Below is information for retreatants.
Non-residential Retreat
The retreat will be held at the Center's building at 5440 Saratoga St in Eugene. Please review this page for information about parking, directions, and public transportation.
All meals and lodging are your responsibility. Please have your food supplies prepared in advance. Tea will be provided in the meeting hall throughout the retreat. The Center will be open during the lunch and dinner breaks if you chose to pack your food.
This retreat will be held in noble silence, which means we will not engage in social conversation during sessions, and we will keep silence as much as possible outside of sessions. You should attempt to have no communication with the outside world for the duration of the retreat. You will need to arrange a sacred retreat space in your residence where you will not be interrupted.
The retreat begins at 7:00 PM on the first day and ends at Noon on the last day.
Normally, each morning there will be a 6:30 am meditation session via Zoom only. We will gather in person at CSS from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm for teachings and meditation sessions throughout the day with a break for lunch. We will gather again in person for a meditation session after dinner, which may be attended in person or via zoom. Attendance is required at every session of the retreat. There is no partial retreat attendance on this retreat. Please plan to arrive early for each session, and enter in silence.
Daily Schedule for full days (except for first day, last day, and solo day):
6:00 AM - wake up
6:30 AM - meditation via zoom only
7:00 AM - breakfast break
9:30 AM - morning session in person
12:00 PM - lunch break
2:30 PM - afternoon session in person
5:30 PM - dinner break
7:00 PM - evening session in person or via zoom
9:00 PM - break for the night
Attending via Zoom
For those unable to attend in person, you may attend the retreat via Zoom video conference. You will need an internet-connected computer device with Zoom installed, equipped with a camera and audio.
This retreat will be held in noble silence, which in the Zoom context means we will not engage in social conversation during Zoom sessions, and we will keep silence as much as possible outside of Zoom sessions. You should attempt to have no communication with the outside world for the duration of the retreat. You will need to arrange a sacred retreat space where you will not be interrupted, which has sufficient space for walking meditation (or be able to do this outside in a secluded area).
It will be necessary to have a designated space in your residence where you can be silent (except for speech related to teachings or simple tasks) without interruptions if possible, and with some floor space for walking meditation (either circumambulating the room or designating a path of 20 steps or so, in which you can walk back and forth for a designated period of time). If you walk outside, you will need to be in earshot of the gong or set a timer.
In order to sustain the organization of a retreat, for any meditations when we're not on Zoom, you will likely benefit from a timer to maintain consistent lengths of sessions and rounds of meditation. And since we won’t have a bell ringer to wake us up in the morning, and to show up for each session during the day, each participant will need to have a dependable alarm clock.
Most importantly, on an online retreat you may need a bit more self-discipline and resolve than on residential retreats in order to maintain silence and consistent practice. Please set your intention accordingly.
There is no partial retreat attendance on this retreat. Please plan to arrive early for each session.