Insight Retreat Center

The Insight Retreat Center (IRC) is IMC’s community-based retreat center just outside of Santa Cruz, CA. We offer silent meditation retreats throughout the year primarily focused on insight meditation (Vipassana) and the liberation teachings of the Buddha.

IRC is entirely supported by a wide community of practitioners, volunteers and donors whose generosity is the foundation for the center. With no paid staff, the running of our retreats expresses the integration of the practice, service and goodwill of our volunteers.

Retreats at IRC are offered freely, as gifts to those who attend. This means there is no cost for retreats. Donations by those who attend our retreats make it possible to pass this gift forward to others who come to IRC.

In 2024, IRC has started to offer retreats with IMC teachers in other locations. We call these off-site retreats. These are listed below and on IRC’s website.

Please see the [Insight Retreat Center] website for a schedule and more information.

Offsite IRC retreats by IMC Trained Teachers

5-Day BIPOC Nature Dharma and Insight Retreat with bruni dávila, Ram Appalaraju and Kuan Luo.
This is an Insight Retreat Center offering at Big Springs Retreat Center in Sierra City, CA
August 6 to 10, 2024  –  Hours: Tuesday check-in is from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm  End time: Saturday 1:00 pm

This nature retreat for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) offers a variety of contemplative practices in the northern Sierra Mountains in a rural retreat center. Each day will include meditation, earth-based practices, deep discussions on our relationship to the natural world, and guided exploration of forested lands of the 170-acre retreat center.

In the beauty and harmony of nature, and having no access to internet and cell phones, we will have the opportunity to slow down, unplug and settle into the refuge that Mother Earth offers to us. Activities will occur outdoors or in the large meditation hall, depending on the weather.

Big Springs retreat center is located in the Sierra Mountains; about 1 hr 45 mins from Reno NV Airport, 2 Hrs 30 mins from Sacramento Airport, or 4.5 hours from San Francisco Airport and San Jose — Big Springs Map

We will post more information about their retreat center soon.

Accommodations will be either in single rooms in resident halls or, for those who bring their own tent and sleeping gear, on tent platforms among the trees near a bath house with toilets, shower, and sauna.

Photos: Big Springs Area — Big Springs Woods — Big Springs Meditation Hall

APPLY ONLINE – Registration opened March 25, 2024 – Login or Register for Carpooling

• Requirements: Having an established meditation practice and participated in one silent meditation retreat.
• Your application and $100 deposit must be received by 5/15/24 to be entered in the lottery. Applicants will be notified about 2 weeks later if they have been Accepted or are on the Waiting List. Subsequent applications will be added to the Waiting List. Your deposit will only be charged if you are accepted to the retreat and cancel after 7/21/24.
• Questions: Contact the Registrar: Prerana,   prerana@insightretreatcenter.org

5-Day Insight Retreat with Dawn Neal and Kim Allen
Quaker Center, Ben Lomond, CA
Aug 11-16, 2024 – Hours: Sunday check-in at 3:00 p.m. End time: Friday 1 p.m.

A silent mindfulness retreat with alternating sitting and walking meditation, instruction, dharma talks, work meditation, and practice discussion with the teachers. This rustic retreat center is surrounded by the deep forest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and includes a beautiful walk uphill to the meditation hall. Suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners. This retreat is offered freely, as gifts to those who attend—there is no cost. Donations by those who attend make it possible to pass this gift forward to others who want to attend these freely offered retreats.

The Quaker Center is located approximately 45 minutes north of Santa Cruz, California, and approximately an hour southwest of San Jose International Airport.

Accommodations will either be in double rooms or in your own tent at a campsite (approximately five campsites are available). All guests at Quaker Center are required to bring their own sheets, pillowcases, towels, and toiletries (blankets and some pillows are provided). Campers should plan to bring their own tent and sleeping gear.

APPLY ONLINE. Registration closes May 21.

• Requirements: Having an established meditation practice, including mindfulness meditation.
• Your application and credit card deposit must be received by May 21, 2024 to be entered in the lottery. Applicants will be notified by 5/23/2024 if they have been accepted or are on the waiting list. Subsequent applications will be added to the waiting list. Your credit card will only be charged the $200 deposit if you are accepted into the retreat and cancel after 7/25/2024.
• Questions: Contact the Registrar, Denise: registrar@insightsantacruz.org

5 day Natural Awareness Insight Meditation Retreat with Marjolein Janssen and Ari Crellin-Quick
Hidden Villa, Los Altos, CA (Map) .
January 7 to 11, 2025  –  Hours: Tuesday check-in is from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm  End time: Saturday 1:00 pm

Please join us for a 5-day silent retreat focusing on the cultivation of natural awareness, relaxation and skillful understanding of our moment-to-moment experience. This retreat will be offered in the teaching style of meditation master Sayadaw U Tejaniya, who emphasizes approaching meditation with relaxed interest and allowing experience to be known in a simple way as it unfolds naturally. There will be alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation. There will be daily instructions, reflections and group practice discussions, offered by the teachers.

Simple vegetarian meals will be provided. The accommodations include rustic yet cozy dormitory-style cabins, with the option to set up your own tent on a platform for those who prefer to camp. Full shared bathrooms are in a separate building. The property is set in a wooded area adjacent to a community garden and petting zoo, with nearby hiking trails. There is also the option to commute to this retreat; if you’d like to make use of this option, please indicate this on the registration form.

This retreat is offered freely, as a gift to those who attend—there is no cost. Donations by those who attend make it possible to pass this gift forward to others who attend IRC off-site retreats.

For more information, or to sign up to receive an email when registration opens, please email retreats@brightdharma.nl.

APPLY ONLINE – Registration opens August 1, 2024 – please check back then

Non-IMC Retreats Organized and Taught by IMC Trained Teachers