I would like some advise on retreat for this summer.

I had been practising zen for 3 years in Vienna, Austria with a Rinzai center until May last year when I came across the Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel Ingram after listening to the Buddhist Geeks (thanks Vince for your brilliant work!!!). The book was a like revelation to me, it brought a completely new perspective into the practice and empowered me to continue at home in a more intensive way. I started sitting about 3 hours a day and the past two months I have done over one hour.

I am about to make some big changes in my life going back to my home country, Spain after many years abroad so l will have 3 months this summer before I start working again. I want to use this time to deepen my practice. So far I have done two zen retreats of 5 days each in Ybbs, Austria. My intention is to start with the Goenka 10 days in Spain in June before the longer retreat for a smoother transition learning vipassana which I have not done before. What I am looking for is a 6 weeks retreat between July and September 2010. Although I would like to maximise the time I have now available without other commitments and responsibilities, I think more than 6 weeks might be too ambitious for a first long retreat. Also my first inclination was to search for a mahasi-style practice in Asia but I am not sure if a retreat in Europe or in the USA might be a better option with a shorter adjustment period.

I would really appreciate your suggestions. It feels great to know that there are a bunch of people there on this path.
Many thanks!

Maria-Jose

I have often recommended MBMC in the past but there have been some questions about the teachers there recently and so you would have to find out who was going to be the main teacher then, as that will greatly alter the experience. Somewhere on this website is a very long essay by Constance Casey about the place that would be worth checking out, assuming it survived the migration. If you can't find it, I'll go back to the original page and dredge it up for you.

What financial resources do you have, lots or little? There are some fine places to go sit, but some of them cost, such as Spirit Rock in N. California.

Perhaps others will chime in.

I was planning to spend somewhere between 3-6 weeks at MBMC over the summer so I'm a little concerned to hear your comments about the teachers, Daniel. Do you mean there is no Sayadaw in residence, as was the case during my stay last year, or do you mean the quality of the resident Sayadaw is doubtful?

I found my stay excellent even in the absence of a teacher. Frankly, in the absence of good instruction on the spot, I'd rather be left alone, and check in periodically via Skype/email with someone whose direction and feedback I trust.

I have seen one post about costs related to getting to MBMC but could not find the long email you mentioned with more detailed information. I would like to know more before I go, particularly if as you say, the support from the teachers is not clear.

Since I am moving to my home country and I will be leaving my work to start something new, I would rather keep the budget low. On the other hand, I would rather spend a bit more if what I am getting is worth it.

Many thanks!!!

Maria-Jose

The questions about the teachers were:

1) is there one there at all
2) who they might be (English proficiency, etc.)

I simply don't know at this point, though they do tend to have pretty high standards for their teachers.

Just ask.

If you don't need one much, no problem, the place is great.

If you really need detailed feedback or they to really be able to reach and understand you, they this is worth investigating more to be sure they work for you.

I don't know what they are up to, but when I think about Europe, I think about Fred Von Allmen.

Might be worth looking up.

Gaia house is beautiful in the summer and you could do a work retreat there, though you don't get as much formal meditation time owing to the work part.

I am sure there are other good options.

Just throwing those out there.

Will report after the retreat

Many thanks Daniel!