Name: Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Item: Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Author: Send an Enquiry

Spirit Rock Meditation Center is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha as presented in the vipassana tradition. The practice of mindful awareness, called Insight Meditation, is at the heart of all the activities at Spirit Rock. We provide silent meditation retreats, as well as classes, trainings, and Dharma study opportunities for new and experienced students from diverse backgrounds with a willingness to develop their own practice.

Spirit Rock Meditation Center is a spiritual education and training institution whose purpose is to:

* Bring people to a depth of realization of the Buddha’s path of liberation through direct experience.

* Provide the community of practitioners with inspiration and teachings to integrate and manifest wisdom and compassion in all aspects of their lives, for the benefit of all beings.

Spirit Rock Meditation Center is intended to be a place that always looks in two directions: inward and outward.

Inwardly, we need settings where we can renew our connection to ourselves, to nature, and to life itself through silence and mindful attention. And outwardly, the modern world is in crisis on many fronts: environmental, economic, political, and psychological. Today, as always, the world needs more voices of understanding, more acts of generosity, and more peace. Through the practice of mindfulness and insight meditation (vipassana), we help individuals find peace, compassion, and wisdom, and support everyone in taking those qualities into the world.

Spirit Rock as a living mandala (a circle) whose central inspiration is the dharma, the deepest truth of life, beyond words and concepts. The outer expressions of the mandala are both reflections of the dharma and paths leading back to the dharma. The outer expressions, which are interdependent and support one another, include our programs and trainings in retreats, wise relationship, study, hermitage, service, and spiritual practices in the world.

Spirit Rock retreats are taught by the 27 members of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and by visiting teachers from other vipassana centers such as Insight Meditation Society (IMS) and Gaia House. Spirit Rock's teachers have generally practiced Insight Meditation for more than twenty years. Many have trained in the monasteries of Asia. Over the years, they have each been invited into a formal teacher training group by the most senior teachers based on their depth of practice, maturity of understanding and compassionate heart.

The four- to six-year teacher training they received incorporates systematic study of Buddhist texts, extensive training in meditation practices and techniques, study of our Buddhist lineage and history, and teacher role studies. It also includes hundreds of hours of practice interviews and assisting at many retreats and classes as preparation for assuming full teacher status. Spirit Rock teachers lead classes and retreats both locally and nationwide.

They also continue as students themselves, dedicated to ongoing study and dharma practice and to deepening their understanding and embodiment of the Buddha's teachings. The Spirit Rock Teachers Council has the responsibility for the spiritual direction and vision of the organizatino and its meditation programs.

Retreat Schedule

The daily rhythm of a retreat usually involves alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, eating and work meditations, as well as interviews, Dharma talks and rest periods. The first sitting usually begins at about 6 a.m., and a typical day includes seven sitting and six walking periods of 45 minutes apiece. Each morning the teachers offer continuing meditation instructions for the day. The whole retreat is a succession of mindfulness training, breathing practices, deep awareness of the body and environment, meditations on the nature of feelings, and awareness of mind and the laws that govern it. These are the same fundamental teachings of insight meditation offered in the traditional Buddhist monasteries of Asia.

Sitting Meditation: Sitting meditation is a beautiful practice, at the heart of silent retreats. In sitting practice silence and stillness develop, concentration deepens, and awareness expands. The training of the heart brings kindness and compassion for all that arises. In sitting we can find for ourselves the wisdom and freedom discovered by the Buddha. Beginning meditators are encouraged to use the breath as a focus for mindfulness. The arising and passing of breath shows us in a direct way the universal truth of impermanence. After an inner calm and steadiness are established through breathing, the meditation is systematically opened to include mindfulness of all experiences, external and internal, of body sensations and emotions, of thoughts and the nature of mind itself.

Walking Meditation: Walking gracefully and wisely on the earth is also one of the great Buddhist meditative practices. On retreat, periods of walking meditation alternate with periods of sitting meditation. Just as in sitting meditation, where attention is brought to the rhythmic pattern of breathing, in walking meditation, mindfulness is cultivated by resting the attention on sensations of the body as one walks. In walking meditation we become aware in the midst of activity. Sometimes a slow, careful, practice walk is taught. At other times retreatants are encouraged to walk more leisurely or move at whatever speed cultivates mindfulness for them. Throughout the retreat we learn to cultivate a mindful awareness in all postures prescribed by the Buddha--sitting, walking, standing up or lying down.

