No Cost – No Registration. In general, registration is not required to participate in IMC’s offerings. Although there is no cost for any of our programs, we are grateful for donations to support our activities and teachers.
At least once a month we offer daylong meditation retreats which include alternating sitting and walking meditation. These are important opportunities to “retreat” from one’s daily life in order to cultivate greater mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight. Participants are silent throughout the day except for asking questions of the teacher. People may come to any part of these retreats. If you arrive during a period of sitting meditation, we request that you take a chair in the outer hall until the end of that session. There is a lunch break during which you can silently eat a bag lunch. We usually have four kinds of daylong meditation retreats:
Basic Daylong Meditation Retreats (9:00 am – 4:30 pm)
These retreats include 35 minutes of sitting meditation alternating with 35 minutes of walking meditation. Instruction is given throughout the day in some of the various aspects of mindfulness meditation practice. During the walking periods the teacher is available informally to answer practice questions. Sometimes these days end with a Dharma talk. Please bring a brown-bag lunch. Please see the calendar for dates.
Core Daylong Meditation Retreats (8:30 am – 5:00 pm)
These retreats have 45-minute sitting meditation sessions alternating with walking meditation sessions of either 45 minutes or 15 minutes. No instruction is given. The day is silent except for a 45-minute Dharma talk at the end of the retreat. Fifteen-minute interview slots for one-on-one practice discussion with the teacher are available on a sign-up basis. Please bring a brown-bag lunch. Please see the calendar for dates.
Intensive Daylong Meditation Retreat (6:00 am – 9:00 pm)
This annual retreat is usually offered on the first Saturday in June. This retreat has 45-minute sitting meditation sessions alternating with walking meditation sessions of either 45 minutes or 15 minutes. This is a silent day of practice with two or three short Dharma talks. No instruction is given. Fifteen-minute interview slots for a one-on-one practice discussion with the teacher are available on a sign-up basis. Usually, breakfast and a light supper are provided. Please bring a brown bag lunch. Please see the calendar for dates.
Thematic Daylong Meditation Retreats
These periodic meditation retreats focus on special themes, such as mindfulness of mind, introduction to mindfulness, or particular practices or aspects of meditation. Please see the calendar for dates and times.