Welcome to The Mountain Hermitage
OFFERING BUDDHIST RETREATS IN TAOS, NEW MEXICO
The Mountain Hermitage is dedicated to the inner cultivation and outer manifestation of concentration, wisdom, lovingkindness, compassion, and peace. This home for long-term spiritual practice, grounded in the principles of Theravada Buddhism, is based in the quiet and beautiful mountain area of Taos, New Mexico.
Many Mountain Hermitage retreats are for experienced Dharma practitioners; however, the Hermitage is now offering some week-long retreats open to both beginning and experienced students. All retreats are held in appropriate rented places in and around Taos. The small group size at Hermitage retreats (usually a maximum of 18 students) helps create a more intimate experience and easier access to teachers.
The Mountain Hermitage extends a special welcome and has established a scholarship fund to support Buddhist monks and nuns and lay Dharma teachers, as well as multi-cultural practitioners and other Dharma students who without scholarship aid would not be able to attend Hermitage retreats.
All who come to practice at The Mountain Hermitage will be honored and supported in their quest to awaken to the deepest truths and to manifest these truths in their daily lives.
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Latest News, Dharma Talks, and Reflections on Practice
Reflection on The Essence of Life….
As a human being we are endowed with a precious life. The human realm offers a mix of pleasant and painful experiences, there are opportunities for learning, doing good, or accumulating wealth. Many people strive to get as many pleasant experiences as possible, to...
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“Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal” by Naomi Shihab Nye
After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic, Please come to the gate immediately. Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there. An older woman in full...
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A Deeper Sense of Happiness…
During the Buddha’s time, a group of monks happened upon one of their fellow monastics in the forest, the Venerable Bhaddiya (Ud 2.10). “Ah, what bliss, ah, what bliss…,” they heard him muttering to himself. The monks were worried that Bhaddiya felt disheartened with...
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Letting the Light In….
December 21, 2019 – Winter Solstice: Japanese Tea Ceremony 6 a.m. – 30 minute sitting in silent meditation with 70 people in a dark candle-lit room 6:30 a.m. – 20 minute slow walking meditation 6:50 a.m. – Japanese sweet & a cup of freshly made...
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The Parable of the Blind Men & the Elephant
“The fool who knows he is a fool Is that much wiser. The fool who thinks he is wise Is a fool indeed.” The Buddha from the Dhammapada There was a mighty elephant with a strong trunk and long tusks, trained by a good master, and willing and serviceable. This elephant,...
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Phillip Moffitt on on “Selfless Gratitude”
The Buddha taught that every human birth is precious & worthy of gratitude. In one of his well-known analogies, he said that receiving a human birth is more rare than the chance that a blind turtle floating in the ocean would stick its head through a small hoop....
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