Formal mindfulness sitting practice works on many different levels. There are innumerable mindfulness practices taught by the Buddha, e.g., the four protective reflections:

• on the qualities of the Buddha
  for faith and aspiration.
• on lovingkindness
  for compassion and arresting all forms of aversion.
• on the perception of the unbeautiful
  to attenuate desire and attachment.
• on death
  to arouse a sense of spiritual urgency.

…the Four Divine Abodes, the Five Reflections, the Three Refuges, and in addition, Mahāsi Sayadaw offers additional preparatory practices for insight meditation.

All these and others will be offered, one a week as guided meditations over the course of the Training to supplement the continuity of mindfulness for development of insight.

Students will be expected to commit to and maintain
a daily, formal, mindfulness sitting practice.

In addition, it is with the understanding that ­‘development of the ten pāramis prepares the mind for the liberating insights’ that they too will be included in this Training. Each month, there will be readings, reflections and regular practices of one of the ten pāramis. The paramis are the qualities of a mind purified of attachment, aversion and delusion, eg. generosity, lovingkindness, equanimity, renunciation, wisdom, etc. Remembering to practice the monthly pārami a few times daily will be encouraged as the informal householder’s awareness practices outside of intensive retreat. Kamala will be offering teachings and guided meditations on Metta, Harmony, Truthfulness, Patience and Equanimity. Steve will offer teachings and meditations on Generosity, Renunciation, Resolve, Energy and Wisdom.

Minimum time commitment:
Formal and guided meditation practices: 1/2–2+ hours/day
Informal: regular daily pārami practice

Spiritual friendship
is the whole of the holy life.
—Buddha

Faith in the sangha as a refuge to support your practice involves sharing your faith, practice experiences, doubts, questions, inspirations, insights, etc., with other practitioners. The development of a sangha of “spiritual friendship” will be encouraged while on retreat and also through weekly online sharing, regular practice check-ins, group discussion and periodic conference calls. These practice forums will be hosted and/or moderated. Participants will be encouraged to form smaller, self-selected groups for more sharing on interested topics. All are welcome to participate on the conference calls.

Minimum time commitment: 1–2+ hours/week

The right view of the Dhamma
will lead to long-term welfare & happiness.
—Buddha

Active study of the Buddha’s teachings along with historical and contemporary commentaries is necessary to straighten one’s views and to practice intelligently. Right views, the first of the Noble Eightfold Path factors, are essential for faithful aspiration and effective practice for realizing the Four Noble Truths.

We will be reading extensive excerpts from two Burmese traditions of awareness practice for insight: Mahāsi Sayadaw for close guidance during periods of intensive practice while on retreat, and Sayadaw U Tejaniya for guidance in continuity of awareness during daily life experiences. Both these practice traditions are grounded in an understanding of the abhidhamma. Material from the excerpts will be integrated into the guided meditations, exercises for awareness in daily life and the retreat discourses. Discussion of the readings will be encouraged online and/or in small groups.

Minimum time commitment: 3–5+ hours/month

It is not difficult to be aware or mindful.
It is difficult to get what you want.
It is difficult to maintain awareness continuously.
For this you need right effort,
which is simply perseverance;
[and this] will help you to fulfill the objective of mindfulness meditation,
which is vipassana insights.
—Sayadaw U Tejaniya

At the three residential retreats at Cloud Mountain Retreat Center (CMRC) in Castle Rock, Washington, Steve will offer a progressive series of refined instructions building upon the prior retreat material. Twenty-three days of secluded, continuous awareness within an ongoing daily practice over 10 months offer a unique opportunity to deepen understanding beyond the traditional 7- or 9-day introductory dhamma talks, to receive precise practice guidance, to develop stability of mind and resultant meditative experience and for insight knowledge to unfold. It is this continuity, encouraged by both Burmese traditions, that holds the key to the emergence of authentic, liberating vipassanā insights.

Minimum time commitment: 23 days residential retreat

According to the Buddha’s teaching,
awareness practice for insight
enables one to realize the Four Noble Truths.
—Mahāsi Sayadaw

March 15, 2017………………….. Applications closed

March 31, 2017………………….. Lottery drawn! Participants notified to register via CMRC website

April 30, 2017…………………….. Registration and deposit are due

January 1, 2018………………….. First monthly online materials

January 12–19, 2018……………“Remembering Mindfulness” Retreat Training at CMRC

February–June, 2018…………… Monthly online materials and check-ins

June 29–July 8, 2018…………..“Stabilizing the Mind” Retreat Training at CMRC

July–October, 2018……………… Monthly online materials and check-ins

October 19–26, 2018……………“Unfolding Wisdom of Awareness” Retreat Training at CMRC

This Training is being offered as an integrated whole and if selected, you will be registering for the entire program of 4 modules. The Training fees below include the retreat fees to cover CMRC’s overhead costs for organizing and hosting the Module #4 retreats, and a $500 developmental fee to cover Vipassana Metta Foundation’s costs of designing, administering and hosting the online portions of the Training: Modules #1, 2, & 3.

The Registration fees are offered on a tiered scale. Please register at the highest level you can in order to assist those who are less financially able.

• Subsidized:………………………$2250 plus dāna offerings
• Supporting:………………………$2450 plus dāna offerings
• Sustaining:……………………….$2650 plus dāna offerings

• April 30, 2017…………………… $1200 deposit and registration submitted to CMRC.
• September 1, 2017…………… the balance of registration fee due to CMRC.

Scholarship funds will be available for this Training, including general scholarships and young adult scholarships: to subsidize up to four participants aged 18–35. If you wish to request a scholarship, you can indicate this on the Application and Registration forms.

Steve and others will continue the tradition offering both the retreat and online teachings on a dāna basis. The practice of dāna is the first pārami and one of the three pillars of stabilizing your life in the Dhamma. There will be opportunities at each retreat to offer dāna to Steve for the teachings, for CMRC staff, and for meal dāna. You can read more about dana here.

Please note: Non-refundable portions of Training fees are also non-transferable to other individuals or retreats.

It is only possible to cancel your participation in the Training as a whole. In the event that you unavoidably miss one of the retreats, you will not be eligible for any kind of refund. The instructions and guidance at the retreats along with the conference calls will be audio-recorded and the Dhamma talks and Q&A sessions of the retreats will be video-recorded. These recordings will not be made available to the general public, but will be offered online for Training participants use only.

If you discover that you are unable to participate after registering but prior to the start of the Training, please contact CMRC as soon as possible to cancel, so that your space can be offered to another person. Please note that you cannot transfer your space to anyone else. In the event you cancel your participation in the Training, CMRC will refund a portion of your payment according to the following refund schedule.

For cancellation notifications:

•    prior to June 12, 2017……………………………………………………….. $150 cancel fee
  
•    between June 13–September 12, 2017……………………….. $450 cancel fee
•    between September 13–December 12, 2017………………. $900 cancel fee
•    after December 12, 2017…………………………………………………… Forfeiture of full fee

This cancellation policy is necessary due to the improbability of filling any space opened up by such cancellation after the Training has begun. To support cohesion and continuity for the group as a whole, new participants will not be allowed into the program at a point soon after the first retreat. Because offering a program consisting of multiple retreats differs from registering an individual for one retreat at a time, the policy in place for this program differs from the one most retreatants are accustomed to for CMRC retreats. Exceptions to the cancellation policy will be considered for personal and family medical emergencies only.