Who we are
In-depth exploration of the early Buddhist texts for today
Bodhi College was founded by Stephen Batchelor, Christina Feldman, John Peacock and Akincano Weber. Their intention was to provide courses where an in-depth exploration of the early Buddhist teachings was available for today’s practitioners.
The College’s inspiration stems from the Dharma as found in the earliest Buddhist texts, which underlies many of the contemporary forms of meditation– such as mindfulness and vipassana.
Welcome to all
Running courses and retreats in beautiful meditation centres and venues across Europe, Bodhi College is committed to making the exploration of the practices and teachings of the Buddha relevant and accessible in today’s world. It is important to us to welcome people of every age, ethnicity, cultural heritage and religious background, socio-economic group, ability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
The college does not subscribe to a particular doctrine and is not aligned with any specific Buddhist school. We encourage critical scholarship, and bring a modern sensitivity to exploring early teachings of Gotama (the Buddha).
Carefully crafted courses by experienced teachers
Our teachers bring their own personal experience into the courses they create and teach; as meditation teachers, mindfulness trainers, psychotherapists, philosophers, academics, qi gung practitioners and more. This means all our courses are unique, with each teacher offering their own contemplative approach. Our aim is a practical application of the teachings that enables students to integrate dharma values into all aspects of their daily lives.
Learning for experienced practitioners and beginners
Originally focused towards those already familiar with retreats,we now run courses both for the experienced practitioner and those simply interested in the teachings who are keen to learn more. Many mindfulness teachers study with us, and we are pleased to offer a range of retreats which satisfy the EAMBA (European Association for Mindfulness Based Approaches) criteria for Mindfulness Teachers’ annual retreat.
Our courses include extended programmes (up to two years), as well as week-long retreats and weekend, day or half day seminars.
Teaching team
Martine Batchelor, Stephen Batchelor, Chris Cullen, Jake Dartington, Christina Feldman, Christoph Köck, Yuka Nakamura, John Peacock, Jaya Rudgard, and Akincano Weber make up the faculty of Bodhi College. They are responsible for designing and planning the curriculum, teaching courses and modules, mentoring students, training prospective teachers and inviting visiting faculty to contribute to the programme.
Read more in our Mission Statement here.