One of the retreat cabins at Milarepa Center in the snow.

Milarepa Center is an FPMT retreat center located in rural Barnet, Vermont, in the United States. The center is situated on 275 acres of serene Vermont beauty with a Stupa of Many of Doors, a set of 10 prayer wheels, and forest trails for walking/hiking. Director Dawn Holtz reflects on the importance of solitary retreat, the obstacles that may be keeping us from engaging in this practice, and offers encouragement for those considering solitary retreat as a way to progress on the path: 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains in Heart Advice for Retreat, “Retreat helps draw your consciousness away from hallucination and into reality. It helps you discover your inner self. Only by recognizing the hallucinations that have been catching the mind and learning to distinguish between what is true and what is false is it possible to change our lives for the better. All such development of the mind comes from doing retreat. So retreat is the foundation of true development.”  

Solitary retreat practice is so incredibly important for advancement on the path but how does one make it happen while living a life? Besides financial obstacles, most students have jobs, children, spouses, and all sorts of other things that may pose obstacles to engaging in the practice of solitary retreat. After 10+ years of supporting private solitary retreats here at Milarepa Center, as well as conducting many solitary retreats myself over the years, I have come to understand that the biggest obstacle is the mind. One simply needs to let go of romantic ideas of being in retreat for months or years at a time in some remote location and begin with making retreat a regular ongoing part of daily life.

Over the years, I have heard students comment that they are not able to set aside “enough time” for solitary retreat so they delay the practice. What is “enough time” and what exactly is the measure for this? Sadly, most will end up never engaging in retreat practice and/or when they are ready to try, they may have other obstacles from health issues due to aging, stress, overworking, unhealthy eating, etc. There seems to be a common belief among practitioners that retreat is not as valuable unless it is a “long-term” retreat and this is simply not true! A short weekend retreat done with proper motivation and commitment can yield realizations. There will always be obstacles and distractions, Western culture is designed that way, but if one starts building a private retreat practice from where they are, little by little a long-term practice is created.

Personally speaking, my service here at Milarepa Center for the last nine years had, (in my mind), been an obstacle to my ability to conduct long-term retreat until I shifted my thinking. I realized I simply needed to change my mindset and ideals about what retreat looks like. In the past few years, solitary retreat practice has grown to be the main aspect of my life and practice and in between retreat sessions I work to make the money I need, see friends/family, take care of personal things, etc. It took careful planning and time to get myself set up to live in this way and to get friends, family, and coworkers used to the idea of me not being readily available for stretches of time but it has all worked out and has been a continual process of learning and adjusting. There are also several people who come here to Milarepa Center regularly for private retreats and in between their retreats they take care of their life responsibilities.

Many religious traditions beyond Buddhism incorporate the practice of retreat and emphasize its importance in one’s spiritual practice and advancing on the path. Episcopal priest and teacher Margaret Guenther wrote in Holy Listening, “Retreat time helps in maintaining a healthy perspective. A retreat is not synonymous with a vacation; the former has an intentional austerity. The radically simplified environment discourages inner clutter. In most religious houses there is “nothing to do”—no games, no distractions, no loud noises, no TV, no busyness. Instead, there is silence, simple food, adequate space, and the security of being surrounded by a praying community.”

Financial challenges are another big obstacle for students who wish to conduct retreat. While Milarepa Center keeps retreats very affordable the reality is, here in the West, we do not have a culture that supports meditators in retreat. There are students who have been able and fortunate enough to find benefactors and that is wonderful but reliance on this can lead to difficult situations, obligatory strains on relationships, and not to mention having to leave retreat if the money stops coming in. Taking time in between retreat sessions to make money is a very real and reasonable way to support one’s own retreat practice as well as bringing the fruits of the practice off the cushion and into the world from time to time. Planting seeds in this way can begin to normalize regular retreat and create a culture of new yogis and yoginis here in the West supporting one another inside and outside of retreat by inspiring each other and showing others that it is possible to have a regular retreat practice rather than it being reserved for the chosen few with good connections. Supporting one’s own retreat also strengthens the commitment and relationship to a long term retreat practice and way of life and may even create the causes and conditions for a benefactor to manifest!

A collective individuation process is taking place and metaphorically speaking, Milarepa Center has become a hive for the activities of many individual bees doing their part to feed the whole. As each of us are individual cells within the larger body of humanity, we can choose to feed the whole with love or with sickness. With light or with darkness. With Buddha-nature or with ego. The only way to be liberated from suffering is to suffer. To sit with it, know it, feel it,. The only way through it, is through it. Having a safe and sacred container to do this work is crucial and Milarepa Center is a container for this. We are here, making sweet Buddha-nature honey one retreat at a time!

Milarepa Center, located in rural Vermont, offers reasonably priced space and support to students who wish to conduct solitary retreat (application and approval  process required). The center offers fully equipped private cabins, grocery deliveries, access to the library and gompa, and ongoing support as needed during your retreat. A retreat scholarship fund is available by application for those with financial obstacles. Please learn more about retreat at Milarepa Center and also explore other FPMT retreat centers which may be located near you! 

Dawn Holtz has served Milarepa Center in various capacities since 2012. She returned as Center Director in 2017 with the blessings and guidance of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to focus on creating a space for students to conduct solitary retreats. Dawn engages in solitary retreat practice regularly and regularly offers assistance to those who wish to begin a retreat practice. Dawn has a background in
Renewable Energies & Sustainable Business Management as well as a Professional in Human Resources Certification from the Human Resource Certification Institute. While also serving as the Director of Milarepa Center, Dawn works as a Consulting HR Business Partner for a variety of businesses and is continuing to expand her studies through a Jungian Psychology & Spiritual Direction certification program.

For Further Exploring

Lama Zopa Rinpoche: The Importance of Retreat

Please enjoy an interview on the importance of retreat with Paula Chichester from the “How to Train a Happy Mind” podcast with Scott Snibbe. Paula Chichester spent five years and six winters at Milarepa Center preparing for and completing a deep four-year solitary retreat in our forest, without electricity or running water.

The Challenges and Joys of Retreat: Stepping Away from this Busy World with Paula Chichester was hosted online by Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, June 2025. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.