Covid

Like the rest of the world, we have been keeping a close eye on the progression of the Covid-19 pandemic.  We have all had our hearts broken open while considering the profound impact that this pandemic has had on the lives of so many people.  We continue to contemplate and appreciate the many privileges our remote and close-knit community has enjoyed during these challenging times.

In order to protect our community, especially those most vulnerable amongst us, we have had to greatly reduce the number of people we are able to welcome into our community and continue to follow protocols that maintain considerable security.

Daily Life at Gampo Abbey During Early Years of COVID-19

During the early days of the pandemic, in order to ensure that our community was protected, one of our long-standing community members, Trinkar Ötso, lived in a solitary retreat cabin as our ‘External’ person.  Ensuring that we, as well as many of our neighbours, had access to supplies from our local town and that we had as little contact as possible with people living outside of our community, Trinkar spent three months as our solitary link to the outside world.  Once conditions in Nova Scotia were stable enough we were able to welcome Trinkar back home to the Abbey.

As the world emerges from this pandemic, the Gampo Abbey community remains vigilant about protecting vulnerable members. We welcome visitors to visit the grounds to enjoy the spectacular environment, meditate on a bench overlooking the vast horizon of the sea, walk our woodland trails, and visit the Stupa of Enlightenment. The Abbey buildings, however, are not open to visitors.

Solitary Retreats, Residencies and Programs

Solitary Retreats

Our solitary retreat cabins are not currently open to the public.  If you are interested in coming to Gampo Abbey for a solitary retreat in the future please continue to check this website as we will update this information. For more information about our solitary retreats, please visit: https://gampoabbey.org/programs/solitary-retreats/

Short-term Residencies

We are not currently offering any short-term residencies. We intend to make these opportunities available again in 2024. Please refer to this website for updated information.  For more information about our short-term residencies, please visit: https://gampoabbey.org/residencies/

Yarne Retreat

Yarne retreat will not be open to outside participants for 2023.