The Meditation Retreat

The practice

The retreat is Buddhism's school of attention. For a set period, from a weekend to the three months of the rains retreat or far longer, practitioners put down ordinary life and give the whole day to meditation, following the Buddha's own pattern of withdrawal and practice.

How it is kept

Retreats are usually held in silence. The day alternates sitting and walking meditation from before dawn, with simple meals, a work period, and teaching from a retreat master. In the Thai forest tradition monks retreat in the jungle; in the West, lay centres run ten day courses in the vipassana method, often free of charge.

What it means

Nothing is produced on a retreat, and that is the point. With distraction removed, the mind's habits come into view: craving, aversion, and the ceaseless making of a self. Buddhists call the seeing of these things insight, and insight is what sets a person free.