A Beginner- Friendly Meditation Weekend (Residential Only)

We invite you to step back from our noisy world to learn about and experience the practice of meditation from a Buddhist perspective. Taste Noble Silence, a traditional practice of refraining from unnecessary talking, as an antidote to our busy, invasive daily life. As Meister Eikhart said: “To the quiet mind, all things are possible.”

Silent retreat is a precious and foundational Buddhist practice that provides an opportunity to quiet the mind and cultivate our innate capacities for concentration, focus, love and compassion. In community we meditate, eat and dwell together in a silence that supports our natural awareness to come forward and hold all of our difficult, coarse, and perhaps boring or mundane daily experience with clarity and kindness.

Please join us to:

• Meditate together as a group with guidance and support
• Receive essential Buddhist teachings on how to calm the mind and connect with our innate capacity for love
• Pose your questions about meditation to deeply experienced teachers
• Relax, recharge and develop skills to support you in daily life
• Enjoy Wonderwell’s beautiful surroundings and connect to the woods, mountains and meadows as a support to your practice

A structured daily schedule will provide opportunity for group practice, solo practice, teachings, hikes on Wonderwell’s trails, and delicious vegetarian meals. While most of this retreat will be in silence, retreatants will have the opportunity at the beginning and end of retreat to chat and get to know each other, along with discussion during the teaching sessions.

No experience necessary – all are welcome.

Typical Retreat Schedule

(All times are Eastern time zone)

First Day — Opening session and orientation begins around 7:00 pm.

Full-Day Schedule — Morning meditation 7:00 am; Breakfast break 8:0-9:30 am; Lunch break 12:00-2:00 pm; Dinner break 5:30-7:00 pm. Evening session 7:00-8:30 pm

Last Day —The closing session end at 12:00 pm.

These times are just for reference. An expanded schedule will be provided in pre-retreat information emailed during the week prior to the event.

Important Health Information

The NDF Health Committee continues to monitor evolving public health conditions and trends, as we keep the safety of our Sangha at the forefront of our decision-making. At this time, COVID-19 testing is no longer required. Masks are optional and encouraged if you are at higher risk. We encourage you to stay at home if you are symptomatic to protect others.

Scholarships

Cancellation Policy

We understand that personal circumstances may require you to cancel your registration. In these cases, please contact us right away at register@naturaldharma.org. Cancellations affect our ability to offer rooms to others and create additional work for our staff, therefore we charge the following fees to help mitigate these costs.

For cancellations (based on program start date):

• > 45 days: 100% refund minus a $75 admin. fee.
• 31-45 days: 50% refund of the required deposit; or 75% refund if registration paid in full.
• 21-30 days: 50% refund of total registration cost
• < 21 days: nonrefundable

If you must cancel due to an emergency or extenuating circumstances, please contact us at register@naturaldharma.org.

Natural Dharma Fellowship Full Calendar