About the Program

In our fast-paced world, when do we have the chance to pause, reflect, and listen deeply? Is there an inner calling to live a life devoted to spiritual growth and transformation? Do we want to go to the “frontier of our mind,” to see what is our highest potential? 

This Monastic Immersion Program at Redwood Vihara is an opportunity to ask ourselves:

• Where am I going?

• What is true freedom and happiness? 

• How can I live a life aligned with my deepest values?

• How can I be of real service to others, society, and to the world?

Together as a community, immersed in the Buddha’s teachings, we will explore these questions within a contemplative monastic setting in the redwood forest. The natural setting lessens the distractions of the world, providing a sanctuary to observe and learn from what is arising in our hearts, bodies and minds. 

This immersion is designed for men who have a strong commitment to deepen their spiritual practice, to embody the Dharma, and to live a life of generosity. We commit to living by the Four Boundless Hearts (loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity) as well as Master Hua’s Six Guidelines (not fighting, not being greedy, not seeking, not being selfish, not pursuing personal advantage, and not lying).

The immersion is about “returning to our nature” in nature. This “returning” consists mostly of “letting go” of our conditioning, to find a freedom of mind and ground of well-being that is not dependent on external factors. Given the immersive nature of the program, participants need to have a regular spiritual practice and have spent some time overnight at aDRBA monastery in order to apply.

The program will be hosted by the resident monastic Sangha at Redwood Vihara, with guidance from senior teachers of DRBA.

How Does the Program Work?

The program is structured around four main areas. Practice and spiritual cultivation is weaved into the fabric of daily life.  

• Practice (meditation, recitation, bowing, chanting, Vinaya)

• Service (kitchen, facility maintenance, website, etc.) 

• Study (immersion in Sutra-treasury and philosophical texts)

• Community (noble friendship, mutual encouragement and feedback)

We will use the Dharma-Vinaya and monastic schedule as a container to establish a healthy and virtuous ecosystem that is conducive to spiritual growth and practice. All participants of the program will be required to uphold the Community Pledge to maintain this sacred space for our shared inquiry. The Six Guidelines and the Four Boundless Hearts will be the intentional culture of all our interactions.

The Training is designed around the Noble Eightfold Path, and will involve learning essential cultivation skills such as mindfulness of the breath, body awareness, loving-kindness practice, recitation, memorization, careful listening, wise speech, and occasional periods of noble silence. These skills not only support our inner peace and well-being, but allows us to live together harmoniously in community. The Buddhist sutras/suttas and commentaries will serve as roadmaps for our spiritual journeys; the biographies of great teachers will be our models for practice.

Our polestar will be the Bodhi Resolve, the commitment to awakening in order to serve all living beings. This cultivation begins with nurturing our own inner well-being that then expands to include others, and ripples out to the entire world. Compassion and wisdom emerges naturally in our day to day life in the monastery. 

In a community of noble friends, we will “return to the root, and go back to the source.” How deep we go is up to each of us.

Schedule 

Daily Schedule (subject to change)

4:00-4:50AM Morning Recitation

5:00-6:00 Meditation / Exercise / Yoga / Rest

6:15-7:15 Meditation

7:15-8:00 Physical Movement

8:00-8:20 Chores

8:20-8:45 Breakfast & Cleanup

8:45-9:00 Morning Gathering

9:00-11:15 Community Work

11:15-11:30 Meal Offering

11:30-1:00PM Noon Meal + Three Refuges + Cleanup

1:00-4:00 Practice / Self-Study / Classes

5:15-6:15PM Meditation

6:30-7:30/7:50 Evening Recitation & Mantra Heart

7:30 or 8:00-9:00 Evening Class

10:00 Lights Out

Weekly Schedule

• Classes with senior teachers. 

• Weekend Dharma Assemblies

• Work Days

• Community Gatherings

• Circles

• Individual meetings with resident monastics

We will also join the activities and sessions at other DRBA monasteries such as Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and Snow Mountain Monastery.