Winter Meditation Retreat 2025
with Paramananda at Dharmadhara
There is something very special about Winter Retreats. Winter is a natural time for us to turn inwards, and on a silent retreat we can allow ourselves to simply be, offering ourselves and others the gentle, silent presence we really need.
This year we’re lucky to have our old friend Paramananda here from the UK. If you already know Paramananda, no more needs to be said, and if you don’t – this is a priceless opportunity to experience his unique, grounded, imaginative, always surprising, way of sharing the teachings.
EXPERIENCE
This retreat is for people who are familiar with Mindfulness of Breathing, Metta Bhavana, and Just Sitting meditation practices. You should feel comfortable being in silence around people for long periods of time. It is helpful if you have been on a previous retreat. If you are not sure whether this retreat is right for you please email us.
SILENCE
After the first day the retreat will be in silence except for teachings, meditation reviews, and some mindful communication in the shrine room. There will be a note jar for questions, and the organizer will be available for anything urgent. It’s a rare chance to take a break from making conversation and to see what happens when we really let ourselves be. We will provide an emergency number so that you do not need to check your phone. If you don’t feel comfortable putting your device/s aside please consider not attending.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
We highly recommend being vaccinated and boosted against COVID 19 but this is no longer required.
Please check all our requirements here.
FOOD AND WORK PERIODS
All food is vegan, with eggs and dairy options on the side. To simplify cooking and cleaning in silence we have a cook to organize lunch and dinner, and everyone on the retreat chooses a task that they can do every day – either preparing breakfast, chopping vegetables, or cleaning dishes. If you have a preference please let us know in advance. There is also a clean up session that we all share at the end of the retreat.
ACCOMMODATION
Dharmadhara is a rustic residence with a very beautiful shrine room, located in Lake County – about 2.5 to 3 hours North of San Francisco. The main building has a kitchen, dining room, sitting room with wood burning stove, 7 small dorms, some with 2 beds, some with 3 beds, 3 indoor toilets and 2 showers. There are no private rooms and we ask that you come prepared, with good earplugs and a willingness to practice forbearance towards your roommate/s. If you do not feel comfortable sharing a room with others we may be able to find space in the living room or shrine room for one or two people, but this is not guaranteed, so please get in touch about this before you register. There is also the option to camp, although it will be cold, and possibly raining or snowing.
TRAVEL AND CARPOOLING
We encourage carpooling. If you need help organizing a ride please let us know and we will do our best to get you there. If you are driving and can offer rides, please also let us know. Thank you!
I’m sorry that we cannot arrange airport or train station pickups.
TIMING AND COST
The retreat is seven nights, beginning 5pm Saturday Dec 21, and ending Saturday Dec 28 by noon. In special circumstances we can offer the option of attending from Saturday Dec 21 to Tuesday 24, but we are not able to have people arrive after Dec 21 or leave on different days as it is too disruptive.
The sliding scale is $770 to $600. The deposit to reserve your space is $200.
Registration will open August 1.
Retreat Requirements: Regulars, Mitras, Order Members