Land of Joy

07/09/2026

🌲 Retreat Hut 1: Available for October! 🌲

Due to a late cancellation, Retreat Hut 1 has just opened up for the month of October — a rare chance to secure a private retreat space at Land of Joy on short notice!

Nestled in the woodland close to the main house and overlooking the valley, our retreat huts offer a quiet, private space to support your practice, surrounded by the peace and beauty of our semi-rural grounds.

✨ If you've been waiting for the right moment for a personal retreat, this could be it!

Check availability and book your stay here: https://landofjoy.co.uk/personal-stay/private-retreat-hut/ or email [email protected]

07/09/2026

🙏 Thank You, Living with Integrity Retreatants! 🙏

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us this past weekend for Living with Integrity: A Weekend on the Second Perfection — Ethical Discipline, with François Schick.

Together, we explored the second pāramitā — ethics and morality — and how our everyday choices, in our words, our actions, and our relationships, shape both our present and future through the law of karma. Through guided teachings, quiet contemplation, and gentle practice, we discovered how living with integrity can bring real steadiness, clarity, and ease.

Thank you to François for his warm and grounded guidance, and to every participant who brought openness, curiosity, and presence to this weekend. It's a privilege to hold space for this kind of reflection together. 🦋

Wishing you all continued clarity and ease as you carry these teachings forward into daily life. ✨

03/09/2026

From our friends at FPMT:

Over the years, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered various pieces of advice for prayers and practices to turn to when facing natural disasters. In light of the recent flash flood and mudslide along the Nepal–Tibet border, which struck the Rasuwa district north of Kathmandu and is believed to have been triggered by an earthquake-induced avalanche and snowmelt entering the Bhote Koshi River, we share the following collection of Rinpoche’s advice, offered in the hope that it may be of benefit.

“My dear loving compassionate readers,

You may wonder what to do, what prayers to make, when there are disasters such as tornados, hurricanes, heavy rain, storms, floods, earthquakes, or fires, as well as disasters that destroy crops; disasters that destroy entire towns and cities within one hour; disasters that cause so many billions of dollars of damage, and so much money is spent to rebuild the towns; disasters where so many hundreds and thousands of people die or become homeless, have no homes, no food or clean water, and so forth.

So here I am offering some suggestions on what to do so that you can help the country and save so many peoples lives; some suggestions to prevent the destruction of houses, villages, and cities that are caused by the elements (fire, water, wind, and earth).

Even though these kinds of problems are so big, even though there are numberless buddhas, yet if someone with a very sincere heart takes refuge one-pointedly, without doubt, in even one buddha such as Chenrezig (Compassionate Eye Looking One), Padmasambhava, or Medicine Buddha, if someone takes strong refuge and prays to even just one buddha and recites the mantras (such as the name mantra), by doing this it can change the situation completely, it can change natural disasters and prevent war. Whatever problems there are can be loosened and even completely stopped.

The weather can change in that very hour or in the next hour by the power of one person making prayers.”

Read the full version of Letter From Lama Zopa Rinpoche Regarding the Disasters of the Elements

What you can do right now (all links in the page below):

Medicine Buddha Practices
A Brief Meditation-Recitation on Guru Medicine Buddha
A Very Short Medicine Buddha Practice
Medicine Buddha Sadhana
Medicine Buddha Mantras
King of Prayers
Ksh*tigarbha Practice to Pacify Earthquakes
The Practice of Ksitigarbha to Avert Danger and Purify Obstacles
To follow the complete list of prayers and practices suggested by Lama Zopa Rinpoche over the years:

Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche: Practices for Earthquakes and Natural Disasters
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice for Severe Weather Conditions
Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche: Earthquakes
Lama Zopa Rinpoche Advises Urgent Practices for Pacifying an Earthquake in California
Tsunami and Earthquakes
Mitigating Severe Conditions of the Elements
Preventing Earthquakes
Natural Disasters
Sutra Golden Light for earthquakes, natural disaster and wars

More advice from Rinpoche on this topic is also available on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive: https://lamayeshe.com/advice/natural-disasters

Over the years, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered various pieces of advice for prayers and practices to turn to when facing natural disasters. In light of the recent flash flood and mudslide along the Nepal–Tibet

01/09/2026

When the garden gives you A LOT of cucumbers, you make gazpacho! 🥣🥒

30/08/2026

From the garden here at Land of Joy 🙏

29/08/2026

The retreat hut project is really taking shape now, and this month it's all about timber! Long, sturdy lengths of wood have been arriving on site, and our volunteers have stepped up once again — measuring, marking, strapping, and carrying beam after beam into place with real teamwork and good humour.

