Dharmapala Training Retreat July 2024 (ONLINE ONLY)
July 26 - August 4, 2024
We look forward to hosting the DPT2 Community at Big Bear in July 2023. If attending ONLINE, please complete your registration. Please complete registration by July 24th. About the Online Program At registration will receive a link with a landing page for the online community that includes the zoom and schedule information for the online component of this program, along with any other helpful tips before, during, and after your retreat. This link will be emailed to you again 24 hours before your retreat. Date and Time (all times Pacific) July 26th - August 4th July 26th: zoom…
Frazin Family Reunion 2024
August 15 - 18, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
Frazin Family Reunion at Big Bear Retreat Center Thursday, August 15th - Sunday, August 18th, 2024 FULL SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE SOON Accommodations: The Center consists of several single-story buildings and cabins for dining, meditation and sleeping. Our residence cabins are large furnished and comfortable with 3-4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, living rooms, a full kitchen and decks outside in nature for shared use. Meals: The Center provides fresh, healthy meals made with seasonal and organic ingredients. Meals begin with dinner on arrival evening through to breakfast on departure morning. We can accommodate most major dietary restrictions. Snacks will be…
You Are Enough: Mindful Self-Compassion, Soundbath & Music
With Ofosu Jones-Quartey
August 18, 2024
Online
Saturday, August 18 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (Pacific Time) This online event is open to both beginners and experienced practitioners. You Are Enough Through guided meditation, sound bath with crystal singing bowls, lo-fi hip hop and more, meditation teacher and musician Ofosu Jones-Quartey (aka Born I) will deliver a special offering designed to help you deepen your self-compassion practice and share practical tools to bring self-kindness and self-compassion into your daily life. The goal of this event is for you to truly experience and understand that You Are Enough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF61cmd93lQ About this Online Program At registration you will receive…
When Awareness Becomes Natural
With LC Tran and Kim Allen
August 19 - 28, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
***Retreat Update: Unlimited financial support spots are available for this retreat. Please contact us if cost is a barrier in any way! guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org*** A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat Monday, August 19th - Wednesday, August 28th Registration closes August 11th at 11:59pm Pacific Time In this 9-night/10-day retreat, we will explore Vipassana meditation in the practice style of Sayadaw U Tejaniya. Sayadaw’s approach is free from rigid forms, influenced by his previous life as a layperson and his interest in adaptable practice. Nonetheless, his teachings are rigorous, emphasizing Right View, Awareness, and a relaxed, gentle, continuous practice attitude throughout the…
Dharma Dharma: The Unfolding of Nature (approved registrations only)
With LC Tran
September 4 - 8, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
Camping and Awareness in Nature Wednesday, September 4th - Sunday, September 8th Registration closes August 21st at 11:59pm Pacific Time A retreat offered in the Thai forest tradition. Participants must submit an application, interview with the teacher, and be approved to attend. This unique retreat will be offered by Leinchi (LC) Tran as a more informal week of practice in community and nature following the more traditional practices of the Thai forest tradition. Retreatants will be camping (1-2 bedroom spots available), following their own practice routine, and have daily interviews with the teacher. Access to one indoor cabin common space…
Dharma Dharma: The Unfolding of Nature
With LC Tran
September 4 - 8, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
Camping and Awareness in Nature Wednesday, September 4th - Sunday, September 8th Registration closes August 21st at 11:59pm Pacific Time A retreat offered in the Thai forest tradition. Participants must submit an application, interview with the teacher, and be approved to attend. This unique retreat will be offered by Leinchi (LC) Tran as a more informal week of practice in community and nature following the more traditional practices of the Thai forest tradition. Retreatants will be camping (1-2 bedroom spots available), following their own practice routine, and have daily interviews with the teacher. Access to one indoor cabin common space…
Solidarity Economics: Our Economy, Our Movement
With Dr. Manuel Pastor and Dr. Chris Benner
September 8 - 11, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
