At some point after you have been introduced to meditation you will find yourself considering taking time to practice in a retreat. Meditation Retreats are a wonderful way to deepen your meditation practice, allowing yourself space to practice. There are various retreat structures to choose from, and they are all wonderful, ranging from a day of mindfulness at a house to weekend retreats sponsored by a local sangha to a mountain retreat center that welcomes participants all year long. Below is a list of the retreats coming up that will aid you in attending one that appeals to you at this time. Also check the various retreat websites for retreats not on this page.
10/5/18 (Fri, 6 pm) to 10/10/18 (Wed, 10 am) Western Zen Retreat—Within the context of Chan meditation, participants will make use of a question to penetrate the mind to gain a deeper understanding of our habitual tendencies and patterns of thoughts and insights into the working of our mind. I will be co-leading this retreat with Simon Child and Fiona Nuttall from the UK. This retreat has limited spaces as each participant will receive lots of individual instructions in private interviews. Suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners. $350 (scholarships available; no prior retreat experience needed) www.dharmadrumretreat.org
1/3/19 to 1/8/19 retreat with Jeff Shore in Philadelphia, USA beingwithoutself.org
February 22-25 PBMG retreat (Northwest NJ ) (waiting list info – Kim retreatinfo@princetonbuddhist.org ) https://www.princetonbuddhist.org/retreat-information
3/3/2018 Way Open Center
Saturday Full Day Retreat with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) group http://wayopenscenter.com/events/
Mar 26 – Apr 2, 2018
Present in Every Moment: Waking Up to Love and Compassion in Our Lives ( Pendle Hill – Newtown PA)
A seven-day Mindfulness Meditation retreat with Mary Grace Orr, Anne Briggs, and Larissa Kitenko (Monday 4:30pm to Monday 1pm.)
https://pendlehill.org/events/present-in-every-moment-waking-up-to-love-and-compassion-in-our-lives/
April 4 – May 23 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:00 pm plus Full Day Retreat: May 12
Fallsington Friends Meeting 9300 New Falls Rd., Fallsington, PA 19054
Investment: $395 / $350 if paid by March 21 http://wayopenscenter.com/events/
4/6/18 (Fri, 6 pm) to 4/8/18 (Sun, 5 pm) Foundation Retreat—three days of practicing Chan meditation in stillness and motion, with instructions on sitting, moving, walking and eating meditation, important Dharma concepts to support one’s practice, as well as private personal interviews to discuss difficulties in and questions about one’s practice. $220 (scholarships available; no prior retreat experience needed) www.dharmadrumretreat.org
5/26/18 (Sat, 6 pm) to 6/3/18 (Sun, 10 am) Silent Illumination Retreat with Rebecca Li with one of Master Sheng Yen’s Dharma heirs, Dr. Simon Child. Detailed instructions will be given on this subtle method of Chan to investigate the mind, to really get to know ourselves, and to cultivate wisdom and compassion. Participants will also receive individualized instructions in private interviews. $585 (scholarships available; 3-day retreat experience needed) www.dharmadrumretreat.org
5/18/18 to 5/20/18 (Friday6m to Sunday 1pm) A PMC Residential Weekend Retreat Cultivating a Wise Heart Led by Annie Nugent at Saint Raphaela Center 616 Coopertown rd Haverford, Pennsylvania http://www.philadelphiameditation.org/annienugent.html
7/27/2018 – 7/29/2018 Rhinebeck, NY ( Omega )
Radical Acceptance – Pathway of Emotional Healing & Spiritual Freedom
More info https://www.eomega.org/workshops/radical-acceptance-1
8/10/18 (Fri, 6 pm) to 8/12/18 (Sun, 3 pm) Beginner’s Mind Retreat—If you are relatively new to the practice, this is a good first retreat although many experienced practitioners find the variety of practice activities helpful. Besides sitting, walking, moving and eating meditation, we will also be practicing in workshops ranging from the Art of Seeing to the Art of Communication to learn about how to bring our practice into daily life. $220 (scholarships available; no prior retreat experience needed) www.dharmadrumretreat.org
8/10/18 (Fri, 6 pm) to 8/12/18 (Sun, 3 pm) A PMC Residential Weekend Retreat
Staying Present With Equanimity Led by Winnie Nazarko at Saint Raphaela Center in
Haverford, PA – a wonderful opportunity to learn meditation, to energize and deepen our practice and share in the support of others. We will be alternating sitting, standing, and walking meditation using Vipassana (Insight) Meditation as a means to opening to the innate wisdom, joy, and peace which lies in each of us. There will be instructions, practice, dharma talks, and silence. www.philadelphiameditation.org
8/17/18 (Fri) – 8/24/18(Fri) – Your Life Is Your Practice: Insight Meditation Retreat with Narayan Liebenson & Greg Scharf – Insight meditation (vipassana in Pali, the language of the original Buddhist teachings) is the simple and direct practice of moment-to-moment mindfulness. Through careful and sustained observation, we experience for ourselves the ever-changing flow of the mind/body process. This awareness leads us to accept more fully the pleasure and pain, fear and joy, sadness and happiness that life inevitably brings. As insight deepens, we develop greater equanimity and peace in the face of change, and wisdom and compassion increasingly become the guiding principles of our lives.
The Buddha first taught vipassana over 2,500 years ago. The various methods of this practice have been well preserved in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. This silent retreat, suitable for both beginning and experienced meditators, is rooted in this ancient and well-mapped path to awakening, and draws on the full spectrum of this tradition’s lineages. www.dharma.org
9/1/18(Sat) – 9/7/18 (Fri) Mindfulness- The Body And Mind Connection
– All are welcome to register for this retreat but we highly recommend that you have a daily practice with meditation to participate in a week long retreat. This retreat is focused on using the breath and the body to develop the practice of mindfulness. All retreats are considered silent retreats with the exception of Dhamma talks, question and answer periods. Leading this retreat will be Bhante Yogavacara Rahula, a visiting monastic, who has taught many retreats at the Bhavana Society and around the world. Yoga will be offered during the retreat.
On-site registration/check-in opens at 3:00 p.m. in the Dining Hall. Please arrive to allow enough time to complete registration here and settle in before the retreat begins. All retreats end after lunch on the last day.
Although every retreat is slightly different here is a typical retreat daily schedule. http://bhavanasociety.org
9/19/18 – 9/30/18 SN Goenka 10 day retreat (aka Buddhist boot camp) in Delaware www.dhamma.org