From carefully securing loads onto trolleys to hauling timber across the fields by hand, this is proper hard work — but you'd never know it from the smiles. Whether it's two pairs of hands steadying a plank for a precise cut, or a small crew working together to get materials exactly where they need to be, every measurement and every carried beam is bringing the retreat huts one step closer to reality.

It's slow, careful, physical work — the kind that doesn't always make for the most dramatic photos, but is absolutely essential to building something that will serve retreatants for years to come. Every plank in place today is a little more warmth, shelter, and sanctuary down the line.

Huge thanks to our volunteers for the sweat, the precision, and the quiet dedication that goes into this project. Land of Joy is being built quite literally by hand, one beam at a time — and we couldn't be more grateful.

More updates to come as the huts take shape — watch this space!

27/08/2026

25/08/2026

🙏 50 Years of Ordination, 50 Years of FPMT 🙏

As FPMT celebrates 50 years, we're delighted to share this beautiful conversation with Venerable Roger Kunsang — FPMT's Interim Executive Director and Senior Advisor, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche's personal attendant for over three decades — who this year also marks 50 years since his own ordination.

In this candid interview with Ven. Thubten Chokyi, Ven. Roger traces the winding, almost serendipitous path that led him from a teenage disillusionment with conventional happiness, through an ashram in Rishikesh, a cave-dwelling yogi's simple advice ("For you, better Buddhism"), and finally to Kopan Monastery in April 1974 — the Sixth Meditation Course with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
He speaks with real honesty about what it's meant to keep ordination for half a century: the struggle as much as the steadiness, the centrality of attachment as the mind's true adversary, and the importance of living the lamrim rather than simply studying it.

"My life as a monk hasn't been easy. It's been a struggle... but I never wanted to give up the ordination."

A wonderful watch for anyone on the path, and a moving tribute to fifty years of dedication — both his own and FPMT's. 🦋

With thanks to our friends at FPMT for sharing this story. Full transcript and photos here:

As FPMT marks its 50th anniversary, we have been honored to receive so much important history from FPMT’s early students. Today, we are delighted to share a conversation with Venerable Roger Kunsang, Board Member, Interim

23/08/2026

🌞 The August Land of Joy Newsletter is here! 🌞

This month's update is full of abundance, gratitude, and good things to look forward to:
🪵 The retreat hut project moves forward, one beam at a time
🌲 Thank you to our incredible Woodland Work Week volunteers
🧘 Upcoming retreats — Mindful Movement, Living with Integrity, Shamatha & more
🥧 A recipe from our kitchen: Generosity Pie!
📖 Stories from Land of Joy

As always, thank you for being part of our growing community — whether you're here on the land or holding us in your heart from afar. 💚

Read the full newsletter here: https://landofjoy.co.uk/resources/newsletter-archive/

Newsletter Archive Step into a treasury of wisdom, community news, and spiritual insights spanning the journey of our beloved retreat center. These archives represent more than just a collection of newsletters—they are the living chronicle of our shared path in Dharma practice, celebration, and gr...

22/08/2026

🍂 Retreats & Courses: Rest of 2026 at Land of Joy 🍂

There's still so much on offer this year! Here's what's coming up:

📿 Living with Integrity: Ethical Discipline with François Schick — 4th-6th September
🧘 Shamatha Retreat with Ven Mary Reavey — 25th September-3rd October
🕉️ An Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism with Phara Khenchen Rinpoche (Tulku-la) & Di Carroll — 30th October-1st November
✨ Emptiness in Everyday Life with Geshe Rinchen — 5th-8th November
🙏 Kalachakra Six-Session Guru Yoga Nearing Retreat with Linda Noble & Andy Wistreich — 14th-28th November

Please note: Mindful Movement with Body & Breath and the Yamantaka retreat are now fully booked, but waitlists are available!

Whether you're new to the path or deepening a long-standing practice, there's a place for you here. Explore the full 2026 programme and book your place:
landofjoy.co.uk/2026-programme/ 🦋

Retreats & Courses at Land of Joy Land of Joy offers a range of introductory, next-step, advanced and secular retreats through most of the year. Please click on any event that interests you to learn more about it and book your place.