sittings | retreats

retreat faqs

What Things Do I Need to Go on Retreat?
Not much!

  • Comfortable clothing; layers to adjust to the temperature in the dharma hall. Sometimes a light shawl or blanket is useful.
  • Clothing that doesn’t rustle.
  • Outerwear for walking periods outdoors.
  • Something to sit on. Your options are a chair (usually supplied); a zafu (a firm, round, meditation cushion) which is usually set on a firm mat or folded blanket; or a meditation bench, which also is set on a mat or folded blanket. Most bring their own zafu or bench but if you’re just starting a practice you might want to experiment before you invest. At most retreats there will be some extra benches and zafus for you to try.
  • You will be asked to remove your shoes prior to entering the meditation sanctuary; you may wish to wear or bring warm socks.
  • Please wear layered clothing as the sanctuary temperature can vary from cool to warm.
  • In consideration of all participants, please wear unscented personal care (soap, shower gel, shampoo, body lotion, etc.) products (including "natural" products)to BCIMS classes and daylongs 
What Don’t I Need?
You can leave books, journals, pens, drawing tools, portable audio devices, cell phones, PDAs, Blackberry, etc. at home. You support the inner journey when you minimize your usual outward distractions.
 
What Does a Typical Retreat Schedule Look Like?
The daily rhythm of a retreat usually involves alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, eating and work meditations, as well as interviews, Dharma talks and rest periods. The first sitting usually begins at about 6 a.m., and a typical day includes seven sitting and six walking periods of 45 minutes apiece. Each morning the teachers offer continuing meditation instructions for the day. The whole retreat is a succession of mindfulness training, breathing practices, deep awareness of the body and environment, meditations on the nature of feelings, and awareness of mind and the laws that govern it. These are the same fundamental teachings of insight meditation offered in the traditional Buddhist monasteries of Asia.
 
What is Sitting Meditation?
Sitting meditation is a beautiful practice, at the heart of silent retreats. In sitting practice silence and stillness develop, concentration deepens, and awareness expands. The training of the heart brings kindness and compassion for all that arises. In sitting we can find for ourselves the wisdom and freedom discovered by the Buddha. Beginning meditators are encouraged to use the breath as a focus for mindfulness. The arising and passing of breath shows us in a direct way the universal truth of impermanence. After an inner calm and steadiness are established through breathing, the meditation is systematically opened to include mindfulness of all experiences, external and internal, of body sensations and emotions, of thoughts and the nature of mind itself.
 
What is Walking Meditation?
Walking gracefully and wisely on the earth is also one of the great Buddhist meditative practices. On retreat, periods of walking meditation alternate with periods of sitting meditation. Just as in sitting meditation, where attention is brought to the rhythmic pattern of breathing, in walking meditation, mindfulness is cultivated by resting the attention on sensations of the body as one walks. In walking meditation we become aware in the midst of activity. Sometimes a slow, careful, practice walk is taught. At other times retreatants are encouraged to walk more leisurely or move at whatever speed cultivates mindfulness for them. Throughout the retreat we learn to cultivate a mindful awareness in all postures prescribed by the Buddha—sitting, walking, standing up or lying down.
 
What is Eating Meditation?
An awareness of food, and the mindful understanding of the entire process of nourishment and eating is included in the practice at retreats. Retreatants are encouraged to bring the same calm, focused attention to eating as is brought to sitting and walking. Mindful eating is a wonderful context for the arising of insights. The simple, mindful eating of an apple connects us to the orchard far away from our dining table, to the sun and rain and earth that nurture the tree, to the grower, the picker, the trucker, the grocer, to the truth of the interconnectedness of all existence. On retreat, carefully prepared vegetarian meals are served. Retreatants may assist the cooks in meal preparation and clean up. The most substantial meal is served at mid-day. The lightest meal of the day is the “light evening meal” usually offered around 5:30pm.
 
What is Work Meditation?
In Zen monasteries it is said that only if one works with one’s whole body, heart, and mind, has one truly realized Zen. Similarly, in a mindfulness retreat, work meditation is an important part of the retreat practice. Through it we learn how to bring the spirit of wakefulness to the activities of our life. Work meditation also supports the community and assures the smooth running of the retreat. Retreatants select a work assignment for the course of the retreat (such as helping in the kitchen during preparation of meals, cleaning up afterwards, tidying up the dining room, or ringing the bells). The daily completion of the task is understood to be part of the continuous cultivation of mindfulness. Often meditators report important insights that surprise them as they wash pots or wipe table tops in a mindful way.
 
What are Dharma Talks?
Dharma talks are the vocal heart of a retreat. Each day, for about an hour, the teachers present a different set of teachings from the central practices of Buddhism, offering ways to apply them to our own experience. Sometimes the talks focus on retreat practice, and sometimes they offer teachings for wise living in the world. In the talks the teachers may speak about the nature of wisdom or address Right Livelihood, explain the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, explore the Five Hindrances, speak of lovingkindness and equanimity, or tell stories from personal experience that help illuminate practice. The Dharma talks are not Buddhist tenets to be believed, but are spiritual principles offered for students to consider and use in ways that bring benefit to their daily lives.
 
What Happens During Interviews?
One of the most valued parts of intensive retreats is the opportunity to speak intimately with the teachers about one’s own inner life. Teachers hold individual and small group interviews with retreatants on a regular basis to answer questions, discuss problems, give guidance, and explain meditation practices more fully. Students are also welcome to consult with teachers at any time during a retreat as need arises. This teacher support facilitates a deepening of the student’s meditation practice and encourages further development of the student’s understanding.
 
Anything Else I Should Know About Retreats?
Yes. It helps to know retreat etiquette.
  • Keep Noble Silence: this includes avoiding unnecessary direct eye contact, signals and notes except to the manager and teacher. It’s useful practice to keep your mind to yourself. You’ll find it’s a full-time job.
  • As best you can, undo velcro, zippers and noisy snaps, outside the dharma hall.Be on time: out of respect for the practice, your fellow retreatants and yourself, be settled in your place when the sitting starts and stay until after the sitting has ended.
  • Wait until the teacher has left before getting up from the sitting.
  • Unless you’re not well, (in which case, you let the teacher know) keep to the schedule: it’s designed to support your inner process.
  • Learn the vipassana sneeze and cough: into the inside of your bent elbow, or upper arm - not into the hand.