Retreats

Since ancient times, all wise cultures have understood the value of retreat. Time in retreat allows us to step out of the complexity of our life and to listen deeply to our body, heart, and mind.

For 2,600 years, meditation retreats have been a central part of the Buddhist path of awakening. Retreats offer practical instruction and group support for discovering inner peace, deep understanding, and liberation.

Spirit Rock retreats combine the fertile atmosphere of silence with extensive time for meditation and walks in nature, supported by Buddhist teachings on meditation, well-being, and the path to liberation. Careful guidance and training is also offered in meditation and mindfulness. Most of our retreats are suitable for both new and more experienced meditation practitioners.

Spirit Rock offers retreats of one day to two months on our campus of over 400 acres in picturesque Marin County, California, and conveniently online, supporting practitioners around the world to deepen their practice in connection with saṅgha (spiritual community) and teachers. We are grateful to be open and practicing together again, with protective Covid-19 Safety Protocols in place.

On-Land Retreats

A retreat provides an opportunity and a caring container for undertaking deep meditation and spiritual exploration. The central practice is mindfulness, which enables us to discover a freedom of heart in the midst of all the difficulties of life. Mindfulness practice on retreat is often accompanied and complemented by training in lovingkindness (mettā) meditation.

Spirit Rock on-land retreats involve a gathering of around 30 to 100 or more participants. Most of the retreat is held in silence, and retreat participants do not speak to one another. Writing and reading are also discouraged, so that retreatants can better stay with their own present experience as it unfolds moment to moment. In this silent and mindful environment, awareness sharpens, the body quiets, the mind clears, and space opens for insight and understanding to unfold.

Learn More About The Experience Of Retreat

Retreat On-Land

Saturday, April 6 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Not-Self: Not Taking Ourselves Personally 

Liberation won't be found in trying to create the perfect personality, because it isn't the personality that realizes liberation. Using the Buddha's teachings on not-self as a contemplative strategy, rather than a doctrine to believe in, is a way to freedom in the heart/mind. This daylong will explore teachings on not-self and how to bring them into present moment experience. The day will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, as well as Dharma reflections and Q&A.

Ajahn Karunadhammo

Ajahn Karunadhammo

Retreat On-Land

April 7 - April 13, 2024 Sunday - Saturday | 6 nights

Insight Meditation Retreat

This is a silent retreat designed especially for those relatively new to the practices of Insight Meditation (vipassanā). The retreat includes systematic instructions on vipassanā meditation—both stillness and moving—as well as lovingkindness practices, meetings with teachers, and evening talks highlighting the central teachings of the Buddha and their practical application to our lives.

DaRa Williams

DaRa Williams

Tuere Sala

Tuere Sala

Noliwe Alexander

Noliwe Alexander

Bart van Melik

Bart van Melik

Monica Magtoto

Monica Magtoto

Retreat On-Land

April 14 - April 20, 2024 Sunday - Saturday | 6 nights

Illuminating the Beautiful Qualities of the Heart

Open to All Self-identified Women of the Black African Diaspora. There is a deep well of vibrant, intuitive knowing that is alive in the bone memory of Black Women’s bodies. In practicing silent meditation both indoors and in nature, this retreat for self-identified Black Women includes Dharma talks, embodiment practices, teacher meetings, and time for reflective, intentional rest to nourish the mind, heart, and body. Through guided practices of self-love, compassion, and deep connection to nature, we will illuminate the heart of strength and tenderness that resides within us all.

Amana Brembry Johnson

Amana Brembry Johnson

Konda Mason

Konda Mason

DaRa Williams

DaRa Williams

Ruth King

Ruth King

Richelle Evelyn Donigan

Richelle Evelyn Donigan

Online Retreats

Online retreat is a powerful new experience of mindfulness practice, bringing together the immersive approach of our traditional meditation retreats with the daily life integration of practicing at home. In our online retreats, you join with the teachers and community on Zoom each day for meditation, instruction, discussion, movement, and small group support. You’ll follow a gentle self-guided schedule between sessions in a way that is flexible and integrated into your day.

Online retreats offer accessibility to practitioners worldwide, those who are unable to attend a retreat on the land, and dedicated practitioners between longer retreats or trainings. They are a beautiful, personal way to explore bringing focused mindfulness and meditation practice into everyday life, and to enjoy the deep rest and restoration of retreat without leaving your home.

Retreat Online

Sunday, March 24 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Calming the Restless Mind

4 CE Credits. Everyone wants to be calm and peaceful. Our restlessness and agitation stem from an untrained, reactive mind and a lack of clear perception of what's happening in our mind and body from moment to moment. During this retreat, we will train our hearts and minds to find a calm abiding in the present moment.

Howard Cohn

Howard Cohn

Retreat Online

Saturday, March 30 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Feeding the Creative Fire Through Dharma Practice

As we look outward into the world and inward to our own hearts, it becomes apparent that we are living in the infancy of our species’ human potential to dream of a world free from suffering. Our world needs fresh eyes, brightened by the goodness that resides within. During this day we will practice silent and guided meditation. Through visual imagery, talks, and journaling, we will nourish our capacity to rewire conditioned perspectives that smother the fire of imagination.

Amana Brembry Johnson

Amana Brembry Johnson

Retreat Online

Sunday, March 31 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Meditation to Develop Concentration and Serenity for a Chaotic World

5 CE Credits. In concentration and serenity meditation (samatha), we return awareness to one meditation object to the exclusion of everything else, unifying the mind stream. This process of purifying the mind reveals with heightened clarity the habitual patterns that cause us to suffer. Throughout this process, a laser-like awareness can develop, leading to peace, stillness, joy, as well as the meditative absorptions known as jhānas. Topics include: the practice path; the relationship between samatha and vipassanā, and working with striving and hindrances.

Tina Rasmussen

Tina Rasmussen

Retreat Online

Saturday, April 6 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Not-Self: Not Taking Ourselves Personally

Liberation won't be found in trying to create the perfect personality, because it isn't the personality that realizes liberation. Using the Buddha's teachings on not-self as a contemplative strategy, rather than a doctrine to believe in, is a way to freedom in the heart/mind. This daylong will explore teachings on not-self and how to bring them into present moment experience. The day will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, as well as Dharma reflections and Q&A.

Ajahn Karunadhammo

Ajahn Karunadhammo

Retreat Online

Sunday, April 7 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness & Freedom

No one is immune to the different seasons of life. Yet we are often ill-prepared to navigate these natural ups and downs without undue pain and suffering. In her twelfth book, Real Life, New York Times bestselling author Sharon Salzberg contemplates the skills needed to traverse the larger cycles of life, drawing from over 40 years of experience in the Buddhist tradition. Join Sharon and conversation partner Scott Barry Kaufman to talk about the themes from the book.

Sharon Salzberg

Sharon Salzberg

Scott Barry Kaufman

Scott Barry Kaufman

Testimonial

I now view my home, my meditation/yoga room, and my home practice completely differently now! It's astonishing how easy this format makes incorporating being on retreat with being a householder.

 
Online Retreat Participant