2016 CONCENTRATION/SAMATHA RETREAT

“…in the footprint of the Buddha…”

Concentration/Samatha Retreat

With Marcia Rose & Winnie Nazarko
November 1-20, 2016
Columbine Inn, Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico

INTRODUCTION

This almost three week Samatha/Concentration retreat is for experienced Dhamma students (see prerequisites below). Guidance will be offered for the development and nurturing of deep concentration leading towards Jhana in the lineage of Burmese meditation master Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw.

The retreat will be held in Noble Silence, and will consist of alternate periods of sitting and walking, instructions, Dhamma talks and individual practice interviews. The small group size at Hermitage retreats (a maximum of 16 students for this one) helps to create a more intimate experience and easier access to teachers.

A scholarship fund has been established to offer financial aid to those who would otherwise not be able to attend and to promote diversity.

Applications and deposits are requested by September 15, 2016. Late applications will be considered on a space available basis.   All yogis will have a single room with private bath.  Space is limited to 16 yogis – applications are necessary.

PREREQUISITES FOR THIS RETREAT

Practitioners must have sat a minimum of three week-long or ten-day retreats with a recognized Buddhist teacher and/or a longer period of intensive practice with a recognized teacher.

Details of the qualifying retreats, including teachers’ names, dates, location and length of the retreat, must be documented on the application form.

TEACHERS

Marcia Rose Dec.2011 04

 

 

Marcia Rose is the founding and guiding teacher of The Mountain Hermitage and founding teacher of Taos Mountain Sangha. She has been studying and practicing Buddhist teachings and meditation with Asian and Western teachers since 1970, primarily in the Theravada-Vipassana (Path of the Elders) tradition. Her own teaching reflects a clear influence from the Burmese Mahasi Vipassana and Pa-Auk Forest Monastery lineages with authorization from Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw to teach Samatha and Jhanas in his lineage. She has also studied and practiced in the Dzogchen Tibetan Buddhist tradition with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Marcia was resident teacher for staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, MA from 1991-1995. She has been one of the teachers for the annual three-month retreat at IMS, and currently is an occasional visiting teacher at IMS and a regular visiting at The Forest Refuge in Barre, MA.  Marcia teaches Vipassana, Concentration, Brahma Vihara, and Creative Process retreats in various U.S. and international venues, and is dedicated to offering these ancient and timeless teachings in ways that make them accessible and authentic for contemporary culture.

 

 

Winnie a little smaller

 

 

Winnie Nazarko first contacted the Dharma at a 1981 weekend retreat taught by Stephen and Ondrea Levine. While the retreat wasn’t what she expected, she recognized something deeply truthful in what she heard.

Since that time, she has studied with many outstanding western teachers, including Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Steven Armstrong, and Kamala Masters. She has also benefited from the wisdom of monastic teachers, most recently the great Burmese concentration master Pa Auk Sayadaw , who taught her jhanas.

For two decades, Winnie practiced and studied Dharma while working in human services leadership capacities. In 1999, after sitting Insight Meditation Society’s annual three month retreat, she was asked to train to teach by Joseph Goldstein. In 2004 she completed a year long silent retreat at the Forest Refuge as part of this preparation. In 2010 she completed a multi-year teacher training program led by mentor Jack Kornfield and other well respected teachers, and was formally authorized to teach.

 

 

 Besides the teachers, the staff of this one-week Hermitage retreat will consist of a resident retreat manager (the point of contact in case of any difficulties) and a retreat cook. There will be three nutritious vegetarian meals per day.

Alert animal

Walking 7

DAILY SCHEDULE

The general retreat schedule will consist of group events such as meals, Dhamma talks, and guided sits plus a suggested schedule of sitting and walking practice.

5:30 a.m. – Group sit and Metta chant
6:30 a.m. – Breakfast
7:15 a.m. – Work period
8:15 a.m. -Refuges & Precepts – Group sit – Instructions or Dhamma reflection
9:15 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Walk & sit alternate hours- Practice interviews as scheduled
12:00 Noon – Lunch
1:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Walk & sit alternate hours
5:30 p.m. – Tea
6:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. Sit & walk
7:15 p.m. – Dhamma talk, guided meditation, or Q & A as scheduled
8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Walk or sit

 

THE RETREAT FACILITYColumbine Inn view with walkers

The Columbine Inn, in Taos Ski Valley, is a comfortable timber- frame lodge situated among tall pines at 9000 feet elevation in northern New Mexico’s beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mts .  The Mountain Hermitage will have exclusive use of the Columbine Inn during the period of this retreat, enabling us to provide the privacy, quiet, and sense of harmony  most conducive to intensive practice.

Meditation hall 3

There is a lovely meditation hall,  indoor and outdoor walking areas,  and full dining room.  All of the rooms at the Columbine Inn include a private toilet and shower. Many of the rooms are spacious enough to allow for sitting and walking meditation for those wishing to practice in a more secluded setting.  Retreatants paying at full cost or above will have their own single room and bathroom, while those receiving scholarships or paying at the low end of the Columbine Inn entrywayscale may possibly be assigned to share a large double room with attached bath.

Information about transportation and what to bring will be sent to those accepted into the retreat in time for making travel arrangements and packing.

