The making of the Boeddhawierde

The house was bought in May 2018, and in June we started to build the meditation hall in what was before a floor with several rooms and lots of rubbish. Manfred de Roos and myself (Silavadin) were the first, Manfred was in charge of the construction and I assisted him. The first event was a work-retreat with refugees from Syria, Pakistan and other countries who were related to the World house in Amsterdam. They made the floor of the attic and other things.

In July Lucia joined, and in August we had two more work-retreats, led by Amritapurna and myself. On these retreats we had a light work program, meditated and had discussions, and we went for a hike in the Waddensea.

In between the retreats a lot of people came by to work, paid or unpaid, for a couple of days or some weeks. All in all more than 40 different people were involved in that first year. The next winter Manfred, Lucia and myself continued working, joined by different other people for shorter periods. A new bathroom with toilet was made, a stairway to the attic, a sliding door, double glazing for the windows, and much more. During the varius lockdowns in 20/21 we worked on a dormitory in the attic, with a dormer window to the roofgarden, and 4 ‘monk cells’ to sleep in during retreats.

From September 2022 we will be able to host small groups of up to 10 people for retreats of more that one day, as well as larger groups for day-retreats.