RE: Does anyone have recommendations for a Mahāsī Sayādaw noting retreat? - Discussion
I retreated for a 14 day stint at Tathagata Meditation Center (TMC) in San Jose, California in September of 2019. It was very traditional/harcore Mahasi retreat. There were two Sayadaws at the time, one of them being Sayadaw U Thuzana who was the main abbot (and who still appears to be the abbot). Sayadaw U Thuzana was the abbot at MBMC in Malaysia before as well, which is where Daniel Ingram had his retreat upon which he reached fourth path... although under a different abbot/teacher at the time.
The schedule was really strict: Wake up at 5:30 at the latest to have the first sit at 6:00, breakfast at 7:00, luch at 11:00, and a dharma talk 6 days a week later in the evening (around 7 or 8 if my memory recalls... for about 1-2 hours). I had a private room, luckily, but slept on a cot. There was a laundry service which washed our clothes every few days which cost extra. Really only two meals a day, all homemade Vietnamese food cooked by the local sangha which was decent enough.
Noble silence. The schedule was pretty hardcore: outside of the meals, you were expect to do an hour of sitting meditation and then an hour of walking meditation. After the two meal times, there was some additional time (30 minutes if I recall...) to shower or rest. Otherwise it was expected to do sitting meditation in the meditation hall, or walking meditation somewhere on the grounds at the appropriate times. The retreat coordinator gave us (as a group) a talking or two for not following the approved schedule (some people did longer sitting sessions when they should have been walking, etc.).
I had little guidance: my first interview with one of the Sayadaws was after the 5th day. Then every three days after that. I met with the assistant Sayadaw twice, and the Abbot once. A translator was present in all sessions since there was a pretty huge language barrier.
To be honest, I had a bit of a mental break down/mental health crisis on retreat. I started to unravel and become paranoid that they wouldn't let me leave, even though I was in the middle of Silicon Valley and surrounded by busy streat on all sides. The retreat was completely silent (social isolation), and the schedule was quite rigorous (lack of sleep, sore joints, and my 'stuff' bubbling up due to lack of distraction)... I don't think I was truly mature enough for it. Even during my interviews with the Sayadaws, when I explained I was having mental health issues, they just told me to note more...
The 14 days ran me a total cost of $375, which is extremely cheap if I consider that I had a room for 14 nights and two meals a day. A single night at a hotel or a rental car can exceed that price easily.
All in all, I think the retreat center is pretty well run. I am forever grateful to this sangha for hosting me, for the folks I met, for the fact that they housed me and fed me and wanted me to have a productive retreat. They were truly passionate about the Dhama/Dharma and wanted me to have the same benefits. I arrived a bit early before the retreat officially started, and a few of them took me aside to talk earnestly about their experience: they all told me to just simply follow the technique no matter what - it seemed they all had an opening of one sort or another on retreat in the past. I personally didn't have a positive experience, but they all spoke with genuine reverance and confidence about the retreat which I find intriguing and inspiring.
I'd only recommend this center if you are already familiar with the noting technique and are a familiar with extended/sparse retreats, but maybe this is something worth exploring.
The schedule was really strict: Wake up at 5:30 at the latest to have the first sit at 6:00, breakfast at 7:00, luch at 11:00, and a dharma talk 6 days a week later in the evening (around 7 or 8 if my memory recalls... for about 1-2 hours). I had a private room, luckily, but slept on a cot. There was a laundry service which washed our clothes every few days which cost extra. Really only two meals a day, all homemade Vietnamese food cooked by the local sangha which was decent enough.
Noble silence. The schedule was pretty hardcore: outside of the meals, you were expect to do an hour of sitting meditation and then an hour of walking meditation. After the two meal times, there was some additional time (30 minutes if I recall...) to shower or rest. Otherwise it was expected to do sitting meditation in the meditation hall, or walking meditation somewhere on the grounds at the appropriate times. The retreat coordinator gave us (as a group) a talking or two for not following the approved schedule (some people did longer sitting sessions when they should have been walking, etc.).
I had little guidance: my first interview with one of the Sayadaws was after the 5th day. Then every three days after that. I met with the assistant Sayadaw twice, and the Abbot once. A translator was present in all sessions since there was a pretty huge language barrier.
To be honest, I had a bit of a mental break down/mental health crisis on retreat. I started to unravel and become paranoid that they wouldn't let me leave, even though I was in the middle of Silicon Valley and surrounded by busy streat on all sides. The retreat was completely silent (social isolation), and the schedule was quite rigorous (lack of sleep, sore joints, and my 'stuff' bubbling up due to lack of distraction)... I don't think I was truly mature enough for it. Even during my interviews with the Sayadaws, when I explained I was having mental health issues, they just told me to note more...
The 14 days ran me a total cost of $375, which is extremely cheap if I consider that I had a room for 14 nights and two meals a day. A single night at a hotel or a rental car can exceed that price easily.
All in all, I think the retreat center is pretty well run. I am forever grateful to this sangha for hosting me, for the folks I met, for the fact that they housed me and fed me and wanted me to have a productive retreat. They were truly passionate about the Dhama/Dharma and wanted me to have the same benefits. I arrived a bit early before the retreat officially started, and a few of them took me aside to talk earnestly about their experience: they all told me to just simply follow the technique no matter what - it seemed they all had an opening of one sort or another on retreat in the past. I personally didn't have a positive experience, but they all spoke with genuine reverance and confidence about the retreat which I find intriguing and inspiring.
I'd only recommend this center if you are already familiar with the noting technique and are a familiar with extended/sparse retreats, but maybe this is something worth exploring.