Retreat Center
Residential Retreats
Introduction
Journey Towards Inner Peace and Ultimate Happiness
Welcome to the Rideekanda Forest Monastery Residential Retreat—a sanctuary of tranquillity nestled within a lush, ancient forest in the heart of Sri Lanka. Our retreat provides a serene environment for seekers of spiritual growth, mindfulness, and inner peace.
Here, you can disconnect from the distractions of everyday life and immerse yourself in the transformative power of nature and meditation. Join us for a life-changing experience that will help you foster a deeper connection with yourself while exploring the profound teachings of Theravada Buddhism.
Our Core Focus
Residential retreats form the foundation of the meditation training programmes conducted at Rideekanda Forest Monastery. We accommodate both male and female practitioners, including Buddhist monks and nuns, in a supportive environment designed for deep practice.
Our programmes are designed to help practitioners develop mental clarity and cultivate an unshakeable mind—essential qualities for managing emotional stress and discovering lasting inner peace through self-awareness.
Training Methodology:
Our approach centres on the systematic teaching of the Tipitaka, combined with analytical study of Dhamma and discipline, and personalised meditation instruction. Experienced meditation masters guide and support participants throughout their journey, offering one-to-one sessions to address individual needs and questions.
This personalised approach ensures that each practitioner receives the guidance necessary for deepening their understanding and refining their practice.
Accommodations and Facilities:
We offer simple yet comfortable accommodations designed to promote mindfulness and community. Our retreat features:
- Private single rooms for those seeking solitude
- Private double rooms for those comfortable sharing
- Shared dormitories with individual beds
All spaces feature minimalist décor to create a peaceful atmosphere conducive to meditation and reflection.
Dining Experience:
Savour wholesome, nourishing meals prepared with locally sourced ingredients by our skilled monastery chefs. Our vegetarian menu is thoughtfully designed to support your meditation practice, nourish your body, and uplift your spirit.
Enjoy your meals in the communal dining hall, where you can share meaningful moments with fellow retreatants. We provide a full breakfast and lunch, with a light evening meal of soup or porridge available.
Daily Schedule:
Our retreat offers a balanced daily routine incorporating morning and evening Dhamma sessions alongside guided meditation periods for independent practice. Participants may also take part in traditional monastic rituals, including evening chanting and Dhamma talks.
During free time, explore the monastery's scenic grounds, find solace in our collection of spiritual texts, or simply rest and reflect in your room.
Costs and Donations:
To cover essential costs for food, water, electricity and accommodation in the remote forest setting, we kindly ask the participants to pay for their food and accommodation:
The Tradition of Dāna (Generosity)
The teachings offered at Rideekanda Forest Monastery are given on a Dāna (donation) basis, honouring a tradition that has sustained Buddhist wisdom for over 2,500 years.
When you offer Dāna to your teacher, you participate in an unbroken chain of generosity stretching back to the time of the Buddha himself. Your contribution supports not only the teacher who guides you, but also the monks he is training to become future teachers, the teachers who trained him, and the monastics who serve the surrounding village communities. In this way, each act of giving ripples outward through time and space.
For thousands of years, devoted practitioners have offered Dāna so that this precious wisdom could be preserved and passed on, bringing peace and happiness to countless beings. Those who gave generously in the past made it possible for you to receive these teachings today. Through your own generosity, you enable the monks to continue sharing this path with future generations.
Unlike religious institutions that collect obligatory tithes or taxes, the Buddhist monastic tradition has always depended entirely upon the freely-given donations of those who value its teachings. This relationship of mutual support between monastics and lay practitioners lies at the very heart of how the Dhamma has flourished across centuries and continents.
Financial Concerns
If cost presents a barrier to your attendance, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. The teachings should be accessible to all sincere seekers, and we will work together to find a solution that allows you to join us.
How to Book?
We primarily offer a 7-day residential programme on concentration and Vipassana meditation, held on pre-scheduled dates each month. Short-term retreats are also available on selected dates.
Spaces are limited, so we encourage you to book well in advance.
- Book online through our website:www.rideekanda.com
- Contact us via WhatsApp or phone:+94 74 225 2980
- Email us at: rideekanda@gmail.com
Programs
7-Day Residential Retreat on Concentration and Vipassana Meditation
A Progressive Journey to Buddhist Meditation and Insight
This transformative 7-day programme offers a structured path to discovering genuine inner peace through the time-tested practices of the Sri Lankan Forest Tradition, as taught at Rideekanda Forest Monastery.
The retreat addresses a fundamental question that arises in every human heart: What is the purpose of my life? Through systematic training, you will move beyond the endless pursuit of temporary satisfactions—what the Buddha compared to a thirsty traveller chasing mirages in the desert—and discover the lasting peace that comes from understanding reality as it truly is.
What You Will Learn:
The programme follows a progressive methodology, beginning with the development of deep concentration (samādhi) through breath meditation (Ānāpānasati). You will learn the art of calming the restless mind and cultivating the focused awareness necessary for genuine insight. Through guided practice, you will explore the jhāna states—profound levels of meditative absorption that the Buddha himself used as the foundation for his awakening.
Building upon this concentrated foundation, you will be introduced to body contemplation meditation, learning to perceive the body not as a solid, permanent entity, but as a dynamic interplay of fundamental energies constantly arising and passing away. This direct observation begins to dissolve the misconceptions about permanence, pleasure, and selfhood that lie at the root of our dissatisfaction.
The retreat culminates in the practice of vipassanā—insight meditation—where you will develop the wisdom of rising and falling (udayabbaya-ñāṇa). Through walking meditation and specialised breathing techniques, you will learn to perceive directly how all phenomena arise and cease moment by moment. This experiential understanding of impermanence (anicca), unsatisfactoriness (dukkha), and non-self (anattā) naturally loosens the bonds of craving and opens the door to genuine liberation.
Who Should Attend:
This retreat welcomes sincere seekers at all levels of experience—from complete beginners seeking an introduction to Buddhist meditation, to experienced practitioners wishing to deepen their understanding under traditional guidance. The only requirements are patience, dedication, and a willingness to investigate the nature of your own mind and experience.
Buddhism is not a religion, it is a wisdom taught to experience by yourself with the method the historic Buddha discovered 2500 years ago. Buddha was a human being, although extraordinarily wise, no god. Paying reference to Buddha simply means crediting him with his discovery as we do with any inventors. This is why Buddhist techniques are explicitly accessible to humans of all world views.
The Promise of Practice:
As the Buddha taught, the path to ultimate happiness is not a distant goal but a present possibility. Each moment of clear awareness, each recognition of arising and passing, brings you closer to the unshakeable peace that lies beyond all conditioned phenomena. Through the systematic practices offered in this retreat, you will gain not merely intellectual understanding but lived wisdom—the kind of direct knowledge that transforms your entire relationship with experience.
"Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise person, gathering it little by little, fills oneself with good." — Dhammapada
PDF Documents :
Daily Routine of the Retreat
Rideekanda Forest Monastery
Reviews
Booking
Contact Us
Thank you for your interest in joining us for a transformative residential retreat at Rideekanda Forest Monastery. You can reach us through any of the following channels to enquire about availability and make your reservation:
- Book online through our website:www.rideekanda.com
- Contact us via WhatsApp or phone:+94 74 225 2980
- Email us at: rideekanda@gmail.com
Before You Book
Please review the retreat details on our website to find the programme that best aligns with your interests and schedule. Our retreats fill quickly, so we recommend contacting us well in advance to secure your preferred dates.
Confirmation
Once you have provided the necessary information, we will confirm your booking through WhatsApp or Email.