Vipassanā Retreat

With Venerable Losang Gendun

In the complexity, rush, and instability of modern life, it can be a challenge to stay grounded and not be overwhelmed by its demands. We often struggle seeking harmony, feel discontent looking for satisfaction, experience stress, sadness, and lack of self-confidence searching for wholeness Yet, how do we get back to ourselves and what does that really mean?

This silence retreat offers an entry point into a millennia-old tradition of meditation on the breath. The breath is a microcosm of our own existence. It marks the movement of our lives, and the threshold between inside and outside, between us as human beings and the nature of which we are a part. It is an aspect of our 'being' which we can influence, but which functions best when we let it take its course quietly. 

That the Buddha practiced this form of insight meditation even after his enlightenment, shows that more than a practice, mindfulness of breath is a natural state of being. When breath and awareness unite, they become healthy and serene. 

The Buddha’s promise is that our mind is its own medicine. In the light of equanimous introspection, chaotic thoughts, fear, guilt, resentment, and other reactive emotions, transform into surrender, wholeness and a gentle, healing joy. 

Join us for a week of meditation in the sanctuary of the Maitreya Institute. We will walk and sit in silence, on the rhythm of the bell, in the companionship of fellow meditators. Evening classes will explore the practices of shamatha and vipassana, with plenty of space for questions and personal interviews. 

As retreats involve boundaries for our body, speech, and mind, within which they can flourish amidst a community of meditators, it is necessary to participate in the entirety of the retreat, while remaining on the grounds of the Institute. 

The retreat is accessible for beginning meditators, while offering plenty for the seasoned ones to enjoy. Available online and onsite in Loenen.