2025 Insight Meditation 2-Month Retreat - Application (208R25)
Dawn Scott, Vance Pryor, Tuere Sala, Brian Lesage, devon hase, JD Doyle, Tara Mulay, Tempel Smith, Devin Berry, Anushka Fernandopulle, Kristina Baré, MFT, SEP, Francisco Morillo Gable, Marjolein Janssen and Rasika Link
February 1 - March 29, 2025
The application period opens at 9:00am (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Those who apply between July 10 – August 28, 2024 (by 11:59pm Pacific Time) will be included in the first round of notifications.
Admission for this retreat is by application and a lottery-style selection in order to maintain a diverse community of practitioners – see “Application Process” for more information. PLEASE READ all details below before applying.
RETREAT TO BE HELD ON THE LAND!
PREREQUISITE:
Prerequisites for Two-Month Retreat (56-night retreat): BEFORE applying you must have already completed at least 21 nights of silent residential retreat time. This retreat time must include a minimum of three (3) silent residential retreats with each of these six (6) nights or longer.
Other Important Notes About Prerequisites: These retreats must have been led by Spirit Rock, IMS, or IRC teachers, or other recognized Insight Meditation teachers. Previous retreats must be silent residential retreats and have a similar format to this retreat, with instructions, practices, and talks focused on Insight Meditation. Online retreats do not qualify for these retreat prerequisites. When applying, you will need to provide the teachers’ names, dates, location, length (# of nights), and style of the retreats.
RETREAT DESCRIPTION:
An extended retreat period offers the rare opportunity for sustained, dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of Insight practice. Instructions will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness, influenced by the teachings of Mahasi Sayadaw and other Theravada (Insight Meditation) traditions, and will be supported by a variety of skillful means. The teachings will encompass training in the heart qualities of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, with a daily schedule structured around periods of silent meditation, guided instructions, Dharma talks, practice meetings with teachers, and optional mindful movement.
These extended retreats (as with all retreats at Spirit Rock) are NOT open for self-retreats.
February Teaching Team:
Dawn Scott, Vance Pryor, Tuere Sala, Brian Lesage, devon hase, JD Doyle, Rasika Link (movement)
March Teaching Team:
Tara Mulay, Tempel Smith, Tuere Sala, Devin Berry, Anushka Fernandopulle, Kristina Baré, Francisco Morillo Gable (assistant), Marjolein Janssen (assistant), Rasika Link (movement)
TWO-MONTH SLIDING SCALE:
Please consider selecting the highest possible level you can reasonably afford: your generosity supports your community of practitioners who need to pay less as well as staff and Spirit Rock.
*NOTE: All two-month attendees will have a single room.
Supporter Rate – $23,240 (covers cost of retreat, plus a deeply generous dana offering to Spirit Rock)
Benefactor Rate – $16,800 (covers cost of retreat, with a meaningful dana contribution to Spirit Rock)
Sustainer Rate – $12,320 (covers cost of retreat)
Basic Rate – $9,240 (partially subsidized rate)
Scholarship Rate (YA, BIPOC, M/K) – $4,200 (significantly subsidized rate)
PLUS a donation to the teacher(s).
CANCELLATION POLICY – Two-Month Retreat:
- $350 fee* = on or before December 7, 2024 (> 8 weeks)
- $600 fee* = December 8, 2024 – January 4, 2025 (4-8 weeks)
- $850 fee* = January 5 – 18, 2025 (2-4 weeks)
- No refunds = January 19, 2025 or after (applies to ALL participants)
*Fees reduced 50% for scholarship participants, excluding last tier.
APPLICATION PROCESS:
The application period opens at 9:00am (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Those who apply July 10 – August 28, 2024 (by 11:59pm Pacific Time) will be included in the first round of notifications.
Participants will be selected from the pool of applicants with priority given to BIPOC folks, young adults, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+ (whether scholarships are requested or not).
First round notifications will be sent via email by Friday, September 20, 2024. Please refrain from calling or emailing before this deadline. We will need this time to process all applications, coordinate with teachers, and allocate scholarship funding. If you are selected, you will receive an email with a special link to register and pay your retreat fees online. If you end up on the wait list, you will be notified of your relative position on the wait list.
For All Applicants: To be included in the first round of notifications, your application must be complete, including prerequisites already met, and submitted by the deadline. No exceptions.
If you submit an application after August 28, 2024:
We will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis after the initial deadline of August 28 until the start of the retreat. Applications received after this date will be put on a wait list if the retreat is full.
Scholarships:
Scholarship funding is offered to those needing financial assistance to attend. We receive many more requests for scholarships than we have funding for so we cannot guarantee scholarships will be available to all in need.
For monthlong retreats only: Spirit Rock extends the upper age limit of the Young Adult (YA) scholarship rate to individuals 18-32 years of age. A limited number of these YA rates will be available.
If you need scholarship funds to attend, once the application is available, please complete the Scholarship Section. Funding may likely not be available later.
EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2024 – Covid-19 Safety Protocols for residential retreats have been updated..
About the Teachers
![](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2020/02/Spirit-Rock-Staff-Dawn-Scott2.jpg)
Dawn Scott
Dawn Scott has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2008. She is a graduate of the Insight Meditation Society’s teacher training program and is a core teacher of Spirit Rock’s Liberation, Emptiness, and Awareness Practices (LEAP) Program. Dawn has a deep love of long retreat practice and the Buddha's liberative teachings.
