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**Adamdjeffe** · 11-26-2011, 11:09 AM

Can someone explain to me what you do exactly at these retreats? I have a very faint idea of what they do there but I'm not sure......I have never been to one (as you can tell) but I would like very much to go to one. I don't hear much about retreats being held in the U.S.A near where I live which is in Virginia.

Hi Eager;

You asked a simple question and got two rather different answers.

It really depends on the type of tradition and retreat topic. If it's a meditation retreat---that is to say, if the goal of the retreat is to help participants achieve a stable meditative platform (which you need to accomplish the goals taught by the Buddha), the retreat most likely consists of 6 or more sessions each full day, each consisting of around 1 hour (but this can vary considerably) followed by short rest period, with longer recesses for meals (of which there may be 3, 2, or....possibly...one, served before noon). Teaching retreats may have a few meditation sessions wrapped around 3 or 4 or more hours of teaching per day.

I just organized a weekend meditation retreat (last weekend, actually) for 24 people. This is far shorter than I would personally recommend to get the participants to the point where they're actually meditating; however, it's a good introduction for beginners and good practice for anyone to engage in, even if they consider themselves advanced.

For our retreat, we had one 1.25 hr session Friday night, 6 sessions of approximately 1.25-1.5 hours each (with a 5-10 minute rest period in the middle to stretch our legs), and two sessions on Sunday morning of the same approximate length. We began at 8:00 am and ended around 9:00 pm in the evening. I'd say that this would be considered a moderate schedule, certainly not "easy-breezy" and not hardcore at all. The sessions contained about 20 minutes of teaching and close to an hour or a bit less of actual sitting (broken into two segments, as previously stated)

Just a note on costs. The dharma center didn't raise the issue money to me when I formally requested permissio (though I told them that I intended to extract a suitable donation for each participant), so I was kind of left on my own to figure out a reasonable amount. We were basically taking over their facility, using their utilities and all their spare beds. I decided that $45 per day per person was reasonable for a bed and use of the facilities (it was $32.50/day for those who couldn't afford the larger amount) and that a $30 contribution for food (or payment in kind....bring specific food items so I didn't have to go on a $700 shopping trip) was appropriate. It worked out incredibly well, although we ended up leaving a good $80 worth of food at the Center.

There are many different Buddhist traditions with centers in the NOVA area. I've been to a couple (and I live in NYC). I practice within the Tibetan tradition. But, for example, there are Goenka 10 day retreats (in the Theravada tradition) in Blue Ridge VA http://www.midatlantic.us.dhamma.org/valocation.html. My teacher speaks highly of effectiveness of these retreats, though the lineage is totally different. There are also plenty of Zen centers that have retreats as well as Tibetan Buddhist centers.

11-26-2011, 11:09 AM	#12
Adamdjeffe Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 501 Senior Member	Can someone explain to me what you do exactly at these retreats? I have a very faint idea of what they do there but I'm not sure......I have never been to one (as you can tell) but I would like very much to go to one. I don't hear much about retreats being held in the U.S.A near where I live which is in Virginia. Hi Eager; You asked a simple question and got two rather different answers. It really depends on the type of tradition and retreat topic. If it's a meditation retreat---that is to say, if the goal of the retreat is to help participants achieve a stable meditative platform (which you need to accomplish the goals taught by the Buddha), the retreat most likely consists of 6 or more sessions each full day, each consisting of around 1 hour (but this can vary considerably) followed by short rest period, with longer recesses for meals (of which there may be 3, 2, or....possibly...one, served before noon). Teaching retreats may have a few meditation sessions wrapped around 3 or 4 or more hours of teaching per day. I just organized a weekend meditation retreat (last weekend, actually) for 24 people. This is far shorter than I would personally recommend to get the participants to the point where they're actually meditating; however, it's a good introduction for beginners and good practice for anyone to engage in, even if they consider themselves advanced. For our retreat, we had one 1.25 hr session Friday night, 6 sessions of approximately 1.25-1.5 hours each (with a 5-10 minute rest period in the middle to stretch our legs), and two sessions on Sunday morning of the same approximate length. We began at 8:00 am and ended around 9:00 pm in the evening. I'd say that this would be considered a moderate schedule, certainly not "easy-breezy" and not hardcore at all. The sessions contained about 20 minutes of teaching and close to an hour or a bit less of actual sitting (broken into two segments, as previously stated) Just a note on costs. The dharma center didn't raise the issue money to me when I formally requested permissio (though I told them that I intended to extract a suitable donation for each participant), so I was kind of left on my own to figure out a reasonable amount. We were basically taking over their facility, using their utilities and all their spare beds. I decided that $45 per day per person was reasonable for a bed and use of the facilities (it was $32.50/day for those who couldn't afford the larger amount) and that a $30 contribution for food (or payment in kind....bring specific food items so I didn't have to go on a $700 shopping trip) was appropriate. It worked out incredibly well, although we ended up leaving a good $80 worth of food at the Center. There are many different Buddhist traditions with centers in the NOVA area. I've been to a couple (and I live in NYC). I practice within the Tibetan tradition. But, for example, there are Goenka 10 day retreats (in the Theravada tradition) in Blue Ridge VA http://www.midatlantic.us.dhamma.org/valocation.html. My teacher speaks highly of effectiveness of these retreats, though the lineage is totally different. There are also plenty of Zen centers that have retreats as well as Tibetan Buddhist centers.
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