Spring Weekend Retreat

Practical Information

Dates: Friday May 30 – Sunday June 1 (2 nights)
Start of the retreat: Friday May 30th at 7:00 PM (arrive between 5:00 and 6:30 PM to settle in)
       Optional: you can arrive late, on Saturday May 31st by 8:30 AM
End of retreat: Sunday June 1st at 1:30 PM
Location: The Clearing in Amelia Court House, VA (Google Maps)
Cost: $40 – 150 (sliding scale, see below for more information). This fee is for renting the Clearing and meals (Scholarships are available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds).
Suggested donation for teachings: $90 – $400 (see below for more information)
Teacher: Marjolein Janssen
Registration: fill out this form

Description

“Here a practitioner, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty hut, sits down; having folded their legs crosswise, set their body erect, and established mindfulness in front of them, ever mindful they breathe in, mindful they breathe out”. ~ Buddha

A retreat is a great way to unplug from the busyness of daily life and find some restfulness and ease. This retreat will be held partly, or mostly, outdoors, weather permitting. This is a wonderful chance to try a silent meditation retreat while surrounded by the beauty of nature. We follow the old tradition of using nature to support our spiritual journey. Nature has a lot of teachings for us, and we will explore some of those during this weekend.

We will be practicing sitting and walking meditation. There will also be meditation instructions, Dharma talks and a chance to discuss your practice with the teacher. The retreat is suitable for beginning as well as experienced meditators. During this retreat we will practice the traditional Vipassana meditation.

As a support we will bring in the support of the natural world and we will nourish ourselves with the heart quality of loving kindness (metta). Metta will help us to soften and relax, which is a great support for our Vipassana practice. Whilst being outdoors, in the beautiful Virginia forest, helps to open the senses and to cultivate easeful presence.

The retreat is suitable for beginning as well as experienced meditators. Beginners are asked to familiarize themselves with Vipassana meditation on the page for beginners.

Payment and Scholarships

The cost for the weekend retreat is a sliding scale or $40 to $150. This is for renting the space and the cost for meals. The amount of $40 is a “sustainer rate”, this amount will cover our costs. Any amount that you are able to offer above $40 will go to our fund to organize future donation based retreats. This amount will be held separate from other donations to the IMCR group.

You can pay by Check or PayPal:

• Check: Write a check to ”Insight Meditation Community of Richmond” for “IMCR Spring 2025 Weekend Retreat” and bring it with you to the retreat, or send it to the following address: Insight Meditation Community of Richmond, 3411 Grove Avenue, Richmond (VA) 23221.
• PayPal: Click this link to pay via PayPal. Put “IMCR Sping 2025 Weekend Retreat” in the description. If you don’t put this in the description we might think that this is a general donation.

If you need any accommodations, would like a scholarship, or have anything that would be helpful for the organizers to know, please email to info@imcrva.org.

Generosity for the Teacher and the IMCR Group

There are two ways to practice generosity for this retreat:

• Generosity for the teacher: the suggested donation for the teacher is: $90 – $400 (sliding scale).
• Generosity for the IMCR group: we appreciate donations of any amount you feel comfortable and generous giving.

The $40 – $150 fee for the retreat does not cover dana (“donation”) for the teacher or the IMCR group. Your donation to the teacher provides support to allow Marjolein to continue offering these teachings, and your donation to the IMCR group allows the continuation of the IMCR group. Please give as feels appropriate and generous for you. Please delight in your generosity and know that the dharma continues to be offered to you and others through our collective acts of sharing. All are welcome, no donation is required.

After the retreat there will be the opportunity to offer a cash donation, or a donation by check. You can also donate online to Marjolein and/or the IMCR group.

More information about the concept of dana, generosity, in Buddhism.

Important

• Please register in advance by filling out this form.
• The official start of the retreat is Friday May 30, 7:00 PM (please arrive between 5:00 and 6:30 PM to allow enough time for settling in. Campers should arrive on the early side to setup their tent).
• There are several sleeping options: tent camping, a communal unheated cabin with bunk beds (males), a big room in the heated/cooled Lodge (females), the meditation hall in the heated/cooled lodge (all gender). All sleeping, except for camping, is communal.
• Vegetarian / vegan meals will be provided, except for the first lunch: please bring your own (more details on this in the logistics email that will be send by that time).
• During the retreat we will be in “noble silence.” This means that we won’t be talking to each other (except to the teacher during the practice discussion). We will also turn off our phones and other devices. This is all in order to minimize external distractions, promote mindfulness and inner stillness, and respect the practice of fellow meditators.
• During the retreat we will all take the eight precepts. The teacher will explain what the precepts are during the Opening Circle of the retreat. The most important thing to know for now is that we all take the precept not to eat after lunch. You are welcome to eat after lunch for medical (or other compelling reasons), we do ask you to check in with the teacher before doing so. Also during the first evening (Friday) there will be no meal served, you are welcome to bring your own meal, we just ask you to prep and eat your meal with care, not disturbing the rest of the meditators.