Natural Awakening: Insight Retreat (Online)

This is the ONLINE component of the retreat. If you’d like to register for the RESIDENTIAL component, please click here.

Step into a week of silent retreat at Wonderwell to deepen your meditation practice, explore liberating insights from centuries of Buddhist teachings, and connect with the natural awakeness of mind and heart through instructional dharma talks and insight meditation.

In this silent retreat, we will draw on Theravada, Tibetan, and Zen traditions to explore how meditation cultivates freedom, clarity, and compassion. Supported by the quiet beauty of Wonderwell, daily dharma talks, and sangha, we will engage with diverse teachings to gain perspective on our own lives and meditation practice.

Please join us to:

• Reflect on spiritual literature from diverse Buddhist traditions including Theravada, Tibetan, and Zen lineages
• Experience the path of meditative development as it unfolds naturally under the right conditions
• Explore the virtues of renunciation, kindness, and community
• Deepen your meditation practice with guidance in insight meditation and contemplative techniques

For centuries, meditators seeking peace and wisdom have retreated to quiet places in nature to observe their mind and body and to experience the liberating insights transmitted through generations of Dharma practitioners. Early teachings from the Pali canon describe how the path of meditative development unfolds naturally under conducive conditions, while subsequent literature across Buddhist traditions conveys the freedom, clarity, and confidence that emerge through meditation practice.

In this silent hybrid retreat, we will be supported by the presence of fellow practitioners, the natural beauty and quietude of Wonderwell Mountain Refuge, and daily dharma talks that draw on Theravada, Tibetan, and Zen literature. Through these talks and instruction in insight meditation, we will gain perspectives on our own lives and meditation practice, learning from the hermit poet monks of Japan and China, ancient Tibetan masters, and the elder nuns of India. With these insights and the support of community, we will explore our practice and daily life with renewed depth and clarity.

As part of retreat practice, we will also recite the Three Refuges and Five Precepts, exploring the virtues of renunciation and kindness and creating a foundation for shared community. Whether you are new to meditation or a seasoned practitioner, and regardless of Buddhist lineage or spiritual tradition, this retreat offers a space to cultivate insight, compassion, and connection.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Typical Retreat Schedule

(All times are Eastern time zone)

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

Last Day — The closing session typically ends by 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.

Zoom Link

The Zoom link will be sent several days before the retreat to all those registered. If you register after that date, you’ll receive the link with your confirmation email shortly after submitting your registration. If you don’t see an email from Natural Dharma Registrar or Wonderwell Mountain Refuge, it may have mistakenly gone to your spam folder or to Promotions or Updates in Gmail.

Important: Please put these this email address in your Contact or Safe-Send list to make sure you receive our emails:

• register@naturaldharma.org

Program Cost

Our program fees provide essential support to our non-profit operations and NDF’s mission to spread the Dharma in accessible, relevant, and creative ways. Our goal is that no one misses out on our events due to lack of funds. Thanks to our generous donors, we are able to offer tiered pricing and additional support to fit varied financial situations: 

• May All Beings Benefit! *– supporting access for all and general support for NDF operations
• A Middle Way – covering the base cost
• Held in Sangha Loving-kindness – offering ease when financial resources are limiting

If the lowest cost tier creates an obstacle to your attendance, please see our financial support options on the registration page. The process is simple and does not require extensive information. Financial aid is immediately approved using discount code options that allow you to contribute the most you are able while honoring your particular resources.

* The difference between the May All Beings Benefit! tier and the Middle Way tier will be considered a tax-deductible donation and will be acknowledged as such in writing. Contributing at this level helps us offer financial aid to other participants. Thank you!!

Access to Recordings

NDF offers unlimited access to recordings, which are available in your user dashboard (more information about user accounts provided in a pre-retreat letter). If you have a user account, please register with the same email you use to log into your dashboard. If not, an account will be created for you using your registration address.

Availability will vary depending on the type of event and the backlog for our precious resource volunteers. Thank you for your patience.

Natural Dharma Fellowship Full Calendar