Retreat
Retreat is the real holiday. It is the best way to find peace and satisfaction, to develop compassion and to bring benefit to all beings.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Why Retreat?
Retreat is a bridge between understanding the teachings and fully embodying them in daily life.
Taking time away from daily life to meditate in a quiet environment allows the mind to rest and deepen. Retreats offer space to disconnect from constant activity and reconnect with what is most meaningful. Whether for a single day or several weeks, months or years, retreat provides the conditions to cultivate clarity, compassion and lasting peace of mind.
Building a Retreat Practice
“There seems to be a common belief among practitioners that retreat is not as valuable unless it is a ‘long-term’ retreat and this is simply not true! A short weekend retreat done with proper motivation and commitment can yield realizations. There will always be obstacles and distractions, Western culture is designed that way, but if one starts building a private retreat practice from where they are, little by little a long-term practice is created.”
— Dawn Holtz, Director of Milarepa Retreat Center, Vermont
- Read Heart Advice for Retreat by Lama Zopa Rinpoche: “Retreat helps draw your consciousness away from hallucination and into reality. It helps you discover your inner self. Only by recognizing the hallucinations that have been catching the mind and learning to distinguish between what is true and what is false is it possible to change our lives for the better. All such development of the mind comes from doing retreat. So retreat is the foundation of true development.”
- Listen to this interview on the importance of retreat with Paula Chichester who spent five years at Milarepa Center preparing for and completing a four-year solitary retreat deep in the forest without electricity or running water.
- Check out this video on The Challenges and Joys of Retreat: Stepping Away from this Busy World with Paula Chichester
- Read about the Importance of Retreat Centers by Kolby Graham, Director of Land of Calm Abiding Retreat Center, Big Sur, California
Retreat Centers in North America
Group retreats offer the shared energy and inspiration of practicing together under guidance of qualified instructors,
while private retreats provide the space for deep personal reflection and individualized practice.
Both are available in FPMT centers across North America and world-wide.
A forest retreat center in the Santa Cruz Mountains offering both individual retreats and group retreats led by qualified teachers. With a strong history of welcoming renowned Buddhist masters, Vajrapani combines the intimacy of solitude with opportunities for community practice.
Nestled in the Green Mountains, Milarepa Center hosts individual retreats and occasional group retreats in a simple and supportive environment. It offers space for solitude and quiet reflection, ideal for deepening one’s practice in nature.
A very remote and peaceful hermitage offering long-term individual retreat opportunities. Surrounded by wild coastal landscapes, this center provides the conditions for deep, sustained meditation practice.
Nestled in the peaceful redwood forests near Santa Cruz, Land of Medicine Buddha (LMB) is our most easily accessible retreat center. LMB offers group and private retreats, along with approachable classes and guided meditations designed for all levels. Visitors can enjoy quiet hiking trails, inviting spaces for reflection and the newly completed Mahabodhi Stupa, a beautiful spot for gentle walking meditation and mantra recitation. With a swimming pool, sauna and abundant natural beauty, LMB offers a welcoming environment for rest, renewal and the deepening of your meditation practice.