Join me in person in Boulder, Colorado at Nameless Mountain or online through Zoom for a 10-day silent immersion cultivating continuous samadhi through anapanasati, brahmavihara, and jhana. As you may be aware: there are variant lineages of practice and interpretation of jhana. On this retreat I will be teaching from the Pali suttas and as I learned the practice from Leigh Brasington, having also been influenced by the work of Rob Burbea and others. By coordinating body, breath, and attention, purifying heart and mind, and plunging into progressively deeper and dereified absorption, a practitioner is optimally primed for opening into awakening through satipatthana and available to nondual recognition of the empty, awake, compassionate nature of mind.

Depending on how many people register and attend, 1:1 practice interviews will be available daily or every other day.

SCHEDULE (US Mountain Time)

Friday 6

15:00: Doors Open

19:00: Opening Talk

20:00: Group Practice

21:00: Free Practice - Sleep

Saturday 7 - Saturday 14

5:30: Wake Up

6:00: Group Practice

7:45: Light Breakfast

8:15: Cleaning - Free Practice

9:00: Group Practice

10:00: Instruction - Q&A

11:00 - 12:00: Main Meal - Cleaning - Walking

12:00: - 17:00: Free Practice - Interviews

During this time the meditation space will remain open to practice together, with time signaled every 45 minutes for quiet entry and exit.

You are also welcome to practice outdoors or in your room in solitude.

Interviews are 15 minutes and are optional except on the first and last full days.

17:00: Soup, Snacks, & Tea

17:30: Free Practice - Shower Hour

19:00: Talk - Q&A

20:00: Group Practice

21:00: Free Practice - Sleep

Sunday 15

5:30: Wake Up

6:00: Group Practice

7:15: Closing

7:45: Breakfast

8:15: Cleaning - Socializing - Decompression

All depart by noon.

Syllabus in Outline

Friday:

• Bodhicitta

• Four Noble Truths

• Eightfold Noble Path

• Five Recollections

• Refuge

• Precepts

• Satipatthana

Saturday:

• Anapanasati

• Brahmavihara

• Five Hindrances

• Access Concentration

• First Jhana

Sunday:

• Form Jhanas

Monday:

• Open Q&A

Tuesday:

• Formless Jhanas

Wednesday:

• Open Q&A

Thursday:

• Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta, & Cessation

Friday:

• Nature of Mind

Saturday:

• Open Q&A

For all participants: as a condition of attendance you are expected to observe the Five Precepts for the duration of the retreat while those of us in person will observe seven of the eight, having soup after noon.

This is a meditation intensive: I recommend if not already doing so working up to practicing 2 hours or more of seated meditation per day so as to be well prepared both physically and mentally.

For online participants: though I recommend setting aside all activities besides practice for the duration of the retreat, if you’re able to practice at least 4 hours a day or more while working and attending to other necessary responsibilities I want to facilitate your commitment. Whether attending full-time or partially, prior to the retreat beginning, please draft a daily schedule to which you’re able to adhere. You are individually responsible for maintaining the continuity of your practice and attending as many of the group sessions and interviews as able. The Zoom room will remain open for those who would like to meditate together virtually outside of the scheduled sessions.

For residential participants: during group practice sessions, all of which are mandatory barring extenuating circumstances, we will alternate sitting and walking, as well as brief chanting to open the morning and close the evening, and you will be expected and held to maintaining stillness, appropriate posture, and wakefulness while seated, whether on a chair or the floor. If you absolutely must move, doing so quietly and mindfully is required.

There is a maximum of 13 residential places and 12 online. For those joining in the flesh: we will be sleeping barracks-style with little personal space or privacy, though there is ample room outdoors for solitary sitting and walking.

If you would like to attend, please fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch.

Include briefly why you’d like to come on the retreat and what your practice background is, including prior retreats and teachers worked with, if any. I request that you not apply or join if you are in the midst of a significant life or mental health crisis, which I will be unable to support during the retreat.

This retreat is offered at a flat fee for residential participants of $800 USD, while for those online it is $250. This covers the costs of the event: the facilities, food, the hospitality of Nameless Mountain and associated labor, etc. Anything given above this is an optional donation which additionally supports my personal livelihood and continuing training.

Registration will be confirmed and your place reserved when the fee is received, and you may cancel and receive a refund until six weeks before we begin.