A friend of mine is soon going off to a 10 day silent retreat in upstate New York. She asked for some advice on how to get the most out of the retreat, I passed on the best advice I have received from my teachers…
- Take lot’s of walks
- Expect nothing special to occur.
- Avoid looking at faults in fellow retreaters – instead wish their retreat runs smoothly
- Help out with any manual chores wherever possible
- Don’t tell too many people about the fact you’re going on retreat
- If you have any special experiences – keep them to yourself after the retreat
- Emphasise the practice of: humility & seeing others as special and important
- Avoided any affected ‘retreat’ type behaviour that is not normal for you
- When you get bored – embrace those thoughts and let them fly away like a caged bird being set free
- Plan nothing, regret nothing – abide in each moment…..
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