In this type of retreat, practitioners have open access to their cabin and the Chamma Ling Land, but do not require any Retreat Attendant (RA) services beyond check-in and check-out. Retreatants provide their own supplies and prepare their own meals. If the retreat is longer than one week, the RA will check on the retreatant periodically to make sure that they are in good health.

Retreat Attendant (RA) Services

Prior to your retreat, you will be assigned a Retreat Attendant (RA) who serves as your main contact. The two of you will arrange to meet upon your arrival to the parking lot, and the RA will provide orientation, keys, and help with your luggage. The RA also checks you out of your cabin when you depart.

Closed retreats require that the practitioner create a boundary around the retreat cabin, and that the practitioner stay within that boundary for the duration of the retreat. When in silence, practitioners do not communicate with anyone except the retreat attendant (RA) when necessary. Use of all electronic media is discouraged, except in the case of an emergency. If the retreat is longer than one week, the RA will check on the retreatant periodically to make sure that they are in good health. Prior to the retreat, the practitioner will plan together with the assigned RA any anticipated services needed.

Retreat Attendant (RA) Services

Prior to your retreat, you will be assigned a Retreat Attendant (RA) who serves as your main contact. The two of you will arrange to meet upon your arrival to the parking lot, and the RA will provide orientation, keys, and help with your luggage. The RA also checks you out of your cabin when you depart.

Prior to your arrival, you and your RA will also discuss any special services required (grocery shopping, rides to and from the bus in Moffat, errands) and the RA will create an estimate for the cost of these services ($15/hour + mileage + the cost of supplies purchased). You will be billed for these services along with your cabin fees to be paid at least 2 weeks before your arrival.

In a Dark Retreat, the practitioner is sealed inside the cabin for the duration of the retreat. Prior to your retreat, the practitioner will plan together with the assigned RA any anticipated services needed, including transportation, grocery shopping, meals, dietary preferences and so on.

For the personal safety of retreatants, our policy is to support people who have been through specific training by a qualified teacher in their lineage in the methods and challenges of dark retreat. In our own tradition this means spending at least 1-3 years working with the ngöndro (foundation) practices to stabilize and purify the mind, receiving the training by a lineage holder in the dzogchen methods of trechöd and togyal meditation, and practicing the methods in the light for six months to a year before going into the dark. Simply having a regular meditation practice is not adequate preparation for dark retreat. In your retreat application please describe your training in dark retreat, including the lineage and teacher. If this is your first experience of dark retreat, we recommend a week-long retreat including two or three days in the dark.

Retreat Attendant (RA) Services

Prior to your retreat, you will be assigned a Retreat Attendant (RA) who serves as your main contact for information. The two of you will arrange to meet upon your arrival to the parking lot, and the RA will provide orientation, keys, and help with your luggage. The RA also checks you out of your cabin when you depart.

Prior to your arrival, you and your RA will also discuss any special services required (grocery shopping, cooking, meal delivery, rides to and from the bus in Moffat, errands) and the RA will create an estimate for the cost of these services ($15/hour + mileage + the cost of supplies purchased). You will be billed for these services along with your cabin fees to be paid at least 2 weeks before your arrival.