August 22 @ 5:30 pm EDT – August 31 @ 3:00 pm EDT

Cultivating Loving Kindness, Concentration, and the Jhana Factors

with Shaila Catherine

Tuesday, August 22, 2023 – Thursday, August 31, 2023
Partial attendance can be arranged for the first 3 nights.

LOVING KINDNESS (mettā) is a profound quality of friendliness toward all of life. Mettā meditation cultivates a heartful wish that all beings be happy, beginning with ourselves and gradually expanding the field of loving kindness to embrace those who we love, and those who are difficult to love, until this caring radiates to all beings without exception. Loving kindness meditation is a practice of happiness that heals the heart, meets the pains of life with sensitivity, and strengthens the inner serenity that is essential for concentration. Through the practice of mettā we cultivate deep joy, develop the five jhāna factors that support meditative absorption and a beautiful mind, and incline toward what Buddhist texts describe as a vast, exaulted, and “immeasurable liberation of the mind through loving kindness.”

This retreat will offer instructions for a variety of approaches to mettā practice including the use of specific beings, groups of beings, all beings, and radiating the beautiful force of mettā in specific directions, all directions, and all realms. Guided meditations and dhamma teachings will help develop a mind free from hostility and ill will that is supported by the jhana factors and able to attain the concentrated states of jhanā via mettā practice. There will be alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, dhamma teachings, question and answer sessions, self-scheduled practice periods, and small group discussions with the teacher.

SITE FEATURES: Colombiere Retreat and Conference Center is a comfortable Jesuit retreat center located in woodlands about a one hour drive north of Detroit, Michigan. Colombiere offers a serene environment for meditation and contemplation. It boasts spacious grounds with gardens and pathways that invite quiet walks, and is surrounded by walking trails through pine and oak forests.

COVID PRECAUTIONS: Please read our page on COVID Measures and Compliance Requirements. This will explain  the measures we are taking to prevent the spread of illness, and the actions that will be required of retreat participants.

Register now! Space is limited.

The retreat begins with registration at 2:30 pm on the first day; it ends shortly before noon on the last day and does not include lunch. Participants who are traveling from afar might need to check flight times carefully, and if necessary arrange to stay in a hotel the night before the retreat or arrive early to ensure an on-time arrival at the retreat. Early-arrival accommodations on Monday August 21 are available with an additional fee.

TO REGISTER: Please use the online form at the link below to submit your registration and waiver forms.

• Registration Form: https://www.imsb.org/form-ccrc2023/

This form will take approximately 20 minutes to fill out. Upon completion of the form you will receive an email with details for completing your payment. You have the option of paying the non-refundable deposit of $250 or the full retreat payment either by mailing a check to the registrar or by making a Zelle bank transfer. The address and account information for making this payment will be included in the registration confirmation email.

Details of our cancellation policy are on the registration form.

The retreat facility is handicapped accessible. Accommodations include comfortable single or double rooms. Most rooms share a bathroom down the hall; a few rooms with ensuite bathrooms are available with an additional fee of $250. See the application form for accommodation options and details.

COST: 9 nights (fees cover accommodation and meals). In addition, there will be an opportunity to donate to the teacher at the end of retreat.

Due to precautions regarding the spread of COVID-19, most participants will need to select the single room option and a rate along the single room sliding scale. 

• Full retreat for single occupancy: 9 nights is $2,600 – $1,900 sliding scale (estimated actual cost for single is $2300)
• Double occupancy sliding scale: $2300 – $1700 (estimated actual cost for double occupancy is $1950)
• A limited number of rooms (for either singles or doubles) have ensuite bathrooms available for a supplemental fee of $250
• Early arrival fee of $180 covers sleeping accommodations Monday, August 21 and lunch August 22. Individuals are responsible for their own meals on Monday August 21, and breakfast August 22.

Fee covers only accommodations, food, and basic administrative expenses. There will be an opportunity at the end of the retreat to make a donation to the teacher.

The estimated actual per-person cost if we had used a fixed rate is $2300 for a single room, $1950 for a shared room. By selecting an amount above the estimated actual cost, your generosity supports those who need to select a lower rate to attend the retreat. Selecting an amount below the estimated actual cost is equivalent to receiving a partial scholarship.

The sliding scale will allow most scholarship needs to be self-managed. If you need additional scholarship support to attend, please apply for a scholarship through https://opendharmafoundation.org, or contact our registrar for scholarship assistance through the IMSB/Bodhi-Retreats/Still Mountain scholarship funds.

PARTIAL ATTENDANCE may be arranged for the first 3 nights, but priority is given to full retreat participants. We strongly encourage attendance at the full retreat. Applicants for partial attendance will be placed on a wait list which will be reviewed approximately 2 months prior to the retreat.

• 3 nights (Tuesday–Friday) for single occupancy is $1200 – $700 sliding scale (estimated actual cost for single is $900)
• 3 nights (Tuesday–Friday) for double occupancy is $1100 – $600 sliding scale (estimated actual cost for single is $800)

DANA: Compensation for the teacher is not included in the registration price. There will be an opportunity to offer donations to the teacher at the end of the retreat.

QUESTIONS?: meditation@bodhicourses

Co-Sponsored by Bodhi Retreats, Insight Meditation South Bay, and Still Mountain Buddhist Meditation Center