Guidelines for Entering, Abiding, and Departing Long Meditation Retreats and Sesshins
A Zen priest offers helpful suggestions for seamlessly transitioning between daily life and spiritual sojourns.
Jul 02, 2025
Adjustments can be made if the retreat is online, including online posture and appropriate environment around the computer, dress, and state of mind.
Many ask, “How do I enter into a silent meditation ritual/retreat and then re-engage the world upon departure?” Buddhist retreats are not of the “spa” nature but more of a shamanic ritual with deep work within and without. Due to the shamanic effects of meditation, I have shared these guidelines for entering, participating, and departing rituals at home or at retreat centers. The silence will expand the territory of your life and may align you with your breath and perhaps allow life to unfold without tampering with it for a day, week, month, or however long your journey of engaging your mind and body. Eventually, retreats will be seamless—you come and you go. Also retreats will become seamless between your life and the scheduled retreats—just another day. But here are a few suggestions you can adjust to your life:
Entering Rituals
• A week to two weeks prior to the time of your retreat, go to bed early, rise early, sit, eat less (eat mostly green vegetables and brown or forbidden rice, and consume less sugar, salt, etc.)
• Drink calming teas such as tulsi (holy basil).
• Reduce or eliminate alcoholic and caffeinated drinks. Discuss the use of cannabis or other medications with your practice leader as to whether or not it will interfere with your sit. Take your usual medications and do not expect to be cured through meditation.
• Read less; view less TV (news, movies, etc.); lessen phone, email, and social media use; and reduce work and contact with others. Less, less, less. . . .
• Rest, rest, and more rest. Do not go to retreat to rest. Catch up on your sleep so that you are awake for the ceremony. Come energized and do not look for the retreat to energize you.
• Walk more than usual to move angst through the body.
• Bathe more often.
• Refrain from any serious conversations or dialogues that need processing but cannot be completed before your retreat.