Places for long term meditation retreats

[Kabala]

Hello,

I have been on the lookout for a place in the world where you can participate in long term retreats in a monastery, temple or elsewhere but to no avail. I’ve found some, but they usually cost a fortune or it has been lacking the luxury of complete detachment from everyday life. Location doesn’t matter, as long as I get to experience existence without the material externalities. Cold, warm, religious, non religious. Doesn’t matter. I figured this forum, if any, should have some people that could assist me in finding this sort of place. I feel like it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a monastery/temple or organization that can provide free housing in exchange for some daily chores, but I just don’t know where to look.

please, don’t leave comments pointing out that I don’t need to go to the Himalayas to meditate. I want to experience this sort of lifestyle to see if it’s something that i would like to pursue.

Thank you for your attention.

[wens16]

Hi, there is Pa Auk monastery in Myanmar. I believe they have 2 or 3 locations where you can stay long term. It is free and they provide food, medical attention as needed. They teach theravada buddhism if that is what you are looking for. I think there are several other theravada buddhist retreat centers in Thailand where you can stay for a long time. 

[Marten]

@Kabala  I almost ordained as a monk when I was in Burma (Myanmar).  This was years before I knew of or tried psychedelics. It was so inspiring to see how the tradition of monks and nuns is so vibrantly alive in that country still. They go for alms rounds in the cities and villages every day, and are well taken cared of by the people. My heart really felt home at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangoon. I felt so much love as I meditated there. I met several western monks in Burma who were progressing steadily on their paths, very inspiring individuals. There are many different temples and monasteries to ordain temporarily or for life. It is tradition in Burma that boys (and some girls too) ordain for a certain time during adolesence (a few months to years).

Remeber that you typically have to surrender yourself to a monastery abbott and follow instruction. Some places are more relaxed and openminded than others. One western monk I talked to had some issues with this and eventually left his monastery and became sort of a wandering monk on his own. There are a lot of rules and expectations. If this option is interesting to you perhaps best to visit the country and do your own in person research before committing to anything. Burma is the first place I'd look if I wanted to live as a monk. They have special meditation-visas and are super eager to support westerners who want to ordain.

There are also Vipassana centers all over the world where you can do "long term service". But you have to comply to their rules and expectations, and be a serious student in their tradition (which can be severely limiting).

Personally, if I wanted to do a longer retreat, I'd save up money and take time off from work, live in the forest nature reserve for a while. That way I would have the most freedom to practice whatever I want and lead myself. Also I could do psychedelics which is a big no-no for most Buddhists.

[Marten]

Oh, and also expect these places to be heavily steeped in spiral dynamics stage blue.

[Kabala]

@wens16 Thanks for mentioning a real concrete place. I looked it up on https://www.paaukforestmonastery.org/ . It seems to be in line with what I'm looking for. although I'm not sure that it's optimal for me, it is definitely an option I'd be happy to consider. 

One thing that makes me reluctant is the climate. I would much prefer a colder climate. I'm from the northern hemisphere, which means that I've got an affinity for coldness. Do you know if there's any place that can offer a cooler climate?

Thank you for your help.

[Kabala]

@Marten Thanks for the input. Although I have been thinking about doing what you would prefer, I believe that I need both a sense of detachment from my old self, meaning the life I lead back home and also I want to be free from the problems of daily life. I know that it would probably be optimal if I could pull it off, but I feel like I wouldn't be able to get the notion of not letting go of my old self would set the whole experience at risk to be a fiasco. This is why I'd much rather choose getting away at a monastery for my first long term meditation retreat. 

I've been looking things up now in Burma, and it seems great.  My only real objection to the monasteries over there is the climate. I'd much prefer a colder climate. this is strictly preferential, but i feel empowered by a cooler climate while an exceedingly hot climate makes me feel almost feverish. With this preference in mind, do you know if there are any viable options for someone like me? When I was looking up monasteries in Burma, I realised there has to be some monasteries up north close to the himalayas. The question is if there are any that accepts foreigners. 

