The Great Retreat
In the winter of 2010 a group of about 20 of us will be entering a traditional Great Retreat of 3 years 3 months and 3 days. We will be scattered over a 500 acre valley in the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains of south east Arizona. We are now in the initial stages of building our individual retreat cabins which will be visually and audibly separate from one another. We will see one another a few times a year but will maintain total silence for the entire length of the retreat.
WHY?
Naturally the question arises of "why do something like this to begin with". Isn't it selfish? Isn't it excessive? What about your family and your loved ones, aren't you creating unnecessary pain for them. If you really want to help people and the world how can retreating to some cave or hut help.
There is a very long tradition of retreats like this in almost every spiritual tradition. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition it is a practice that has been continuing unbroken for over two thousand years. Many of the greatest saints and teachers of that tradition, people like Naropa, Milirepa, Arya Asanga, the great female yogini Machig Labdron and of course the historical Buddha, engaged in long solitary retreat. The very accesible book "Cave in the Snow" documents a modern young English woman's 11 years of retreat in a cave in the Himalayas.
In Christianity there is a strong tradition that continues to this day as well of deep retreat. St Benedict spent 3 years in solitary retreat in a small cave in Italy, The desert fathers of ancient Egypt lived alone in the desert for long periods of solitude and meditation. I had an extraordinary afternoon with the Catholic hermit Father Roman who has lived in forested seclusion for 20 years.
When I lived at The Abbey of Gethsemani, a Benedictine monastery in Kentucky, some of the monks talked about how much judgment they faced from the people around them about their desire to enter long term retreat. For thousands of years in every tradition people have judged retreat as selfish, as useless, as excessive. It is an old issue and the reason after all these years that there is not some clear party line answer about the validity of retreat is because the reasons for deep retreat make very little sense to someone who has not tasted the profundity of the practice. It would be like trying to explain the importance of a beautiful piece of music to someone by talking about what notes are in it. The reason I will not fully satisfy any skeptical inquiry here is because at some point you have to just hear the music and realize for yourself the importance of it in the world.
But the idea of retreat is certainly not foreign to us. We all take some kind of retreat everyday, every week, every year. The family holiday or the evening walk all serve to remove oneself from the everyday hustle and offers us a chance to renew and realign ourselves.
In the Buddhist tradition they say that our spiritual life and our ability to be happy and compassionate in the world needs two things, compassion and wisdom. These two things are likened to two wings of a bird. With only one wing, the bird can not take flight. In our western Judeo/ Christian world we are quite strong on the compassion side. Often times we take for granted the power of ideas like democracy and our striving for acceptance of social, cultural and political differences. And although we don't often live up to our dreams of freedom and justice for all, just the fact that it is one of our national goals shows a serious propensity for compassion.
The wisdom side is a little weaker for us. We can see that in the high burnout rate of people that are fighting for social justice or trying to bring about positive change in the world. Wisdom in this context relates to understanding the concepts of karma and emptiness. Wisdom is the ability to know how to really help others.
If I am really honest, if I look really closely, almost everything I do from the moment I get up until the moment I go to bed is in some way done for myself. Selfishness even sneaks into the seemingly altruistic activities. I may do something nice because I want others to like me or think I am kind. There is nothing inherently wrong with that except for one important problem. If you believe in the teachings of cause and effect, of karma, of Jesus' "you can't get grapes from thistles", and "you reap what you sow", I am constantly misunderstanding how the world works. I think in order to be financially stable, for example, I should secure wealth for myself and have a financially sound investment plan. But imagine for a moment if the key to wealth was generosity. Imagine if there was a time delay and so I never realized that all my present wealth has come from acts of generosity I did in the past that, like seeds planted in a garden, have now ripened into me having wealth. What would it look like if I believed that an act of violence only functioned to create more violence in the world and that an act of non-violence only functioned to create more harmony in the world.
After years of study and debate and contemplation one can come to an intellectual belief in these ideas of cause and effect but it is only in deep retreat that one can come to a direct understanding of these ideas. After one has what is called a 'direct perception of emptiness' or a 'direct perception of the laws of cause and effect' one becomes a different kind of a person. One becomes a person that spends their days deeply and continually concerned about the welfare of others and is able to help others in ultimate ways. And as the spiritual puzzle goes it is in this final surrender of ones own needs to care about the needs of others that one also finds the wellspring of their own happiness.
So essentially the goal of long retreat is the same as the goal of a weekend getaway, it is to come back into the world refreshed and renewed. In long retreat, however, there is a possibility of permanent and deep transformation where one has touched such a depth that they can come back and be a lasting wellspring for others.
WHY?
Naturally the question arises of "why do something like this to begin with". Isn't it selfish? Isn't it excessive? What about your family and your loved ones, aren't you creating unnecessary pain for them. If you really want to help people and the world how can retreating to some cave or hut help.
There is a very long tradition of retreats like this in almost every spiritual tradition. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition it is a practice that has been continuing unbroken for over two thousand years. Many of the greatest saints and teachers of that tradition, people like Naropa, Milirepa, Arya Asanga, the great female yogini Machig Labdron and of course the historical Buddha, engaged in long solitary retreat. The very accesible book "Cave in the Snow" documents a modern young English woman's 11 years of retreat in a cave in the Himalayas.
