Personal Practice Retreat (Varying Lengths)

We are pleased to be able to once again host our annual one-month opportunity for personal retreat at Ser Chö Ösel Ling, our retreat land in Goldendale, WA. Some may sign up for the entire month and others will come for stays ranging from a weekend to three weeks. Each week of retreat will begin on a Friday from February 20 until March 20, 2026. Time periods available are for 1-week, 2-weeks, 3-weeks, 4-weeks and weekends, all beginning on a Friday.

During the personal retreat time, all retreatants keep the same schedule and practice on their own in their rooms or in one of the meditation halls. Everyone gathers for meals and in the evening after dinner for a short meditation and the recitation of aspiration prayers or inspirational songs. All of the meals will be provided.

The month of personal retreat is an excellent way to deepen one’s practice in the support of other community members. Being able to devote more time to meditation away from our habitually busy environs can be very inspiring and nurturing. Each day will have periods of silence, and silence will also be observed each week for a number of days.

Before engaging in personal retreat, it is recommended that participants have previous experience that includes at least some facilitated group retreat and perhaps some individual retreat. The most skillful approach to personal retreat is to begin with a weekend and gradually increase the length of one’s stay. Beginning with a retreat that is beyond one’s current capacity can undermine the potential benefit of one’s stay and unnecessarily dampen enthusiasm for future retreat.

Regardless of experience, each participant will create an individualized practice plan – either by themselves or in consultation with an advisor. If you are new to personal retreat with KCC, we request that you speak with an advisor about creating an outline for your retreat in order to facilitate a meaningful experience. To design a retreat plan, you can reach out to Lama Eric or to Lama Kathleen here.

Sample Schedule

AM
6:00-7:20      Practice Session
7:30-9:00      Breakfast
9:00-10:30    Practice Session
10:30-11:00   Tea Break
11:00-12:00   Practice Session

PM
12:10-2:00     Lunch
2:00-3:30      Practice Session
3:30-4:00      Tea Break
4:00-5:15       Practice Session
5:30-6:45      Dinner
6:45-7:30      Group Practice

Arrival Time on Fridays: Between 2 PM and 4 PM
Departure Time on Last Day of your Retreat Period: After breakfast and before 10:00 AM

Meals and Chores
Three vegetarian meals will be served daily. Retreatants are expected to contribute up to one hour per day toward chores that will be done during the three meal breaks.

Registration
The number of participants for this retreat will be limited to 16 participants in single occupancy cabins only, allowing for a spacious environment to support this longer retreat. Registration will be open for retreats of a week or longer until February 15th; registration for weekends will stay open throughout.

Pricing

4 weeks: $1900
3 weeks: $1560
2 weeks: $1190
1 week: $600
Weekend: $270

Includes single cabin and 3 meals per day.

REGISTER FOR 4-WEEKS

REGISTER FOR 3-WEEKS

REGISTER FOR 2-WEEKS

REGISTER FOR 1 WEEK

REGISTER FOR A WEEKEND

Note: To support the staff and the retreat container for all retreatants, each retreat period begins on a Friday. If there are extenuating circumstances and the only way you could attend would be to come on different dates, you may contact scol.retreats@kcc.org with details about your circumstances. Requests will be reviewed in consultation with Lama Eric and approved on a case-by-case basis.

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