Shambhala Mountain Center Blog

When looking at the increased number of visitors over the last ten years, it has become clear that Buddhist retreats have become a very popular weekend or weeklong getaway. While Buddhist retreats have traditionally attracted devout followers of Eastern religious practices, an increasing number of nonbelievers who seek stress-free, spiritual and often inexpensive breaks from the hecticness of their everyday lives are attending Buddhist retreats.

For the nonbelievers, a Buddhist retreat embodies traits opposite of an urban lifestyle. They offer an uncomplicated way of living that provides the rest and relaxation that so many of their visitors seek. In a way, visitors can experience the antithesis of their lives at home.

While Buddhist retreats have been around for several decades, they have traditionally been visited by practicing Buddhists, serious yoga students or devotees of an ashram’s guru. Today, these spots are attracting clientele who’ve had limited interaction with Eastern religions, yoga or a spiritual guru. In fact, some Buddhist centers are reporting a 100% increase in non-following visitors in the last five years alone. These particular visitors have come to realize that Buddhist centers are places of refuge and that it isn’t necessary to know anything about the guru, yoga or meditation.

While stress is the number one reason visitors choose to take a spiritual getaway, it’s the sparse living style and firm scheduling at these retreats that helps to relieve that stress. Harried urbanites can spend whole days without making a decision or facing a crisis, without trying to find a cab in the rain or worrying about a client. The activities are predetermined and tightly scheduled: meditation, chanting religious verses, doing chores around the property and silent self-contemplation.

While non-believers are finding that these retreats are a wonderful way to relax, they are also discovering that they are a great way to initiate a personal exploration of Buddhism. There are many types of classes that are perfect for new visitors. There are “Intro to Buddhism” weekends, workshop retreats that focus on a Zen art such as haiku or kung fu, retreats for families, retreats into the wilderness; and retreats for silent meditation.

Attending a beginner meditation retreat, like those offered at Shambhala Mountain Center, is an ideal way to begin a personal experience of Buddhism outside of books. Visitors will be in the company of other beginners, and such matters as temple protocols or how to meditate will be explained. Most Buddhist centers that offer retreats will make it clear which retreats are appropriate for beginners and which require prior experience. Contact Shambhala Mountain Center today to learn more about our beginner Buddhist meditation retreats.

The Shambhala Mountain Center is honored to include B. Alan Wallace in its portfolio of talented instructors who share a passion for personal well-being. As author, translator, teacher, researcher, interpreter and Buddhist practitioner, Wallace’s interests focus on the combined effects of consciousness studies and psychology. He is most famously known as a teacher of Shamatha, a style of Buddhist meditation designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention, culminating in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly and for hours on end.  This March, at the Shambhala Mountain Center, Wallace will lead the retreat, The Way of Shamatha: Soothing the Body, Settling the Mind, and Illuminating Awareness, where participants will discover the power of Shamatha and its ability to calm the body and sooth the mind.

B. Alan Wallace and Shamatha
Recent studies show that meditation practices have a positive result on stress management and emotional stability. B. Alan Wallace has been working with neuroscientists and psychologists in a long-term-study that measures the effects of intensive meditation on attention, cognitive performance, emotion regulation and health. His studies have helped him to develop training methods that include deep, intensive meditation that fosters attentional vividness and stability as well as compassion, loving-kindness, empathetic joy and equanimity.

Experience the teachings of B. Alan Wallace at the Shambhala Mountain Center, where he will be leading the weeklong retreat, The Way of Shamatha: Soothing the Body, Settling the Mind and Illuminating Awareness. During the retreat you will explore the power of Shamatha which will lead to active engagement in loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity.

About B. Alan Wallace
Wallace has been teaching Buddhism, philosophy and meditation in Asia, Europe, North and South America and Australia since 1976. He has served as interpreter for many Buddhist contemplatives and scholars, including the Dalai Lama, and has written dozens of books and essays. His education and training started in 1971 when he left college to pursue a passion for Tibetan Buddhism. He has since studied at the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives in Dharamsala, India, the Institute of Buddhist Dialects, The Tibet Institute in Switzerland and the Center for Higher Tibetan Studies in Mt. Pelerin, Switzerland. After completing his BA in 1984 as an Independent Scholar in Physics, Philosophy and Sanskrit, he enrolled in the graduate program in religious studies at Stanford University, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1995. During these years at Stanford, he continued his studies of the philosophy of science and of the mind. His main research centered on integrating Buddhism with Western science and philosophy with the aim of achieving a more comprehensive understanding of consciousness.

In 1997, he joined the faculty of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he taught courses on Tibetan Buddhism, language, and culture, as well as the interface between science and religion. In 2003, Alan established the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, a non-profit institution concerned with synthesizing scientific and contemplative inquiry into the nature and potentials of consciousness.

Spiritual retreats, like those held at Shambhala Mountain Center, are more popular than ever. People are flocking to these retreats because as their world becomes more stressful, they seek an outlet to find peace, meaning and inner strength. The concept of a retreat is flexible. It can be part of a formal program or it can be an independent retreat and renewal time. Your retreat can be a personal journey or done with a friend. And rather than being about religion, retreats are more focused on spirituality and thus open to people of all faiths. If you are searching for your personal freedom and happiness and a loving and supportive environment, a spiritual retreat is for you.

After a spiritual retreat you will no doubt be restored in heart and soul and feel refreshed. So, in today’s often chaotic world, it is no wonder spiritual retreats have become so popular. This type of retreat is a powerful and transforming experience for all who attend. Many people repeat this experience time after time and make it a yearly event.

There are many spiritual programs and retreats to choose from. But because of their popularity, they are often booked months in advance. So even if you are just considering attending one, it doesn’t hurt to start looking now and requesting information. Offered throughout the year, spiritual retreats can be as short as one day to a weekend to a full month. Shambhala Mountain Center, for example offers weeklong and weekend retreats.

Once you’ve completed your retreat, you will cherish the  inner growth you have experienced during the retreat. You will feel renewed and ready to re-enter your everyday life, while perhaps pining to leave again and participate in yet another spiritual retreat.

Explore all of the spiritual retreats Shambhala Mountain Center has to offer. We offer a selection of programs year round in our pristine, natural setting. Contact us today to learn more.