Eating Meditation: An awareness of food, and the mindful understanding of the entire process of nourishment and eating is included in the practice at retreats. Retreatants are encouraged to bring the same calm, focused attention to eating as is brought to sitting and walking. Mindful eating is a wonderful context for the arising of insights. The simple, mindful eating of an apple connects us to the orchard far away from our dining table, to the sun and rain and earth that nurture the tree, to the grower, the picker, the trucker, the grocer, to the truth of the interconnectedness of all existence. On retreat, carefully prepared vegetarian meals are served. Retreatants may assist the cooks in meal preparation and clean up. The most substantial meal is served at mid-day. The lightest meal of the day is the "light evening meal" usually offered around 5:30pm.

Work Meditation: In Zen monasteries it is said that only if one works with one's whole body, heart, and mind, has one truly realized Zen. Similarly, in a mindfulness retreat, work meditation is an important part of the retreat practice. Through it we learn how to bring the spirit of wakefulness to the activities of our life. Work meditation also supports the community and assures the smooth running of the retreat. Retreatants select a work assignment for the course of the retreat (such as helping in the kitchen during preparation of meals, cleaning up afterwards, tidying up the dining room, or ringing the bells). The daily completion of the task is understood to be part of the continuous cultivation of mindfulness. Often meditators report important insights that surprise them as they wash pots or wipe table tops in a mindful way.

Dharma Talks: Dharma talks are the vocal heart of a retreat. Each day, for about an hour, the teachers present a different set of teachings from the central practices of Buddhism, offering ways to apply them to our own experience. Sometimes the talks focus on retreat practice, and sometimes they offer teachings for wise living in the world. In the talks the teachers may speak about the nature of wisdom or address Right Livelihood, explain the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, explore the Five Hindrances, speak of lovingkindness and equanimity, or tell stories from personal experience that help illuminate practice. The Dharma talks are not Buddhist tenets to be believed, but are spiritual principles offered for students to consider and use in ways that bring benefit to their daily lives.

Interviews: One of the most valued parts of intensive retreats is the opportunity to speak intimately with the teachers about one's own inner life. Teachers hold individual and small group interviews with retreatants on a regular basis to answer questions, discuss problems, give guidance, and explain meditation practices more fully. Students are also welcome to consult with teachers at any time during a retreat as need arises. This teacher support facilitates a deepening of the student's meditation practice and encourages further development of the student's understanding.

Spirit Rock hosts a year-round schedule of residential retreats, daylong retreats/workshops, benefit workshops, and weekly classes. Daylongs are suitable for beginning and experienced meditators (unless otherwise noted) and include basic meditation instructions.

For information about specific programs please refer to the links in the right sidebar menu. If you would like to browse through our calendar of up-coming events, you can click here. If you would like to find a specific event, or search for a specifc teacher, you can use the Event Search in the bottom right hand corner of the side bar.

In consideration of all participants, please do not wear scented personal care products to Spirit Rock (including "natural" products). You can learn more about supporting chemically-sensitive yogis in this article written by a sangha member here.
Costs

Spirit Rock's intention is to make these teachings accessible to everyone, thus fees for daylongs, classes and special events are kept as low as possible. However, these fees constitue 25% of Spirit Rock's operating budget. No one will be turned away from daylongs and classes for lack of funds. Benefit events, some special events, and residential retreats are an exception to this policy. For those who cannot afford a daylong or class fee, a flexible work exchange program is available. To learn more about this, contact our Volunteer Coordinator at (415) 488-0164 x 224. Special scholarships for People of Color and monastics are available. For more information, call (415) 488-0164 x 224.

General scholarships are available for residential retreats and special programs like the Dedicated Practitioners Program and Community Dharma Leaders Program. For people with life-threatening illnesses, scholarships for most Spirit Rock offerings are available through our Karuna program. For general retreat scholarship information, click on Residential Retreats to read more about financial assistance and scholarship information.

Dana (The Practice of Generosity)

The fee to attend an event goes toward Spirit Rock operating expenses. The teachings themselves are offered freely by your teacher, and students generally offer dana (the Pali term for the practice of generosity) in the form of a donation to the teacher at the end of the event. You can read more about the traditional offering of the teachings and dana here.
Sliding Scale for Retreats and Daylongs

Sliding-scale prices for retreats and daylongs allow Spirit Rock to keep programs affordable for those with limited financial means, while also giving participants the opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation to Spirit Rock at the point of registration. We rely upon donations to support approximately 25% of our operating costs.

For all Spirit Rock programs offering a sliding-scale fee structure, any fee amount paid above the low-end of the sliding scale may be claimed as a tax-deductible donation to a nonprofit organization to the extent allowed by law. Retreat participants who make sliding-scale donations will receive an acknowledgement letter from Spirit Rock citing the amount of their contribution. For daylong registration, please keep your confirmation letter as a receipt.

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