Practice Guidelines

The Retreat Environment

The Forest Refuge, open to experienced vipassana meditators, offers a retreat environment that balances solitude with community. Although each participant follows an individual program of silent practice, the presence of other retreatants and staff throughout the center lends encouragement and support.

You can select a time to practice at the Forest Refuge based either on your own schedule, or on interest in working with a particular teacher. Teacher support during a personal retreat includes two individual teacher interviews each week and twice-weekly dharma talks in the meditation hall; yogis also have access to a tape library. Each week there is a renewed group commitment to the refuges and precepts.

Mostly, there is no fixed daily schedule, although exceptions to this are made for visiting monastic teachers from various Asian monastic traditions.

Within the Theravada Buddhist tradition, there are many techniques available to assist us along the path to liberation. Forest Refuge teachers, whether monastic or lay, offer a wide range of teaching styles and teaching methods to guide personal retreat practice.

Retreat Requirements

It is recommended that applicants have already participated in either six one-week retreats or one six-week course at IMS or elsewhere, or have an established and long-term commitment to insight meditation practice. If you do not meet these requirements exactly, yet feel that your practice is suited to the personal retreat format of the Forest Refuge, you are welcome to send in an application for consideration.

The Five Precepts

While at IMS, all retreatants observe five ethical guidelines or training precepts. This is essential for creating a safe retreat environment that supports the cultivation of awareness.

We ask that you undertake:

• To refrain from harming any living, sentient beings — not to kill or intentionally hurt any person or creature, even an insect.
• To refrain from taking what is not freely given — not to steal or 'borrow' without the consent of the giver; to accept what is offered and not try to change it or get more.
• To abstain from sexual activity.
• To practice noble silence and to refrain from harming by one's speech — not to lie, gossip or use harsh or hurtful language.
• To abstain from using alcohol, recreational drugs and other intoxicants that cloud the mind and harm the body. (This does not apply to prescription medicines.)

Those who wish to undertake eight precepts, which includes refraining from eating after noon, may do so.

Practice

While on retreat, please commit to the following:

• To use all activities throughout the day as opportunities for practice.
• To sustain a continuous practice.
• To participate in two interviews per week and in regular evaluations and self assessments with a teacher.

Communication

Please refrain from verbal and written communication, except during interview periods. The buildings and grounds are in silence at all times, apart from staff work and living areas.

A retreat provides a rare opportunity for practice to deepen; as a support for this, please take care of all personal and business obligations prior to arrival, and keep communication with the outside world to a minimum. Please avoid making unnecessary phone calls, using computers and sending or receiving emails.

Given the long-term nature of some Forest Refuge stays, however, exceptional circumstances may arise when communication is necessary. Even in those times, please remember that wise restraint is an integral part of practice. For this purpose, there is a phone in the administration building that can be used with a phone card. All phone use is restricted to this area. Please do not expect to have access to the staff computers or telephones.

Any personal business requiring extensive use of practice time or time away from the Forest Refuge should be discussed with a teacher.

Medical Issues

All Forest Refuge retreatants must be mentally stable and physically able to care for themselves.

At times, some participants may experience a degree of psychological and emotional distress during a course. If you have any questions about your capacity to complete a personal retreat, please consider checking with your health care provider and/or one of your teachers.

Everyone must have health insurance or be able to cover his/her own expenses in case of illness or medical emergencies. Any special needs must be discussed with the Forest Refuge manager and agreed to in advance.

Given the length of some stays, and the possibility of a retreatant becoming ill, we recommend that you come prepared to treat a variety of non-urgent common illnesses. Should medical needs arise for which you are unprepared, the office will offer assistance. The staff is small however, and cannot take you to regularly scheduled medical appointments. Outside transportation can be arranged at your expense.

In the event of a medical emergency, the Forest Refuge will call 911. If an illness requires nursing care, it will be necessary to leave the center to recuperate.

Learn more about important health care information.

Term of Stay

The minimum length of stay is one week, with the possibility of continuing for an indefinite period of time. Applicants who would like to practice longer than one month may be accepted for up to an initial three-month period. With teachers' approval, their stay can then be extended for two months at a time. If your retreat is longer than three months, you may need to take a short break or modify the intensity of your practice - for example, a study break, a work retreat, or taking a short time away can be helpful. This will be discussed in your review process with a teacher.

We recognize that for various reasons there may come a time when intensive practice is no longer beneficial for a particular yogi. For this reason, ongoing participation is dependent upon approval by the teachers.