Reimagining our economy for the benefit of all A Fall Gathering & Dialogue Workshop Sunday, September 8th - Wednesday, September 11th, 2024 Please register by September 1st 11:59PM Pacific Join us this September for an interactive workshop dialogue with Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor with the goal to have us reflect, share, and learn ways to cultivate solidarity in our economy and to popularize that story to build a mass movement for justice. As we quickly approach those 2024 elections, it is clear that we are in desperate need of a collective narrative that bridges many of our issues…
The Direct Path to Freedom: The Foundations of Mindfulness
With Gullu Singh, Louije Kim and Gabrielle Hammond (Qi Gong)
September 14 - 19, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A 5-Day Mindfulness Silent Retreat By UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness Saturday, September 14th - Thursday, September 19th To register and for more details visit UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. Imagine yourself immersed in a natural environment, dedicated solely to cultivating mindfulness, with the support of dedicated teachers. This meditation retreat provides a supportive environment and opportunity to delve into the practice, which can lead to reclaiming a feeling of well being, and being free from the weight of worry, regret, loss, pain and stress. In this retreat we’ll focus on the Buddha’s teachings and instructions in establishing…
Autumn Gathering of Western Region Retreat Centers
September 21 - 24, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
Regeneration and Resiliency A Gathering of Retreat Center Leaders and Staff Focused on Bio-regional Regeneration and Light-hearted Connection with Peers Saturday, September 21st - Tuesday, September 24th, 2024 Please register by September 14th 11:59PM Pacific Join us for an exploration on the topic of resilience and connection amongst peers in our regions. We hope to make this joyous, playful, informative, and nourishing! This Fall we will gather Western Regional Retreat Centers from the US and Canada. We’ll gather to connect deeper as peers, meet each other from nearby regional centers, and discuss topics related to bio-regional sustainability and resiliency.…
Love and Rest 2024
With Beth Sternlieb and Matthew Brensilver
September 25 - 30, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat Wednesday, September 25th - Monday, September 30th Registration closes September 17th at 11:59pm Pacific Time We often long for love, both giving and receiving, but the busyness of life and the agitation of our minds do not create the conditions for love to arise. In dharma practice, we find love naturally arises when we rest deeply. When we let go of the dissatisfaction of endless grasping, we experience loving awareness itself. As we do this, we discover what’s been waiting there all along, a softening of the heart, a truly satisfying love. The daily rhythm…
[ONLINE] Awakening Mindfulness and Compassion
With Diana Winston, Leslie Booker and Vadan Ritter (movement teacher)
October 1 - 6, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center (online)
A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat In collaboration with UCLA Mindful Tuesday, October 1st - Sunday, October 6th Registration closes September 30th at 11:59pm Pacific Time This retreat is available hybrid (online and in-person). To visit the in-person program page, click here. Join us for a five-night silent retreat in the beautiful natural setting of the Big Bear Retreat Center, only two hours from Los Angeles. We will spend our days deepening our meditation practice in the service of cultivating wisdom and compassion needed to transfer out to our lives. As we settle our minds, supported by nature, we can…
Awakening Mindfulness and Compassion
With Diana Winston, Leslie Booker and Vadan Ritter (movement teacher)
October 1 - 6, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat In collaboration with UCLA Mindful Tuesday, October 1st - Sunday, October 6th Registration closes September 23rd at 11:59pm Pacific Time This retreat is available Hybrid In-Person and Online. To visit the online program page of this retreat, click here. Join us for a five-night silent retreat in the beautiful natural setting of the Big Bear Retreat Center, only two hours from Los Angeles. We will spend our days deepening our meditation practice in the service of cultivating wisdom and compassion needed to transfer out to our lives. As we settle our minds, supported by nature,…
The Rhythm of Connection: Embracing Quietude and Mindful Communication
With Ofosu Jones-Quartey, Anthony "T" Maes and Devon Sangster Rath
October 9 - 13, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Relational Mindfulness Retreat Wednesday, October 9th - Sunday, October 13th Registration closes October 1st at 11:59pm Pacific Time Join us for a transformative retreat that thoughtfully balances the power of silence with the art of communication, all taught through a trauma-informed lens. Our program is uniquely designed, dedicating half of our time to silent meditation and somatic expression, and the other half to engaging in relational mindfulness through thoughtful speaking and interaction. This approach allows for a deeper, more compassionate exploration of both self-reflection and mindful communication. We look forward to guiding you on this balanced and empathetic journey,…
