Meditation retreat close to northern New Jersey?

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WJ77
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Meditation retreat close to northern New Jersey?

Post by WJ77 »

Hello, I’m hoping to go on some kind of meditation retreat (ideally silent) this summer in the NYC / northern NJ area. Maybe only three or four days just to get away and completely stop (for a change). It doesn’t have to be a guided retreat or course; in fact, I would prefer to not be part of a course. Somewhere quiet without (m)any people. Please can anyone recommend any good locations?
Thank you.
Arnoud
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Re: Meditation retreat close to northern New Jersey?

Post by Arnoud »

Rent a cabin in the woods?
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Hazel
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Re: Meditation retreat close to northern New Jersey?

Post by Hazel »

WJ77 wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:42 pm Hello, I’m hoping to go on some kind of meditation retreat (ideally silent) this summer in the NYC / northern NJ area. Maybe only three or four days just to get away and completely stop (for a change). It doesn’t have to be a guided retreat or course; in fact, I would prefer to not be part of a course. Somewhere quiet without (m)any people. Please can anyone recommend any good locations?
Thank you.
Is a 7 or so hour drive to Vermont too long? https://www.milarepacenter.org/
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Lotomístico
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Re: Meditation retreat close to northern New Jersey?

Post by Lotomístico »

WJ77 wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:42 pm Hello, I’m hoping to go on some kind of meditation retreat (ideally silent) this summer in the NYC / northern NJ area. Maybe only three or four days just to get away and completely stop (for a change). It doesn’t have to be a guided retreat or course; in fact, I would prefer to not be part of a course. Somewhere quiet without (m)any people. Please can anyone recommend any good locations?
Thank you.
I'm originally from that area and I can suggest some state and county parks that would be quite suitable for your purposes. Get completely lost, pitch a tent, just bring water and food and try to avoid bears. I did that last summer.
One should become the master of one’s mind rather than let one’s mind master oneself.
master of puppets
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Re: Meditation retreat close to northern New Jersey?

Post by master of puppets »

Once a friend has posted;

Seems a quite good place;

https://zenstudies.org/

take a look..
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Queequeg
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Re: Meditation retreat close to northern New Jersey?

Post by Queequeg »

Hudson Valley and Catskills are not far from you. Lots of places - Zen, Tibetan, Chinese.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
WJ77
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Re: Meditation retreat close to northern New Jersey?

Post by WJ77 »

Hello, thanks for these suggestions etc.
Hazel, www.milarepacenter.org looks perfect (e.g. FPMT), but a little too far. If I could spend a whole week there, the long journey wouldn’t seem so bad, but I only have a few days. Plus I need to go by train or bus, which takes much longer than just driving direct.
Lotomístico and Arnoud –– good suggestions, but I’m not too crazy on practicing “the mindfulness of avoiding bears meditation” for the whole time. Maybe I’m too much of a city person (well, I grew up in a rural place, but without bears!)
I’ve found a few places and sent some emails (including https://zenstudies.org/, but mostly Tibetan Buddhist retreat centers). Covid restrictions are still a major hindrance –– e.g. the Karampa’s monastery in Woodstock, which is allowing guests to visit the grounds during the day, but no overnight guests.
I’ll see what response I get from the emails and keep looking.
Thanks.
All the best.
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