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 Outdoor Insight Retreat “Dharma of Nature” with Dawn Neal and Marjolein Janssen
Offered in collaboration with Off Grid Retreats
Shelterwood Collective, Cazadero, CA
May 23 – 27, 2024 – Hours: Thursday check-in at 3:00 p.m. End time: Monday 11:30 a.m.

We will be practicing outside, exploring the interconnection between the Dharma and the natural world, cultivating wisdom and inviting greater freedom. Experience deepening meditation sessions supported by sensory immersion in nature. And engage in optional movement and / or walking meditation. 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.
More info and registration.

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 11:30 a.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.
Reserve your spot now. (Formal registration coming soon).

Non-IMC Retreats Organized and Taught by IMC Trained Teachers