About the Retreat

 
 About Silent Retreat Practice
 
We ask that you carefully read this section.  It includes important information about the Eight-Day Retreat and the silent retreat process.  It is important that applicants consider each of the items discussed here.

You’ll note that the material in this section, as well as the Retreat Application, have been adapted from the website for the Insight Meditation Society Forest Refuge Retreat Center.
 
Application Requirements

The Eight-Day Retreat is for advanced dharma practice.  The retreat is structured for meditators with an established and ongoing commitment to meditation practice, including long-term retreat experience. We recommend that retreatants have practiced insight meditation for at least two years.  You should have had instruction in the fundamentals of insight meditation and have a regular meditation practice.   It is suggested that retreatants who are new to this kind of intensive silent practice have attended a weekend residential retreat or a minimum of three daylong retreats in the insight meditation form..

Please note that each retreat application is carefully reviewed. The teacher may exercise his discretion in accepting or declining applications.
 
Intensive Silent Retreat Practice

At an intensive silent meditation retreat, the practice can be strenuous and requires stability of physical and psychological health.  If you have recently experienced considerable trauma, significant depression or anxiety, or are currently experiencing strong PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) or other severe or debilitating mental health issues, a silent personal retreat may not be appropriate for you at this time in your life. To help you decide whether this kind of retreat is suitable, we urge you to discuss your situation with the teacher and/or therapist. Please be in touch with the teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

Communication

During the retreat, the buildings and grounds are in silence at all times, apart from the kitchen and some other areas where retreatants may be participating in yogi jobs.

Your cell phone should be off for the duration of your retreat. We also request that you leave behind your laptop and other communication devices so that you can commit to your retreat time wholeheartedly. This includes refraining from sending or receiving emails or texts.

Please take care of all personal and business obligations prior to the start of the retreat, so that communication with the outside world can be kept to an absolute minimum.

Any personal business that requires time away from your practice or from the retreat center grounds should be discussed with the retreat teacher first.

Medical issues

All retreat participants must be mentally stable and physically able to care for themselves. Everyone needs to have health insurance or be able to cover her/his own expenses in case of illness or medical emergencies. Any special needs must be discussed and agreed to in advance with the teacher.

In the event of a medical emergency, we will call 911.  If an illness is acute, you will need to leave the retreat to recuperate.
 
Emergency Contact Person

Every retreatant must provide the name and contact details of an emergency contact person in order to attend the retreat.  We will make every effort to communicate with this person in the event of an emergency.  This person should be someone who can either collect you from the retreat center or help to make transportation arrangements if you need to leave the retreat early.

Application

We ask that every student please complete the retreat application.   By understanding the retreat process and following these guidelines you help us greatly in providing for the most beneficial retreat experience for all who participate.  Thank you so much.  

Click here for the application form.

Dharma Student Project Retreats

Dharma Student Project retreats are for experienced meditation students.  

All retreatants have experience in insight meditation and intensive silent retreat practice.  

Dharma Student Project retreats are small, providing for close teacher-to-student interaction.

The number of students at retreats is limited.  There are no more than 25 yogis on a long-term retreat.  This enables the teacher to work closely with each yogi.  Every day during the retreat, there is an opportunity for each retreatant to meet for individual sessions with the teacher.

The teachings given at Dharma Student Project retreats are designed for advanced students.

Retreats include teaching in breath meditation and other meditation skills that is consonant with the advanced instruction offered by The Dharma Student Project. 

​Is this a good time for me to attend an intensive silent retreat?

At The Dharma Student Project, we understand that this is a question that prospective retreatants must learn to ask: 

Is this a good time for me to attend a silent retreat?

For many reasons, it may not be the best time for us to be involved in the strenuous process involved in an intensive retreat. 

If we're at a time in our lives when we're struggling with a psychological affliction, such as depression or anxiety, or if we're making an effort, through therapy and other means, to look into our deepest suffering, trauma, and painful emotional patterns, it's almost always true that attending an intensive retreat is not in our best interests. 

If we're going through a challenging life-experience, or some sort of major change, retreat practice is usually not what's called for.  Perhaps a parent or dear friend has recently died.  Perhaps we've just been diagnosed with a serious illness.  Perhaps we've lost our job.   As we find our way through the difficult and stressful times in life, we're usually best served if we don't engage in the sort of arduous process that a long-term silent retreat entails.

And the fact is, intensive silent retreat practice is not for everyone.  For some of us, retreat practice, rather than being helpful, may have a detrimental effect.

When attending a silent retreat, it's important that we're in good health, physically, mentally, emotionally.  Just like a runner who wouldn't participate in a marathon if she had a leg injury, we shouldn't participate in a retreat if our minds and hearts are afflicted.  This is why it's so important to have the counsel of a skilled teacher, as we consider our participation in a silent retreat. 

On retreat, it is essential to have the guidance of a well-versed teacher who can take us through the process and be there with us every step of the way.

At The Dharma Student Project, we're committed to seeing to it that every student who participates in our intensive retreats is able to engage in the retreat experience in a way in which she or he will benefit.  Sometimes this will mean that we'll have to counsel somebody not to attend a retreat.  We take what we do very seriously and make these kinds of decisions out of compassion and years of experience in teaching intensive retreats.

We wish all beings freedom from suffering and true happiness in this life.

Click here to return to the Application Page.