The Sure Heart’s Release
With Dave Smith and Erin Treat
October 14 - 19, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat Monday, October 14th - Saturday, October 19th Registration closes October 6th at 11:59pm Pacific Time The primary focus of teachings throughout this retreat will draw upon the timeless instructions from the Satipatthana Sutta, the heart of the Buddha's instructions for the establishment of Mindfulness. Together, we will explore various methods for attending to our experience with kindness and wisdom that lead to the sure heart’s release: the purification of conduct, the purification of mind, and the development of insight. The cultivation of these qualities direct us to a radiant heart of freedom. Held within…
Weaving Ourselves Back into the Fabric of Life: An Exploration of the Four Distortions of Perception
With Celeste Young and Ayya Santacitta
October 20 - 26, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Silent Meditation Retreat: Dana-based retreat in the monastic tradition (donate at any amount) Sunday, October 20th - Saturday, October 26th Registration closes October 6th at 11:59pm Pacific Time An Exploration of the Four Distortions of Perception Join us for an in person retreat in the beautiful San Bernardino mountains and deepen your practice within this secluded setting in nature. For this particular retreat, our theme will be clearing up the Four Distortions of Perception, or Vipallasas as they are known in Pali. Seeing what is impermanent (anicca) as permanent (nicca ) Seeing what is painful (dukkha) as pleasant…
Three Views for Freedom
With Anushka Fernandopulle
October 26 - 30, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat In collaboration with Insight San Diego Saturday, October 26th - Wednesday, October 30th Registration closes October 19th at 11:59pm Pacific Time The path of Buddhist practice is designed to help us release stress, strain and suffering in our life through developing insight. One helpful framework that the Buddha taught is the three characteristics: a way of investigating our physical and mental experience that reveals what is true about this life, how our misperceptions get us into trouble, and how we can live lives of greater ease. We will be investigating how the characteristics of impermanence,…
The Limitless Heart: Cultivating Metta In Turbulent Times
With Yong Oh, Gullu Singh and Gabrielle Hammond (Qi Gong)
November 6 - 12, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat Wednesday, November 6th - Tuesday, November 12th Registration closes October 29th at 11:59pm Pacific Time This retreat will focus on the cultivation of mettā. Mettā, usually translated as loving-kindness is an inner state of friendliness, benevolence, goodwill and universal positive regard. The Buddha said that when we develop mettā, “no limiting action remains.” Which is to say that we get freed from the limitations of the heart. Mettā is an antidote to fear, anxiety, agitation, anger and frustration so it’s a timely practice for these times of climate crisis, wars on many fronts and an…
The Dharma of Desire: From Longing to Loving Presence
With Trudy Goodman and Lisa Ernst
November 13 - 17, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat Wednesday, November 13th - Sunday, November 17th Registration closes November 5th at 11:59pm Pacific Time On the path of awakening, sometimes we may believe desire is a problem to be eradicated. Yet when we get curious about desire and look at our relationship to it, we can enter more deeply into the fertile ground of our own being and move closer to the heart. In this retreat we will have the opportunity to explore desire in a supportive, non-judgmental space that allows us to open our hearts and meet desire with compassion and insight. When…
Ancestors Welcome Here
With Ream, Kimber Simpkins and Em Morrison
December 3 - 8, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
Ancestral Healing Retreat For White Practitioners Committed to Racial Justice Tuesday, December 3rd - Sunday, December 8th Registration closes November 25th at 11:59pm Pacific Time White people*: We need all the help we can get. Who can we be today to change the conditions of our world for the better, to right the wrongs of the past in the present, and to find the way to the future, so we can become good ancestors to the world to come? Working at the level of the body, we will welcome our wise and loving ancestors of blood and bone to extend…
Saturday Sangha at Big Bear Retreat Center (December 2024)
December 12 - 15, 2024
Big Bear Retreat Center