Learn more about Dawn Scott![](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2020/11/Spirit-Rock-Teacher-Vance-Pryor.jpg)
Vance Pryor
Vance Pryor has practiced insight meditation since 1999 in both the United States and Myanmar. He has been influenced by the teachings of Sayadaw U Pandita and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. He is a graduate of The Insight Meditation Society's 2017-2021 Teacher Training Program.
Learn more about Vance Pryor![Tuere Sala](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2020/06/spirit-rock-teacher-tuere-sala.jpg)
Tuere Sala
Tuere Sala is a Guiding Teacher at Spirit Rock Retreat Center and Seattle Insight. She is a retired prosecuting attorney who has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 30 years. Tuere is committed to lay practice and inspired by bringing the Dharma to nontraditional places. She is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, […]
Learn more about Tuere Sala![](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2019/04/Brian_Lesage.jpg)
Brian Lesage
Brian Lesage has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1988 and has taught meditation since 2000. He has studied in the Zen, Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism. He was ordained in the Rinzai Zen tradition in 1996. His training in Vipassana Meditation includes doing extended meditation retreats in Myanmar (Burma), Nepal and India as well as numerous […]
Learn more about Brian Lesage![](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2020/02/Spirit-Rock-Teacher-Devon-Hase_2.jpg)
devon hase
devon hase loves long retreats. Cumulatively, she’s spent four years in silent practice in the Insight and Vajrayana traditions. Since discovering meditation in 2000, she has put dharma and community at the center of her life: she spent a decade bringing mindfulness to high school and college classrooms and now teaches at the Insight Meditation […]
Learn more about devon hase![JD Doyle](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2020/02/spirit-rock-teacher-JD-Doyle.jpg)
JD Doyle
JD Doyle (they/them) served as Core Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center, where they co-founded the Alphabet(LGBTQIA+) Sangha, and as Guiding Teacher at Insight Santa Cruz. They graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Retreat Teacher Training in 2020. They teach at sanghas across the US and in Canada. JD began studying and practicing Buddhism […]
Learn more about JD Doyle![](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2020/02/spirit-rock-teacher-tara-mulay-1.jpg)
Tara Mulay
Tara Mulay teaches and mentors Insight Meditation Practitioners to refine their mindfulness practice, both on the meditation cushion and in daily life. She was trained and authorized to teach by Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts and is a Guiding Teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Tara began her intensive mindfulness practice while working as […]
Learn more about Tara Mulay![](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2019/04/Tempel_Smith.jpg)
Tempel Smith
Tempel Smith teaches Mindfulness, Insight and Metta meditation with an emphasis on Buddhist psychology and mind-body awareness. He spent a year as a monk in Burma with Sayadaw U Pandita and Pa Auk Sayadaw. Tempel serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council, organizes the Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP) and Living Dharma retreats for Spirit Rock […]
Learn more about Tempel Smith![](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2019/03/Devin_Berry.jpg)
Devin Berry
Devin Berry is co-founder of Deeper Still, a teen meditation sangha at East Bay Meditation Center and serves as a founding board member of Mindful Peacebuilding. A meditation practitioner since 1999, he is a student of Thich Nhat Hanh as well as a Vipassana practitioner. Devin is a graduate of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher-training practicum. […]
Learn more about Devin Berry![Anushka Fernandopulle](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2019/04/spirit-rock-teacher-anushka-fernandopulle.jpg)
Anushka Fernandopulle
Anushka Fernandopulle is a Spirit Rock Retreat Teacher who has trained for over 35 years in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Anushka studied Buddhism at Harvard College and then spent four years in full-time Dharma and meditation training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka. Anushka was invited to teach Dharma […]
Learn more about Anushka Fernandopulle![Kristina Baré](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2021/06/spirit-rock-teacher-kristina-bare.jpg)
Kristina Baré, MFT, SEP
Kristina Baré is an insight meditation teacher, therapist, and Somatic Experiencing practitioner. She has trained primarily in the Burmese lineages of Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw and Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw. She enjoys supporting students deepening samadhi, loving-kindness and insight. Opening the door to an expansion of the heart and to liberating wisdom. In support of the […]
Learn more about Kristina Baré, MFT, SEP![Francisco Morillo Gable](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2022/02/spirit-rock-teacher-francisco-morillo-gable.jpg)
Francisco Morillo Gable
Francisco has been devoted to Dharma since 2003. Thanks to this, he made an unexpected recovery from an accident that rendered him disabled. He studies and teaches early Buddhism with Bikkhu Analayo. He is in teacher training at the Insight Meditation Center with Andrea Fella and Gil Fronsdal. His primary interests are teaching underserved groups […]
Learn more about Francisco Morillo Gable![Marjolein Janssen](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2021/07/spirit-rock-teacher-marjolein-janssen.jpg)
Marjolein Janssen
Marjolein (pronunciation “Mar-yo-line”) Janssen is originally from the Netherlands. Since 2011 she has been practicing insight meditation intensively in Europe, the US, as well as Myanmar, where she was ordained as a Buddhist nun. Marjolein brings both formal practice and practice in daily life to her teachings. She seeks to offer a practical approach to […]
Learn more about Marjolein Janssen![Rasika Link](https://cdn-secure.retreat.guru/wp-content/uploads/sites/572/2022/02/spirit-rock-teacher-rasika-link.jpg)
Rasika Link
Rasika has been practicing and teaching hatha yoga since 1984. She has been influenced by many teachers in both the Iyengar and Kripalu traditions. In 1999 she began vipassana practices at Spirit Rock, and her yoga classes gradually shifted to a more concentrated, mindful style of teaching. She invites curiosity to awaken in the asanas […]
Learn more about Rasika LinkCategories : Application, Multi-day, On-land, Prerequisite, Residential, Retreat