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A two-week meditation retreat offered in partnership with The Wisdom Seat, the Open Heart Project, and Drala Mountain Center

Our modern life presents us with a profound spiritual paradox: while we build remarkable technology, impressive resources, and growing prosperity, we also encounter a world filled with numbing devices, growing  anxiety and distressing poverty. We build fresh, inspiring human connections around the world via social media, yet we are haunted by incessant digital reminders to become a better version of ourselves — faster, smarter, richer, better looking, and more productive. We humans are building a miraculous world, yet, somehow, we find our confusion, fear and anxiety blossoming as well.

Exploring such a paradox need not be so distressing, however. In fact, maybe such circumstances are inviting us to reawaken our spiritual confidence. Drawing on the profound Mahayana tradition of the Bodhisattva, this retreat will explore such questions as:

• How can formless meditation help us rediscover our natural confidence?
• How can we skillfully offer compassion, wisdom, and dignity to a world in need of our help?
• Why is the “wisdom of a broken heart” so central to the practice of meditation?
• Is meditation a “socially responsible gesture”? and if so, why?
• What is “threefold boredom” and how can it help tame modern-day speed and aggression?

In this two-week retreat, we will practice formless meditation intensively, exploring techniques passed down through Mahayana Buddhism and the teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows will be offered.

Participants can expect a deep, contemplative environment, focused primarily on six to eight hours of daily meditation practice with supportive talks and interviews. There will also be time for rest and connecting with nature.

Transportation
DMC is offering transfers to and from DIA. One-way transfer is $75/psn and round trip is $108/psn.
Click here to sign up for transfers.

Covid Mitigation
DMC and the teachers are committed to the health and well-being of all involved in this retreat. As COVID mitigation is a dynamic situation given new variants and developing treatments, we will determine our retreat protocols in consultation with medical professionals as the time of the retreat draws near. We will communicate those protocols in advance of the retreat. We can share now that the retreat is scheduled to be held in an open-air tent, which we hope will preclude a need for masking during talks, discussions, and meditation practice.

Please note that the retreat’s ultimate mitigation protocols may be stricter than DMC’s center-wide protocols in place at the time of the retreat. Accordingly, during the retreat you may come into contact with others who are not subject to the same protocols. Please keep this in mind if you select a shared housing option.

Please review and understand Drala Mountain’s current COVID-19 policy before visiting.

Info Session
On March 16th, Susan Piver hosted an Info Session on Meditation Retreats. In this one-hour online info session, Susan discusses the dynamics of a meditation retreat with Drala Mountain Center resident teacher, Loden Nyima, and fellow teacher Michael Carroll. Enjoy this replay and explore the purpose and meaning of taking time away from everyday busyness.

Heart Gift
Toward the end of your retreat you will be asked if you would like to make a heart gift to the teachers. In Shambhala and other wisdom cultures, people often make heart gifts to those who have made receiving precious teachings possible. The heart gift is purely optional and based on personal inspiration and gratitude. The amount is not important, just your inspiration to give, connect, and explore the cycles of generosity and offering. Gifts can be made by cash, check or paypal.