Written by Noel Coakley

“The point of practicing on a retreat is to be able to practice in the rest of life. We lean into the outer refuge of a special place, a special community, and special conditions in order to develop familiarity with our inner refuge — qualities of the heart and mind that are always right here.”

No. But also very much so.

Most of us are not living a monastic life. We have jobs, families, communities. We are taking the “householder” path.

We are constantly bombarded by things competing for our most precious resource of attention. The to-do list keeps repopulating; it’s an active effort to make time for on-the-cushion practice, which supports our capacity to keep practice integrated into the rest of the business.

Putting aside dedicated time to “retreat” from usual activities is a method of kickstarting, reinvigorating, or deep-diving practice.

The habit of meditation can get away from us. It happens to everyone. It can help to engage in a longer practice or series of practices to remember, “Oh yeah, that’s why I do this.” Knowing the benefits logically is different from experiential familiarity.

When we are learning or relearning a practice, dedicating a solid block of undivided attention for it gives us the chance to really steep in it, contemplate it, and practice relatively free from the distractions that usually pull on our attention. On a group retreat, this is further supported by being in community (sangha) with others doing the same.

Retreat and on-the-cushion practice is like working in a lab; we reduce as many variables as possible in order to understand something. Once we do that, we then have to add all of the variables back in, slowly, in order to understand that particular thing in various contexts and integrate it.

Then, post-retreat, it’s easier to connect with practice. We can remember that experience more readily and find our way back to it. Habits of mind are built off frequency and recency; the more often and recently we have a direct experience influences the likelihood of continuing that experience. We have developed a stronger habit of mind that allows us to integrate practice into daily life.

Ultimately, we can connect with the natural capacities of our heart and mind anytime, because they are always right here. Peace, patience, spaciousness, love, compassion, and wisdom are all natural aspects of our hearts and minds. They are always right here. But they get clouded over by habits of mind. So, technically, we don’t need retreats or special conditions to do so. It just makes it easier to evoke these qualities.

The point of practicing on a retreat is to be able to practice in the rest of life. We lean into the outer refuge of a special place, a special community, and special conditions in order to develop familiarity with our inner refuge — qualities of the heart and mind that are always right here.