Offsite Retreats

5 day Dharma of Nature with Dawn Neal and Marjolein Janssen. An Off-Grid Retreats and IRC collaboration.
May 23 to 27, 2024  -  Hours: Thursday check-in is from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm  End time: Monday 1:00 pm

We will be practicing outside, exploring the interconnection between the Dharma and the natural world, cultivating wisdom and inviting greater freedom. Experience deepening meditation sessions supported by sensory immersion in nature. And engage in optional movement and / or walking meditation. This retreat is offered freely, as gifts to those who attend—there is no cost. Donations by those who attend make it possible to pass this gift forward to others who want to attend these freely offered retreats.

More info and registration.

5 day Healing the Self, Loving the Self, Forgetting the Self with Matthew Brensilver. An Insight Meditation Center & Big Bear Retreat Center Collaboration
July 9 to 13, 2024  -  Hours: Tuesday check-in is from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm  End time: Saturday 12:00 pm

In this silent retreat, we will explore how mindfulness supports the healing of the self.

Many of the Buddhist teachings help us to tend to painful memory, old pains and the habits that compound suffering. As we become more gentle and loving towards experience, the self becomes less and less of a preoccupation. The more completely we accept ourselves, the easier it becomes to forget the self and rest in an awareness unencumbered by self-consciousness.

IRC is co-sponsoring this dana retreat at Big Bear Retreat Center in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. We are excited to collaborate with Big Bear so our IRC teachers can offer more retreats within the culture of generosity we have at IRC. Registration and more information at Big Bear Registration

5 day BIPOC Nature Dharma and Insight Retreat with bruni dávila, Ram Appalaraju and Kuan Luo. This is an Insight Retreat Center offering at Big Springs Retreat Center in Sierra City, CA
August 6 to 10, 2024  -  Hours: Tuesday check-in is from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm  End time: Saturday 1:00 pm

This nature retreat for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) offers a variety of contemplative practices in the northern Sierra Mountains in a rural retreat center. Each day will include meditation, earth-based practices, deep discussions on our relationship to the natural world, and guided exploration of forested lands of the 170-acre retreat center. 

In the beauty and harmony of nature, and having no access to internet and cell phones, we will have the opportunity to slow down, unplug and settle into the refuge that Mother Earth offers to us. Activities will occur outdoors or in the large meditation hall, depending on the weather.

Big Springs retreat center is located in the Sierra Mountains; about 1 hr 45 mins from Reno NV Airport, 2 Hrs 30 mins from Sacramento Airport, or 4.5 hours from San Francisco Airport and San Jose -- Big Springs Map

Accommodations will be either in single rooms in resident halls or, for those who bring their own tent and sleeping gear, on tent platforms among the trees near a bath house with toilets, shower, and sauna.

Photos: Big Springs Area -- Big Springs Woods -- Big Springs Meditation Hall

APPLY ONLINE - Registration opened March 25, 2024 - Login or Register for Carpooling

• Requirements: Having an established meditation practice and participated in one silent meditation retreat.
• Your application and $100 deposit must be received by 5/15/24 to be entered in the lottery. Applicants will be notified about 2 weeks later if they have been Accepted or are on the Waiting List. Subsequent applications will be added to the Waiting List. Your deposit will only be charged if you are accepted to the retreat and cancel after 7/21/24.
• Questions: Contact the Registrar: Prerana,   prerana@insightretreatcenter.org

6 day Insight Retreat with Dawn Neal and Kim Allen.
August 11 to 16, 2024  -  Hours: Sunday check-in is from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm  End time: Friday 11:30 am

A silent mindfulness retreat with alternating sitting and walking meditation, instruction, dharma talks, work meditation, and practice discussion with the teachers. This rustic retreat center is surrounded by the deep forest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and includes a beautiful walk uphill to the meditation hall. Suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners.

Location: Quaker Center, Ben Lomond, CA. More information: Quaker Center website

Accommodations are double rooms with a bathroom shared among several rooms. There are also a few camping spots available.

To reserve a place on this retreat: Reservation List

5 day Natural Awareness Retreat with Marjolein Janssen and Ari Crellin-Quick at Hidden Villa, Los Altos, CA (Map) .
January 7 to 11, 2025  -  Hours: Tuesday check-in is from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm  End time: Saturday 1:00 pm

Please join us for a 5-day silent retreat focusing on the cultivation of natural awareness, relaxation and skillful understanding of our moment-to-moment experience. This retreat will be offered in the teaching style of meditation master Sayadaw U Tejaniya, who emphasizes approaching meditation with relaxed interest and allowing experience to be known in a simple way as it unfolds naturally. There will be alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation. There will be daily instructions, reflections and group practice discussions, offered by the teachers.

Simple vegetarian meals will be provided. The accommodations include rustic yet cozy dormitory-style cabins, with the option to set up your own tent on a platform for those who prefer to camp. Full shared bathrooms are in a separate building. The property is set in a wooded area adjacent to a community garden and petting zoo, with nearby hiking trails. There is also the option to commute to this retreat; if you’d like to make use of this option, please indicate this on the registration form.

This retreat is offered freely, as a gift to those who attend—there is no cost. Donations by those who attend make it possible to pass this gift forward to others who attend IRC off-site retreats.

For more information, or to sign up to receive an email when registration opens, please email retreats@brightdharma.nl