Financial Support

Our mission is to make all of our programs accessible. Every fee-based offering has a limited number of pay-what-you-can spots available to support self-identified people of color, members of marginalized groups (queer people, transgender people, and  people with disabilities) and those in financial need (those for whom the cost to attend is not financially possible). 

These spots are offered on a first come, first served basis. Please pay at the highest level you can afford. In order for this support to be available, we rely on those who can afford to pay the full price to do so.

Find out if spots are available by clicking REGISTER NOW on the event you are interested in.

Safety 

We work to protect the safety of all students. We reserve the right to remove any student from any class, sitting group, retreat, or any event if the student is disruptive to the safe learning environment we maintain for all.

Cancellation & Refunds

We reserve the right to cancel a class or special event due to low enrollment or other circumstances which would make the event non-viable. If InsightLA cancels an event you’ve registered for, you will be offered a full refund. If an event has to be postponed for any reason, you will have the option to either receive a full refund or transfer your registration to the same event at the new, future date. If you cancel, we apply a 5% credit processing fee and the refunded amounts are listed below:

MBSR, MSC, & MBHC, Mindfulness for Beginners & Special Events

7 days – 95% Refund
<7 days – No Refunds – Credit given if requested or donation to InsightLA

Fee-Based Non-Residential Retreats (note: Donations are non-refundable)

>7 days – 95% Refund
<7 days – No Refunds – Credit given if requested or donation to InsightLA

Residential Retreats

> 8 weeks – amount paid less $100
4-8 weeks – amount paid less $175
2-4 weeks – amount paid less $300
< 2 weeks – No refund

Residential Retreats with Financial Support:

> 8 weeks – amount paid less $75
4-8 weeks – amount paid less $100
2-4 weeks – amount paid less $200
< 2 weeks – No refund

Residential Retreats (Multi Day Retreat)

Building Resilience in Challenging Times

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Kittasaro

Thanissara

Gullu Singh, JD

Gabrielle Hammond

  • Location Big Bear Retreat Center
  • Experience Levels All
  • Date Starts Tuesday, December 20, 2022
    Ends Monday, December 26, 2022

    6 nights
  • Ride Sharing Sign-Up

Refund and Event Policies

This retreat is nearing full. We have select rooms available. If interested, please email andreas@bigbearretreatcenter.org with your room request/preference (ie female double room)

Join us in the serene San Bernardino Mountains amongst the pine trees! This retreat is a hybrid, to join online click here. 

Please note this retreat meets the requirements for participants in Jack Kornfield + Tara Brach’s Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification program through Sounds True.

The form of the retreat is held in contemplative silence and includes meditation instruction, Dharma talks, classical meditation practices, Qi Gong, multiple daily sessions of chanting, mantra practice, and ceremony. There will be opportunities to meet with the teachers and share within the group.

This retreat is offered to strengthen refuge and resilience to better resource ourselves within the intensity of these times by drawing from a unique synthesis of Insight meditation and the Kuan Yin Dharmas. This approach, cultivated over the years by Kittisaro and Thanissara, provides a context for the practice of contemplative inquiry, which supports embodying the transformative power of the Bodhisattva path.

The beloved Elder, Thich Nhat Hanh, taught, “we are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.” At this inflection point in our planetary journey, we are caught between a regressive, divisive force energized by fear, and an evolutionary longing to leap beyond old painful systems of extraction and oppression that are destroying the Earth.

At the crux of this dynamic is the free will of the human heart/mind. The Buddha said this mind “is the forerunner of all things.” Endeavoring to honor his words we will be working with body, mind, and heart, aligned within the deep listening of Kuan Yin to better prepare ourselves as conduits for service, as taught by Ajahn Chah, of the Living Dharma.

The teaching team supporting this retreat, all bring exceptional contributions to our collective exploration of awakening and cultivation of the Bodhisattva heart.  Special attention will be given to the care of self and body alongside care from the team to hold the space with realness, mutual respect, and a lightness of being.

Tentative Schedule (subject to change)
Day 1:
2:00-4:00 Arrival and Check-In
5:30 Dinner
7:00 Opening Ceremony
9:30 Rest/Further Practice – Sharing of Blessings

Days 2-6:
6.00 Quan Yin Bowing
6:10 Silent Sitting/Stationary Meditation
6:50 Chanting
7:15 Walking/Movement Meditation
8:00 Meal Time
9:00 Instructional Sitting/Stationary Meditation with Teacher Input 
10:00 Walking/Movement Meditation or Small Groups (when assigned)
10:45 Silent Sitting/Stationary Meditation
11:30 Qi Gong
12:30 Lunch
2:30  Silent Sitting/Stationary Meditation with a Few Words and/or Chant
3:00 Walking/Movement Meditation or Small Groups (when assigned)
3:30 Silent Sitting/Stationary Meditation
4:15 Walking/Movement
5:00 Silent Sitting/Stationary Meditation
5:30 Evening Meal
7:00 Chanting and Sitting/Stationary Meditation
7:30 Break
7:40 Dharma Talk
8:30 Walking/Movement Meditation
9:00 Silent Sitting/Stationary Meditation
9:30 Rest/Further Practice – Sharing of Blessings

Day 7:
5:30  Wake-up
6.00 Quan Yin Bowing
6:10 Silent Sitting/Stationary Meditation
6:50 Chanting
7:15 Work Period (when assigned) or Walking/Movement Meditation
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Closing Ceremony
10:45 Retreat Ends (please be checked out by 12pm)

COVID Requirements (read more):
-Proof of full vaccination + boost
-Proof of negative covid PCR test within 3 days prior to arrival
-Masks Required Indoors for first 48-72 hours

To offer or join a ride share, click Sign-Up to the left. Thank you for supporting fellow practitioners.

Kittasaro

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Kittisaro graduated from Princeton as a Rhodes Scholar. After leaving Oxford in 1976, he ordained with Ajahn Chah in Thailand. During his 15 years as a Buddhist monk, he helped found Chithurst and Hartridge Monasteries in the UK. Since disrobing in 1991, he has taught meditation internationally in the States, Europe,... Read more

Thanissara

Thanissara is an Anglo-Irish teacher from London and started Buddhist practice in the Burmese school of U Ba Khin in 1975. She was inspired to ordain after meeting Ajahn Chah and spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun where she was a founding member of Chithurst and Amaravati Buddhist Monasteries in England. Her practice and... Read more

Gullu Singh, JD

Gulwinder “Gullu” Singh is a mindfulness and Dharma teacher who also practices corporate real estate law. Although he was exposed to meditation as a child, he found his own practice when, after law school, he found himself working at high-powered law firms where the job was extremely stressful. Gullu completed the four-year Spirit Rock Meditation... Read more

Gabrielle Hammond

Gabrielle Hammond (Movement Teacher | Qigong) has been practicing as an acupuncturist and doctor of Taoist and Traditional Chinese Medicine for past 28 years, under the tutelage of a 64th generation Taoist Master Chang Yi Hsiang, who initiated her journey into contemplative arts, meditation, and qigong practice at a young age. Gabrielle continues to teach... Read more

Pricing Options
Single Room Private Bath $2620
Single Room Shared Bath $2200
Double Room $1180
Triple Room $760
Need Financial Support?

Financial Support

Our mission is to make all of our programs accessible. Every fee-based offering has a limited number of pay-what-you-can spots available to support members of marginalized groups (people of color, queer people, people with disabilities) and those in financial need (those for whom the cost to attend is not financially possible).

These spots are offered on a first come, first served basis. Please pay at the highest level you can afford. In order for this support to be available, we rely on those who can afford to pay the full price to do so.

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