Transforming Difficulties
into
transforming
Growth
Urban
Weekend
Retreat
Gen Kelsang
Ananda
13- 15th
Nov 2026
Suitable for beginners and experienced practitioners alike, this weekend program offers time to step back from our usual routines and deepen our experience of meditation.
Everyone is warmly welcome to discover how these practical teachings can help us meet daily life with a more peaceful mind and a compassionate heart.
Friday 13 November
Public Talk : Staying Strong In Times of Hardship
20:00 - 21:30
“Why me? Why now? How will I overcome this?” Such questions naturally arise when another wave of personal, professional or inner difficulties hits us. At times, discouragement or the urge to escape can seem like our only response. Buddhism offers a different perspective: we can learn to embrace difficulties as part of our spiritual practice, training our mind to develop resilience and approach life in new ways.
Join Buddhist monk Gen Kelsang Ananda for an inspiring public talk. Drawing on his wealth of experience (30+years), he will share practical insights into how we can gradually transform our mind into a source of inner strength and flexibility, capable of weathering the storms life brings.
Everyone is warmly welcome, regardless of meditation experience, religious affiliation, age or gender.
Saturday 14 November
Mind-training Day Course
Written almost ten centuries ago, Geshe Langri Tangpa’s classic text, Eight Verses of Training the Mind, offers precise instructions for remaining calm and positive even when life does not treat us with kindness. As relevant today as it was then, it explains how to develop an inner strength that cannot be broken by adversity.
During this day course, Gen Kelsang Ananda will guide us through these special ways of thinking, drawing on Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s commentary of this text. Through teachings and guided meditations, we will explore how to transform painful experiences into opportunities to develop authentic love and compassion, deepen our wisdom and find true and lasting happiness.
No prior meditation experience meditation is required. Suitable for all levels.
Gen Kelsang Ananda is an international Buddhist monk, a senior disciple of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and an authorised teacher of the New Kadampa Tradition.
10:30 - 19:30
Saturday Program
10:30- 11.45 Session 1
Tea Break
12:15 - 13:45 Session 2
Lunch Break
16:30 -17:30 Session 3 + Q&A
Tea Break
18:30 -19:30 Prayers for World Peace*
*Chanted Buddhist prayers dedicated
to the peace and happiness of all
“If everyone were to practise cherishing others, many of the major problems of the world would be solved in a few years.”
How to Transform Your Life
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Sunday 15 November
Meditation in the Park
16.00 - 17:00
Join us for a relaxed session of meditation, discussion and tea
in Filopapou Park, in the company of Gen Kelsang Ananda.
Tapping onto a deep familiarity with the mind’s inner workings, Gen Ananda will explain how simple meditation techniques can help us return to a state of peace and tranquillity.
Practical Details
To register to any parts of the weekend retreat, click here
The Friday and Saturday Program will take place at the meditation center.
Sunday afternoon’s meditation will take place on Filopapou Hill, at a location shared upon registration
All teachings will be conducted in English, with live Greek translation
(through headphones or sequential)
suggested donations
whole weekend 40 EUR
discounted rate 30 EUR
