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Published on December 2, 2007

Imagine sleeping in a modest but comfortable room, being chauffeur-driven to and from a spiritual centre, listening to dharma being taught by a world-renowned guru, dining on gourmet organic meals, meditating in a room with a stunning view of the ocean and ending the day with a beer.

That's hardly the kind of programme you'd expect at a meditation retreat, especially in a Buddhist country like Thailand. But this is how it is done at Dzogchen Beara in West Cork, Ireland. Well, perhaps not exactly like that but near enough.

When Sogyal Rinpoche runs retreats at this small Tibetan centre, the 200 participants stay at various bed-and-breakfasts and hotels nearby, and transportation to the centre is arranged everyday.

This is because accommodation at the Dzogchen Beara is limited, and while the centre welcomes ordinary guests simply wanting to take a break, it's mainly the terminally ill that flock to the retreat led by the Cambridge-educated Tibetan Buddhist master and his students.

The main shrine room is always packed with devoted students and a bed is thoughtfully provided for someone desperately needing a nap.

The staff, volunteers and the Sangha do their best to facilitate the spiritual aspects of this retreat. They understand that no matter how physically comfortable the participant is made to feel, leaving the constant stimulation of the modern world for complete quiet might be emotionally tough and sometimes even painful.

Rigpa, a Tibetan word meaning intelligence or awareness, was founded by Rinpoche, the author of the "Tibetan Book of Living and Dying", to serve Buddha's teachings in the West.

It currently has more than 100 centres in 23 countries. While Dzogchen Beara, perched on a secluded cliff overlooking the Atlantic, is one of the smaller ones, it is also considered the most serene. It's served as a refuge for many terminally ill people, who have spent their last months here in a calm and happy state of mind despite perhaps having no interest in Buddhism or meditation. Tibetans believe in good, easy deaths.

But not all of Rinpoche's teachings are about illness or death. As one of the most charismatic Buddhist teachers in the West, he's drawn many intellectual Europeans to Tibetan Buddhism. His students are usually sceptics seeking answers through reason and logic rather than through faith.

Participants receive thorough instruction on the dharma and even the most naive questions are answered. Individuals decide for themselves how many - or how few - meditation sittings to attend. The students don't have to sit cross-legged on the floor, but simply sit up straight in comfortable chairs and are allowed to leave the room when they've had enough.

Apart from meditation classes, religious ceremonies like "Tsok" and "Empowerment" are sometimes held during the retreat. Accompaniments of powerful and mesmerising tantric chants by monks are actually played from a CD or transmitted live from the main temple in France. However, the Sangha is real, comprised of Irish and other European monks whose hand gestured mudras are every bit as good as those of the Tibetans.

For a first-time participant, the experience may seem a bit bizarre, but many find themselves returning year after year. One young Polish woman, for example, embraced Tibetan Buddhism wholeheartedly after family trauma and her own battle with cancer. Being part of Rigpa's Sangha has kept her strong, both mentally and physically.

On the Net: DzogchenBeara.org

Morakot Piyakesin

Special to The Nation