How to Structure Retreat

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cjdevries
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How to Structure Retreat

Post by cjdevries »

I'm planning to spend the next year doing a lot of meditation. I am not working currently and have some free time on my hands. I spent the last day doing a bit of a retreat, spending the bulk of the day focused on meditation (mainly short periods of 15-30 minutes at a time). I focused mainly on doing a breath-centered type of meditation, using the breath as an anchor and continually coming back to the breath if I got distracted. I also used one technique from the Anapanasati Sutra, as well as a simple meditation where I bring awareness to both unpleasant and pleasant sensations and just allow them to be as they are and notice them.

My question is: if I am essentially doing a retreat where most of the day is focused on meditation, is it recommended to focus on one technique or is it beneficial to change the routine up. If I was spending a week doing a lot of meditation, would it be wise to just stick with one technique for the whole week or might it be beneficial to, for example, spend the first 5 days focusing on the same 1-2 techniques and then spend the following 2 days doing something completely different to balance myself out, to sort of temper me; for example if several days were spent doing a shamata style meditation, might it be beneficial to do a few days of just loving kindness practice afterward to kind of stabilize and balance myself out. Alternatively, would it be wise to alternate Shamata and Vipassana techniques over the course of one day of meditation or is it perhaps more beneficial to do these different techniques on alternating days.

I'm planning to call my meditation teacher tonight and ask for his insight, but I would appreciate any input from those with retreat experience; what worked for you?
"Please call me by my true names so I can wake up; so the door of my heart can be left open: the door of compassion." -Thich Nhat Hanh

"Ask: what's needed of you" -Akong Rinpoche

"Love never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents, never revenges itself." -Gandhi
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: How to Structure Retreat

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

By “retreat” do you mean, like, an intensive practice for a day or two, and you might do that a few times, or do you mean something longer, like a couple of weeks all at once, to a year or more?

There is a big difference.

Shutting yourself off for a day, or a weekend, is something most experienced mediators can do by themselves.

Unless one is an advanced yogin or yogini, any length of time beyond that should be coordinated with the supervision of a ‘retreat master’ which is different than a meditation instructor.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
Bristollad
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Re: How to Structure Retreat

Post by Bristollad »

Personally, in the retreats I've done, I've always used the first meditation session of each day for refuge, the 4 immeasurables and bodhicitta. This allows me to try and set a good motivation for the all the subsequent sessions whether they be analytical meditations or concentration meditation.
Last edited by Bristollad on Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
The antidote—to be free from the suffering of samsara—you need to be free from delusion and karma; you need to be free from ignorance, the root of samsara. So you need to meditate on emptiness. That is what you need. Lama Zopa Rinpoche
cjdevries
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Re: How to Structure Retreat

Post by cjdevries »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 6:47 am By “retreat” do you mean, like, an intensive practice for a day or two, and you might do that a few times, or do you mean something longer, like a couple of weeks all at once, to a year or more?

There is a big difference.

Shutting yourself off for a day, or a weekend, is something most experienced mediators can do by themselves.

Unless one is an advanced yogin or yogini, any length of time beyond that should be coordinated with the supervision of a ‘retreat master’ which is different than a meditation instructor.
Thanks for the info. My plan is not to get in too far over my head. I recently read Mingyur Rinpoche's book "In Love With the World" and one of the things he said is not to try to do anything heroic. So mainly I'm focusing on doing 15-30 minutes of practice in each session. For example, doing a 20 minute meditation practice, then doing 5 minutes of walking and rest; then back to another 15-30 minutes of practice. Followed by taking a break for a couple hours, then going to back to two more back to back meditation sessions; perhaps 4-6 meditation sessions in a day of 15-30 minutes in a day, so 1:30-3 hours of meditation with a lot of stretching, walking, and breaks in between. I would be doing this for perhaps a year; with some off days, and some days where all I do is relaxation practice. I've participated in meditation retreats where I've sat about 8 hours in a day, and I've done Tibetan retreats where I've done about 6 hours of chanting in a day over several days. I've probably participated in 10-14 Tibetan retreats where I've chanted for 15-16 hours over the course of a 3 day weekend. This will be a lot less duration than that, but I plan on doing it for a year. My meditation instructor has done quite a bit of retreat so I think he'll be able to answer at least some of my questions.
"Please call me by my true names so I can wake up; so the door of my heart can be left open: the door of compassion." -Thich Nhat Hanh

"Ask: what's needed of you" -Akong Rinpoche

"Love never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents, never revenges itself." -Gandhi
cjdevries
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Re: How to Structure Retreat

Post by cjdevries »

Bristollad wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:33 am Personally, in the retreats I've done, I've always used the first meditation session of each day for refuge, the 4 immeasurables and bodhicitta. This allows me to try and set a good motivation for the all the subsequent sessions whether they be analytical meditations or concentration meditation.
Thank you.
"Please call me by my true names so I can wake up; so the door of my heart can be left open: the door of compassion." -Thich Nhat Hanh

"Ask: what's needed of you" -Akong Rinpoche

"Love never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents, never revenges itself." -Gandhi
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: How to Structure Retreat

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

cjdevries wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 5:52 pm
PadmaVonSamba wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 6:47 am By “retreat” do you mean, like, an intensive practice for a day or two, and you might do that a few times, or do you mean something longer, like a couple of weeks all at once, to a year or more?

There is a big difference.

Shutting yourself off for a day, or a weekend, is something most experienced mediators can do by themselves.

Unless one is an advanced yogin or yogini, any length of time beyond that should be coordinated with the supervision of a ‘retreat master’ which is different than a meditation instructor.
Thanks for the info. My plan is not to get in too far over my head. I recently read Mingyur Rinpoche's book "In Love With the World" and one of the things he said is not to try to do anything heroic. So mainly I'm focusing on doing 15-30 minutes of practice in each session. For example, doing a 20 minute meditation practice, then doing 5 minutes of walking and rest; then back to another 15-30 minutes of practice. Followed by taking a break for a couple hours, then going to back to two more back to back meditation sessions; perhaps 4-6 meditation sessions in a day of 15-30 minutes in a day, so 1:30-3 hours of meditation with a lot of stretching, walking, and breaks in between. I would be doing this for perhaps a year; with some off days, and some days where all I do is relaxation practice. I've participated in meditation retreats where I've sat about 8 hours in a day, and I've done Tibetan retreats where I've done about 6 hours of chanting in a day over several days. I've probably participated in 10-14 Tibetan retreats where I've chanted for 15-16 hours over the course of a 3 day weekend. This will be a lot less duration than that, but I plan on doing it for a year. My meditation instructor has done quite a bit of retreat so I think he'll be able to answer at least some of my questions.
Sounds like you’ve got it.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
SilenceMonkey
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Re: How to Structure Retreat

Post by SilenceMonkey »

cjdevries wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 3:22 am I'm planning to spend the next year doing a lot of meditation.
:twothumbsup:
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