In Christianity there is a strong tradition that continues to this day as well of deep retreat. St Benedict spent 3 years in solitary retreat in a small cave in Italy, The desert fathers of ancient Egypt lived alone in the desert for long periods of solitude and meditation. I had an extraordinary afternoon with the Catholic hermit Father Roman who has lived in forested seclusion for 20 years.
When I lived at The Abbey of Gethsemani, a Benedictine monastery in Kentucky, some of the monks talked about how much judgment they faced from the people around them about their desire to enter long term retreat. For thousands of years in every tradition people have judged retreat as selfish, as useless, as excessive. It is an old issue and the reason after all these years that there is not some clear party line answer about the validity of retreat is because the reasons for deep retreat make very little sense to someone who has not tasted the profundity of the practice. It would be like trying to explain the importance of a beautiful piece of music to someone by talking about what notes are in it. The reason I will not fully satisfy any skeptical inquiry here is because at some point you have to just hear the music and realize for yourself the importance of it in the world.
But the idea of retreat is certainly not foreign to us. We all take some kind of retreat everyday, every week, every year. The family holiday or the evening walk all serve to remove oneself from the everyday hustle and offers us a chance to renew and realign ourselves.
In the Buddhist tradition they say that our spiritual life and our ability to be happy and compassionate in the world needs two things, compassion and wisdom. These two things are likened to two wings of a bird. With only one wing, the bird can not take flight. In our western Judeo/ Christian world we are quite strong on the compassion side. Often times we take for granted the power of ideas like democracy and our striving for acceptance of social, cultural and political differences. And although we don't often live up to our dreams of freedom and justice for all, just the fact that it is one of our national goals shows a serious propensity for compassion.
The wisdom side is a little weaker for us. We can see that in the high burnout rate of people that are fighting for social justice or trying to bring about positive change in the world. Wisdom in this context relates to understanding the concepts of karma and emptiness. Wisdom is the ability to know how to really help others.
If I am really honest, if I look really closely, almost everything I do from the moment I get up until the moment I go to bed is in some way done for myself. Selfishness even sneaks into the seemingly altruistic activities. I may do something nice because I want others to like me or think I am kind. There is nothing inherently wrong with that except for one important problem. If you believe in the teachings of cause and effect, of karma, of Jesus' "you can't get grapes from thistles", and "you reap what you sow", I am constantly misunderstanding how the world works. I think in order to be financially stable, for example, I should secure wealth for myself and have a financially sound investment plan. But imagine for a moment if the key to wealth was generosity. Imagine if there was a time delay and so I never realized that all my present wealth has come from acts of generosity I did in the past that, like seeds planted in a garden, have now ripened into me having wealth. What would it look like if I believed that an act of violence only functioned to create more violence in the world and that an act of non-violence only functioned to create more harmony in the world.
After years of study and debate and contemplation one can come to an intellectual belief in these ideas of cause and effect but it is only in deep retreat that one can come to a direct understanding of these ideas. After one has what is called a 'direct perception of emptiness' or a 'direct perception of the laws of cause and effect' one becomes a different kind of a person. One becomes a person that spends their days deeply and continually concerned about the welfare of others and is able to help others in ultimate ways. And as the spiritual puzzle goes it is in this final surrender of ones own needs to care about the needs of others that one also finds the wellspring of their own happiness.
So essentially the goal of long retreat is the same as the goal of a weekend getaway, it is to come back into the world refreshed and renewed. In long retreat, however, there is a possibility of permanent and deep transformation where one has touched such a depth that they can come back and be a lasting wellspring for others.
Food
Once every two weeks caretakers will drop off food supplies in a food bin and each retreatant is responsible for picking up their food and cooking their own meals.
Buildings
Each retreatant is responsible for building their own cabin. My cabin is one of the smaller ones at 288 sq feet. Ceilings are 8 feet tall allowing me to easily relocate any tarantulas or other little creatures crawling around on them. The cabin has three small rooms. The kitchen has a very small burner for cooking a fold up table a sink and a shower. It is very cozy and I could technically cook and wash dishes from my shower. I have a solar pump that pumps water from a water tank into the house. I also have a water tank that collects rain water that is then purified through a solar distiller. I have another small room with a composting toilet in it and a great view. The biggest room is for sleeping, yoga and meditation.
Schedule
The three years will be divided into different practice periods. A typical practice period will be divided up between meditation, yoga, prayers, eating and sleeping. After intense practice periods there will be break times where we will maintain a less intense schedule to relax the mind.
Once every two weeks caretakers will drop off food supplies in a food bin and each retreatant is responsible for picking up their food and cooking their own meals.
Buildings
Each retreatant is responsible for building their own cabin. My cabin is one of the smaller ones at 288 sq feet. Ceilings are 8 feet tall allowing me to easily relocate any tarantulas or other little creatures crawling around on them. The cabin has three small rooms. The kitchen has a very small burner for cooking a fold up table a sink and a shower. It is very cozy and I could technically cook and wash dishes from my shower. I have a solar pump that pumps water from a water tank into the house. I also have a water tank that collects rain water that is then purified through a solar distiller. I have another small room with a composting toilet in it and a great view. The biggest room is for sleeping, yoga and meditation.
Schedule
The three years will be divided into different practice periods. A typical practice period will be divided up between meditation, yoga, prayers, eating and sleeping. After intense practice periods there will be break times where we will maintain a less intense schedule to relax the mind.