I appreciate the help I'm getting and thank you for your long and detailed response.

[UrbanS]

Here is an option in northen Thailand. Perfect climate if you dont like it too hot.

https://www.wattamwua.com

You can stay as long as you want as a lay practitioner or you can ordain as a monk temporarily for as long as you wish.

You can practice your own way or follow the instructions that are given, it is up to you without pressure. There are only some compulsory activities every day ( joined sitting mediations, walking mediations, , chantings and offering to the monks).

There is no fee, you give as much as you want upon leaving without pressure.

The style of practice they teach is kind of similar to advaita. I would advice to read a book by Luangpor pramote pamojjo to understand what they teach (www.dhamma.com).

I love this place, I was there for 12 days.

 

[Marten]

@Kabala  I see, in all of Burma there are monks and monasteries, I didn't go further north than Mandalay so don't know anything about the north. There are great vibes for meditation pretty much everywhere. People are very supportive.

[XeRnOg]

On 7/18/2020 at 3:22 PM, Kabala said:

Hello,

I have been on the lookout for a place in the world where you can participate in long term retreats in a monastery, temple or elsewhere but to no avail. I’ve found some, but they usually cost a fortune or it has been lacking the luxury of complete detachment from everyday life. Location doesn’t matter, as long as I get to experience existence without the material externalities. Cold, warm, religious, non religious. Doesn’t matter. I figured this forum, if any, should have some people that could assist me in finding this sort of place. I feel like it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a monastery/temple or organization that can provide free housing in exchange for some daily chores, but I just don’t know where to look.

please, don’t leave comments pointing out that I don’t need to go to the Himalayas to meditate. I want to experience this sort of lifestyle to see if it’s something that i would like to pursue.

Thank you for your attention.

You should just start meditating at your house first. It's not a lifestyle. It's not the act of someone giving up. It's the act of realizing there is way more and that all the gold and money is worthless.

If you ever reach a deep level of meditation or manage to activate the pineal gland's defragmentation function (I have been pondering lately why the brain would have this feature and have reached the conclusion that even the hard drive of the mind needs to be defragmented once in a while) and you enjoy whatever knowledge you have experienced and have a yearning to learn more of the spiritual, then just go camping somewhere and meditate there. 

[flowboy]

Directory of locations for Vipassana-style retreats: https://www.dhamma.org/en/locations/directory

There's many listed here in different countries, often affordable or free.

Edited July 22, 2020 by flowboy

[Reincarnated Cat]

https://www.hariharalaya.com/

I did 7 days here in Siem Reap, more of a beginners circuit of yoga, meditation and yogic principles. Cool mix of older and backpacker crowd. There were a few people doing longer term stays. The owner spends half his time in India so could give info if that was an option for you. Currently 40% off. So $500 a month inc food, lodgings, yoga and meditation. Lots of similar places in Thailand. 

Edited July 22, 2020 by Reincarnated Cat

[Kabala]

@XeRnOg

On 2020-07-19 at 0:22 AM, Kabala said:

 

please, don’t leave comments pointing out that I don’t need to go to the Himalayas to meditate. I want to experience this sort of lifestyle to see if it’s something that i would like to pursue.

 

 

[Kabala]

@flowboy Thanks for the resource! I'm not altoo keen on the idea of a long term visspassana meditation as I feel it would be limiting (and quite scary, to be honest). Although I believe a shorter retreat could be extremely insightful. Thank you so much!

[Kabala]

@Reincarnated Cat Thanks for the advice! This seems like a cool and laid back place. Even though it isn't quite what I set out to look for with this post I'm glad you sent it. Having a plethora places with varying styles and different degrees of "laid-backedness" is definitely something positive.

Do you have contact info to the founder? I've had trouble finding someone with experience and knowledge of long term meditation retreats at temples or monasteries, it would be a tremendous resource if you could provide me with such a correspondence.

[Reincarnated Cat]

@Kabala Sure will send you a PM now.