Amoghavira first encountered Buddhism in 1979 while struggling through a mathematics degree at Glasgow University. Ordained into the Western Buddhist Order in 1982 he then started working at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre. 

He worked for 2 years at the Sydney Buddhist Centre in Australia from 1988, and on his way back to Britain in 1990, spent 3 months in Kathmandu helping run meditation and Buddhism course there. Falling in love with Nepal, he’s been a regular visitor there ever since.

In 1996, he moved to Dhanakosa to help with retreat leading here, which he’s been doing ever since. He loves being in the mountains and this has led to a passion for landscape photography and he now lives in the village of Callander, about 15 miles from Dhanakosa.

Diana Barnard has been practising Shiatsu since 1995 and for the last 13 years has worked as a therapist for Penny Brohn Cancer Care, supporting clients and their families. She has been leading Shiatsu, Qi Gong and meditation retreats at Dhanakosa since 1999.

She recently qualified in 2013 as a Cranial Sacral Therapist at the Karuna Institute, a Buddhist based training centre in Devon. Her website

Open to all, these retreats are suitable for both beginners and those with more experience, but no previous experience is assumed. All these retreats include introductory meditation teaching and periods of silence.