Retreats at Manzanita Village

Caitríona Reed

The first time you call to inquire about retreats you might ask how much of the day is spent in practice, and the invariable answer we'll give you is, "twenty-four hours."

We don't feel that the quality of a retreat is determined by the amount of time spent in formal practice in the Meditation Hall. Nor do we feel that a rule of rigid silence is necessarily the most conducive for a retreat environment. We do not wish to create an environment so different from daily life that the lessons learned here have no use when we go home. Practice nurtures many needs, some of them interpersonal, and so we do our best to foster an environment of conviviality and ease, in which it is possible to develop sustained awareness throughout the day within a communal context. Silence follows by itself without being imposed.

Thich Nhat Hanh once proposed that we use the word ‘treat’ instead of ‘retreat’, signifying that the practice, to be most effective, needs to be conducted in a spirit of joy and well-being. That does not mean that we do not sometimes experience difficulties on a retreat; but we are encouraged to develop confidence in our own ability to transform the things that cause difficulty - through the understanding that is cultivated by awareness. Knowing that we do have this ability to transform our heart and mind we can relax. Insight and compassion, patience and good humor come like flowers after a spring rain.

A typical retreat day begins with meditation at 6:30, a Sutra recitation or chanting at 7:30, breakfast at 8:00, followed by a work period. From 10:00 to 1:00 there is meditation instruction and meditation, a Dharma talk, and walking meditation together along one of the trails at Manzanita Village. Lunch at 1:00 is followed by a break for ‘hammock meditation’, or people are free to walk or explore the land. We practice meditation together again from 3:30 to 6:00, sitting, walking, sometimes movement or yoga, then again after supper at 6, we practice until 9:30 or 10:00.

Discussion or instruction may occur at different times during the course of the day. During longer retreats there is an opportunity to meet privately with the teachers. We also invariably teach the Dharma in the context of the land here, drawing from the many examples this habitat gives us to learn how natural systems coexist; and also satisfying the hunger so many of us have to learn about the natural history of this area.

We create, for the duration of the retreat, a temporary monastery together - not striving to become perfect, but relaxing into an awareness of the Great Perfection that surrounds us - in the world and inside our own hearts. This is not to deny the reality of suffering in our life or in the life of the world, but rather a way for us to turn directly to face that suffering.

There are those who have been coming to retreats for a number of years and those who come for the first time. We all practice together; for in life, there is really no beginning or end. Please join us for a retreat in 1999.

Copyright © Caitríona Reed. Autumn 1996