Christine Skarda has been on retreat for the past twenty-five years. She offers advice on preparing for a successful retreat. Let go of the idea of a perfect retreat place There is no such place! After all, this is samsara, not nirvana. When we think about doing a retreat, we tend to recall famous practitioners and want our retreat to be like theirs: done in perfect [...]
How to Have A Successful Buddhist Retreat Experience
Christine Skarda’s advice for a successful retreat. First, let go of the idea of a perfect retreat place. There is no such place! After all, this is samsara, not nirvana. When we think about doing a retreat, we tend to recall famous practitioners and want our retreat to be like theirs: done in perfect isolation, with no distractions, no interruptions, and filled with [...]
Forum: Long-term Retreat—The Challenges and Benefits
In this Buddhadharma Forum, Guy Armstrong, Elizabeth Mattish-Namgyel, and Geoffrey Shugen Arnold explain what to expect from going on a long-term Buddhist retreat. Introduction by Christine Skarda. Sometimes when I tell people that I live in retreat, they raise their eyebrows in amazement—or is it perhaps disapproval? I seldom go on to say that I have been doing this for [...]
