bring them, but there is no special program for them. You are fully responsible for their care, and some adult activities may not be open to them.
- Contribution: The retreat is offered as a donation to support the monastery and its monastic communities, set according to your financial situation. Higher contributions help cover upkeep and support participants facing difficulty. Reductions are offered based on individual need, though not a full reduction, and the monastery asks that anyone who needs help get in touch, even after booking. Financial difficulty is not meant to be a barrier to practice.
- Reservations: A place is confirmed after payment. When the retreat is full there is no waiting list, but places reopen if someone cancels.