Solitary Buddhist Retreat.

March 19, 2009 10:05 AM

I'm interested in going to a buddhist monastery or retreat for two weeks to a month. Preferably somewhere in the northeast US.

I'm looking for suggestions of Buddhist monasteries in the northeast (New England or New York). I'm looking to take a retreat for two weeks to a month.

I'm not looking for something fancy or cushy. I'm looking for a place I can have peace and quiet, work on my meditation skills, maybe study Buddhism and learn more about it, and also be in nature.

Also, I'm hoping it can be at a reasonable price.

posted by hazyspring to travel & transportation (19 comments total)

Blue Cliff Monastery, recommended. Pick up one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books before you go. Peace is Every Step is a great start.
posted by handabear at 10:10 AM on March 19

Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts?
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:11 AM on March 19

I don't have a location recommendation, but would humbly suggest that if/when you spend time at one of these places to really get involved in the daily life of the monastery. Wash dishes, peel vegetables, sweep floors, etc--don't just go to the meditation sessions and the n spend the rest of the time reading or something. It can be a real help to your practice by trying to be in that meditative, open state while performing chores. Good luck!
posted by Burhanistan at 10:16 AM on March 19 [1 favorite has favorites]

My cousin wrote a book (quite a while ago) where he talks about spending some time at a place like what you are seeking.
posted by charlesv at 10:22 AM on March 19

Zen Mountain Monastery (near Woodstock, NY) has retreats and residential sessions. Looks like they have a 1-month retreat that might work for you.
posted by ourobouros at 10:39 AM on March 19

A friend of mine raved about his two week stay at the Zen Mountain Monastery, for what it's worth.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:46 AM on March 19

There is the Rochester Zen Center, but you would have to contact them about extended stays.
posted by oflinkey at 10:53 AM on March 19

Are you a practicing Buddhist already with a sangha? If so, ask your sensei for how to proceed.

If not, are you certain that going on a 2-week or month-long retreat makes sense? Do you have the physical stamina and experience such that you could sit zazen for hours a day for days on end? Not to put too fine a point on it, but a retreat is (a) a very Westernized idea for Zen practice, and (b) something usually done by people who have already incorporated a practice into their daily life, not something done to introduce them to zazen.
posted by ellF at 11:10 AM on March 19

Are you a practicing Buddhist already with a sangha? If so, ask your sensei for how to proceed.

If not, are you certain that going on a 2-week or month-long retreat makes sense? Do you have the physical stamina and experience such that you could sit zazen for hours a day for days on end? Not to put too fine a point on it, but a retreat is (a) a very Westernized idea for Zen practice, and (b) something usually done by people who have already incorporated a practice into their daily life, not something done to introduce them to zazen.

The OP isn't necessarily interested in Zen practice, right? There are plenty of ways to take up Buddhist meditation, some of them involving longer 'retreats' for beginners, and not all of those are 'Western' or in any way inauthentic. Not to put too fine a point on it, (wink wink), but the idea that long term meditative retreats are only for those who have incorporated practice into their daily life is (a) a very Zen idea of Buddhist practice and (b) something usually encouraged by people who have already incorporated practice into their daily life, and who can be intimidating and even discouraging to questioning newcomers.

I highly recommend SN Goenka's 10 day Vipassana retreats. Here is a list of Vipassana centers in America and Canada.
posted by farishta at 12:03 PM on March 19

Seconding IMS, it's a fantastic place. And don't be *too* put off by the phrase "Westernized" - it's not necessarily a bad thing, though I suppose that's a debatable point. Authenticity is not the sole arbiter of worth, especially for something as introspective as a retreat can be.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 12:27 PM on March 19 [1 favorite has favorites]

How about the Buddhist Monastery where Pat Morita takes Hillary Swank in "The Next Karate Kid". At the time I was in hs, I heard about this...and to this day I STILL don't know the exact location of that place. I do know its in the east coast somewhere near MA.
posted by hal_c_on at 12:29 PM on March 19

The main reason I am interested in this, because I am looking to have a retreat somewhere. I have practiced meditation for a number of years, but never consistently.