FEES

Fees are on a sliding scale to allow you to pay according to your means. Our actual cost for the week-long retreat per person is $1778.  A portion of our scholarship fund is being allocated for this retreat to allow us to offer the low range on the sliding scale. Please pay as much as you are able, in order to allow others to attend who need to pay less. Any amount above the actual cost will be gratefully received and treated as a tax-deductible donation.

Sliding Scale Fees
$1578 (low)     $1778 (actual cost)     $1978 (benefactor)

If you need more scholarship support, some additional funds are available. Please fill out a scholarship application form and send it with your application form, specifying how much you feel you are able to pay.

There will be a mix of single and double rooms.  Anyone paying below actual cost may be sharing a room.  Single rooms will go to the first 10 registrants paying at actual cost or above.

The Mountain Hermitage will gratefully receive donations to our scholarship fund to enable those in financial need to attend this retreat. Donations are tax-deductible and should be marked ‘Scholarship Fund’.

DANA

Columbines several blueThe retreat fees only cover basic expenses and operating costs. The teachers offers the Buddha Dhamma without any set fee, and totally depends on DANA – on the generosity of their students and benefactors – for the support of their daily life needs.

DANA, an ancient Pali word meaning generosity, giving, or gift, is central to the 2,600-year-old tradition of Buddhism. The teachings of the Buddha have been offered freely since the time of the Buddha. There was and is no way to put a price on the teachings of the truth – they are valuable beyond any fee one could set.

At the end of the retreat, envelopes will be provided for you to offer Dana to the teachers. Giving to the teacher from the heart, whatever feels appropriate, is the practice of Dana. You may also wish to offer Dana to the staff or to the Hermitage itself to support operating expenses or future scholarships.

Another way to support the Hermitage is to donate all or part of the cost of a meal during the retreat.

USE OF FEES

Your fees for the retreat will be used to pay for: rental of the Columbine Inn and attached expenses; other general retreat expenses; a retreat cook; a small stipend for the retreat manager; a small parsonage to the teachers to help cover ongoing home expenses for the duration of the retreat; teacher transportation.

DEPOSIT

Please send your deposit with your application. The deposit is $400.Creativity-Ret09-#11

The deposit will not be banked until your registration is confirmed and will be applied to the total fee for those accepted to attend. The deposit will be returned in full to those not accepted, or to those who are on a waiting list at the time that the retreat begins.

PAYMENTS

The full deposit must accompany your application, even if you are requesting scholarship funds. No monies will be banked until you are accepted on the retreat.  The balance of the retreat fee is due when you arrive for the retreat, or you can mail the balance to us in advance. If possible, we appreciate you paying the full fee (deposit plus balance) at the time of application or on acceptance, as this improves our efficiency. However this is not necessary.

Please pay by check or money order in US funds, drawn on a US bank. We cannot accept foreign cash or bank drafts, but we can accept international money orders in US dollars.  Sorry, but at this time we are unable to accept credit cards.

Checks/money orders should be made payable to THE MOUNTAIN HERMITAGE.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Meditating 5Cancellation fees apply to all confirmed registrations.

Cancellations received on or before September 15, 2016 : your deposit will be returned minus a $50 cancellation fee.

Cancellations received between September 16 and September 30, 2016 :  your deposit will be returned minus a $125 cancellation fee.

Cancellations received between September 30 and October 15, 2016 : your deposit will be returned minus a $200 cancellation fee.

Cancellations received on or after October 16, 2016 (including non- attendance at the retreat): your deposit cannot be refunded. If you have already paid the balance, then that balance will be refunded minus the $400 cancellation fee/deposit.

CANCELLATION FEES WILL BE APPLIED TO THE MOUNTAIN HERMITAGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND (after the cost of the retreat is covered).

In the event of specific, unusual emergency circumstances, the cancellation policy can be discussed with The Mountain Hermitage  Office Manager after the retreat is concluded.  If you attend the retreat but for some reason decide on your own to leave early, the deposit and balance you have paid cannot be refunded to you.

APPLICATION

Anyone interested in attending the retreat must have read this document. Then, complete the Application Form and Waiver of Liability, attach your deposit, and mail to: The Mountain Hermitage, PO Box 807, Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557.Walking 3

Applications and deposits are requested by SEPTEMBER 15,2016. Late applications will be considered on a space available basis. Applications will be accepted only by mail, not by phone, fax, or e-mail, because they must be accompanied by the appropriate deposit.

Incomplete registrations, including those without sufficient deposit, will be returned for completion.

Each application will be carefully reviewed. In some cases, a personal or phone interview will be conducted with the teacher prior to determination of suitability for this type of practice. All applications are processed by date received.  We will respond within two weeks from receipt of your application.

If your application is not accepted for this retreat, your deposit will be returned.

WAIColumbine Inn wildflower pathT LIST

 

Places are limited to 16 practitioners, so early application is advised. Once the retreat is full, you will be notified and placed on a wait list, and we will contact you if a place opens up. If it does not, then your deposit will be returned.

If you are placed on the wait list and you then cancel your registration before a space has become available, your deposit will be returned.

If you are placed on a wait list and are unable to attend the retreat, please let us know immediately. As long as your name remains on a list, we assume you wish to attend. If a space becomes available, we will automatically confirm your registration. Once you are confirmed for a retreat, you are liable for applicable cancellation fees if you subsequently cancel.

Printable Documents and Forms