Thursday, December 12th - Sunday, December 15th, 2024 please plan to attend the entire time Your Stay with us Includes: A private bedroom in a shared retreat cabin (up to 3-4 rooms), with wifi, a kitchen, living room, central heat, and a private deck in nature with option to bring guests, loved ones, or friends to share room Three healthy freshly prepared meals Access to center amenities and natural environment and trails Accommodations: The Center consists of several single-story buildings and cabins for dining, meditation and sleeping. Our residence cabins are large furnished and comfortable with 3-4…
Awake in the New Year
With Enrique Collazo and Deborah Eden Tull
December 30, 2024 - January 4, 2025
Big Bear Retreat Center
A Dharma & Dance Retreat Monday, December 30th - Saturday, January 4th Registration closes December 23rd at 11:59pm Pacific Time The New Year is a powerful threshold. Buddhist traditions have long emphasized the importance of setting clear and conscious intentions in our spiritual life and engagement in the world. In this New Year’s retreat you will be invited to listen deeply, reflect, restore, and create new possibilities. You will be guided through a unique journey of embodiment – bridging dharma and dance, stillness and motion, personal and collective awakening. Grounded in Buddhism and acknowledging the gravity of the times we face, we…
Being Dharma: SMS and BBRC Month-long Residential Retreat 2025
March 13 - April 12, 2025
This in-person retreat is open to experienced practitioners by application only. This page is for all those that have been accepted into the program to register and submit a deposit. Being Dharma, our SMS monthlong residential retreat, is presented by Sacred Mountain Sangha and hosted by Big Bear Retreat Center. Please review the Registration and Application Process listed below, and read the retreat description in its entirety before applying for this retreat. If you have any questions regarding the application process, please email info@sacredmountainsangha.org. For more about the retreat, visit the full description here. ACCESSIBILITY We are committed to accessibility. Big…
Program Template 2025 – Residential (lodging rates)__Simplicity + Stillness: Cultivating the 5 Spiritual Strengths
With Celeste Young and Devon Hase
April 16 - 20, 2025
This in-person retreat is open to both beginners and experienced practitioners. During this weeklong spring insight meditation retreat, we will learn to slow down and attune to the fresh simplicity of our present moment experience, rest in stillness, and connect with the heart's inner capacity for healing and freedom. We will be exploring the cultivation of the 5 spiritual strengths or the 5 spiritual faculties that the Buddha taught: cultivating mindfulness, confidence or trust, persistence, concentration, and wisdom to support the development of our meditation practice. We’ll tend to the heart and mind with compassionate mindfulness and strengthen our connection…
Program Template 2025 – Online Hybrid Retreat__Coming Home to Our Senses
With Trudy Goodman, Gullu Singh and Gabrielle Hammond (Qi Gong)
May 15 - 20, 2025
This online retreat is open to both beginners and experienced practitioners. During this weeklong spring insight meditation retreat, we will learn to slow down and attune to the fresh simplicity of our present moment experience, rest in stillness, and connect with the heart's inner capacity for healing and freedom. Along the path of dharma practice we make it a habit to connect to the truth of each moment as experienced in the body and through all the senses. By doing so, we can effectively reduce anxiety and confusion, making room for peace and joy. Meditation can also help balance our…
Program Template 2025 – Online Promo Event__THE DIRECT PATH TO FREEDOM: MINDFULNESS OF THE BODY AND FEELING TONE
With Gullu Singh, Louije Kim and Gabrielle Hammond (Qi Gong)
June 22, 2025
This online event is open to both beginners and experienced practitioners. Mindfulness of Vedenā In this half-day retreat, we’ll start to work with the Buddha’s teachings on mindfulness of the body and mindfulness of Vedanā (feeling tone). The Buddha describes mindfulness as “the direct path to the purification of beings, the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of suffering and discontent” and the realization of peace. This retreat will also offer one session of qigong using slow guided movements that help metabolize areas of resistance and hindrances that can arise on retreat. These movements are safe, gentle, and…
DANA PROTOTYPE – Program Template 2025 – Residential (lodging rates)
July 7 - 11, 2025
[Retreat Tag Line] [Day, Date] - [Day, Date] registration closes [insert day/date, 7 calendar days before start date] at 11:59pm Pacific Time [*reminder to update list until above with this date and delete this line*] [insert bolded first line summarizing retreat - typically first line offered by teachers] All are welcome to attend. All recovery paths are welcome, whether Twelve Step, Recovery Dharma, Eight Step Recovery, substance, process, or relationship-oriented. Join us for this unique meditation retreat combining traditional Buddhist practices with recovery and healing. Primarily conducted in silence, the retreat focuses on insight/mindfulness meditation, with additional interactive exercises, lectures,…