I have looked at a few places, and really not interested in going somewhere with a lot of social interaction. More of a solitary place for reflection. I have studied buddhism for years, intermittently, and this is something I have always been interested in.

But I do appreciate the point to consider if I can sit for hours and hours.
posted by hazyspring at 12:49 PM on March 19

If you just want a quiet place to go where nobody will bother you and you can do meditation practice alone, I'd highly recommend Pendle Hill. While it is a Quaker retreat center, they are Buddhist-friendly (they sometimes have Buddhism-related courses and faculty). At any given time, they have people there doing silent retreats (you wear a little tag on your shirt so nobody talks to you), and they've got a big beautiful campus with nature trails and gardens. One of their rooms is a little 1-person cabin inside a tiny bamboo forest -- I think it's called the Spring House -- that is really perfect for solitary retreat time.
posted by ourobouros at 1:42 PM on March 19 [1 favorite has favorites]

Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (up in Woodstock, NY) is the seat of the 17th Karmapa in the US. It's both a Kagyu monastery and a retreat centre, and you have to register for programs in order to make overnight bookings, so it may end up being a bit more busy &/or social than you're looking for.
posted by elizardbits at 3:29 PM on March 19

IMS and Sky Meadow worth looking into.
posted by peter_meta_kbd at 5:09 PM on March 19

IMS is a wonderful place. I could go on and on describing it, but I think the most sincere thing I can say about it is that it feels incredibly safe. It's gorgeous - the inside is overflowing with tasteful, simple statues and hundreds of plants - and there are acres and acres of woods to walk around in. The whole retreat center is set up to be silent, all the time, and everything really works like clockwork, so you can focus on your meditation. The people are really respectful and helpful. The rooms are very small (bed, sink, chair), and you do 1 hour of work per day. It's far from cushy, but the food is fantastic and the atmosphere is comfortable, so it's not scarily austere.

You can do a solo retreat at the Forest Refuge, or do a group (silent) retreat at the main retreat center with one of their teachers. All of the teachers I've interacted with have been astoundingly kind, smart people.
posted by Cygnet at 7:06 PM on March 19

Oh, and:

You CAN sit for hours. It won't be easy, and your retreat will almost certainly bring very difficult moments - but you can do it.

(I did my first retreat after having meditated for 15 minutes every day for a year. I made the transition to 10 hours of meditation per day just fine, I learned a ton, I went through some tough times, and I felt like a much better person at the end.)
posted by Cygnet at 7:09 PM on March 19

You might be interested in the Tendai Buddhist Institute in Canaan, New York. It's really small, run in a Japanese village temple style. I don't know how the prices, etc. would be, but I personally know the abbot, Monshin Paul Naamon, and he's a great guy who seems like he'd be willing to work with you. (Monshin is my Buddhism professor.)
posted by Jebdm at 12:14 AM on March 23

2nding S.N. Goenka's Vipassana technique. There's a center in Shelburne, MA.

The beginner course is a 10-day silent retreat (don't read, talk, listen to music/podcasts, text, and men and women are kept separate). You can speak with the instructors regarding the technique. The environment is designed to be safe and quiet enough for students to go deep.

It is free of charge, funded by former students' donations and run by volunteers.

I found it while looking for something that was more of a technique than a belief structure. The teachings are Buddha's, but it's non-sectarian.

I sat a 10-day course (with only a bit of prior experience in standing meditation), and volunteered at another. Sitting 10+ hrs a day isn't easy, but it's very, very doable.

After you sit your first course, you are eligible to serve at the center (non-silent) and/or sit additional courses as a student. Through a combo of sitting and serving, you could stay a month or more. There are resident server positions as well.
posted by degrees_of_freedom at 6:50 PM on April 20