Retreat fees cover your lodging while making the retreat experience as accessible as possible.
Fees do not include your meals (which are self-catered) or compensation for meditation teachers’ time providing guidance.
Currently, the minimum retreat length is 5 nights. Preference is given to people staying for longer retreats; we recommend a stay of at least seven to ten days.
Dana
Fees do not include any compensation for the time the Resident Teachers spend providing meditation guidance. This guidance is offered according to the traditional donation, or dana (Pali for “giving” or a “gift”) system. It is up to you, the retreatant, to decide how much the benefit you receive is worth, and how much you can personally afford to offer. This system is meant to encourage joyous generosity rather than a sterile business transaction. However, many of us are not used to this system, so here are some guidelines for how much to offer:
If you have other experience with highly skilled professionals giving private guidance, and how much they charge, you could think of a comparable hourly rate for how much time you receive during your retreat.
A different guideline is that offerings average about 50% of the retreat fees paid for accommodation.
In either case, those who can’t afford this give less, while those with greater means give more. Dana is usually offered at the end of the retreat.
All dana donations are made directly to the teachers.
Work Service / “Yogi tasks” / Seva
Solo retreatants are requested to donate about one hour of work service per day while they are in residence.
This service dana is considered part of the actual retreat and may include such tasks as cleaning, gardening, sewing, grounds maintenance or on occasion, cooking prep. Please seek clarity on your service projects before you go into silence. The energy of so many has helped create a magnificent place to practice.
