Where: Cloud Mountain Retreat Center, about 75 minutes north of Portland
When: September 11, 2026 to September 16, 2026
RSVP: register via Cloud Mountain
Overview
This retreat focuses on cultivating steady awareness in every moment of practice—sitting, walking, and daily activities. As we meet experience with openness, understanding naturally grows.
Awareness is not about forcing the mind into a particular state, but about gently noticing whatever is present, whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. At the same time, we nurture an attitude of kindness and goodwill, allowing awareness to be supported by a kind and friendly attitude. This quality of kindness helps the mind stay soft and receptive, so that wisdom can unfold in a natural and balanced way.
Together, awareness, kindness, and wisdom create the conditions for a practice that is steady, grounded, and freeing, both on retreat and in daily life.
This retreat is open to all, and is suitable for beginners as well as experienced meditators. There will be teachings, instructions, periods of sitting and walking meditation, practice dialogues with the teachers, and Q&R opportunities. The retreat is held in Noble Silence.
Teachers
My dear spiritual friend, Vance Pryor, will be the lead teacher, and I will be assisting him. Vance and I met in 2014 at the Shwe Oo Min monastery in Myanmar. We have a shared teacher in Sayadaw U Tejaniya and a very similar vision of the dhamma. It is such a blessing to get to hold this space with him. Here is Vance’s formal bio:
Vance Pryor, Psy.D., has been practicing insight meditation since 1999. He has been deeply influenced by the teachings of Mahasi Sayadaw, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Kamala Masters, and Steve Armstrong. He is a graduate of the 2017-2021 Insight Meditation Society’s Teacher Training Program.
Registration & Fees
This retreat is being hosted by the Cloud Mountain Retreat Center, which invited Vance and I to teacher this retreat.
They handle all the registration, questions, logistics, and fees. More info here.
They charge $440 to $690 sliding scale, though I know they can be quite generous with scholarships if cost is a barrier. That fee pays for the staff, food and facilities.
You are also welcome to offer a donation to support Vance and I, who receive no fee and both teach on an entirely donation basis.
Out of Town Participants
I’m guessing a number of sangha members will be in attendance. In turn, if you are coming from out-of-town, it’s likely you could catch a ride or stay with someone the night before or after. You can coordinate this via the Discord channel, or just message me.
I may try to coordinate some greater sangha activity that Sunday afternoon, when the retreat ends, if a number of folks come to town. Or maybe we just stick around a little bit at the end of the retreat to connect with each other.