Jhana & Awakening
November 6 -15
Residential and Online
Join me in person at Nameless Mountain or online through Zoom for a 10-day silent immersion cultivating continuous samadhi through anapanasati, brahmavihara, and jhana. 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
Arrival and registration begins at 15:00.
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: Free Practice - Cleaning
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 - 19:00 Tea/Snacks - Free Practice
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:
Four Noble Truths
Five Recollections
Refuge
Bodhicitta
Eightfold Noble Path
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 the eight. 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 to practice. 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, beyond the cost of the facilities, food, and my transportation to and from the venue, is offered on the basis of your generosity (Dāna).
The flat fee for residential participants is $800 USD, while for those online it is $250.