Retreats & Vacations

Item Description

The highest bidder will enjoy a weekend retreat with Robert A. F. Thurman & friends at Menla Mountain Retreat, June 20 to June 23, 2013.

A perennial favorite, this fun and inspiring weekend of moderate to rigorous hiking will include a series of three lectures on introductory Buddhist philosophy and basic meditation techniques, including talks on The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti. This unique program is meant to open a person's awareness and increase their ability to live in the moment with a greater sense of joy. The invigorating physical exercise of hiking will help purify and cleanse the body while the lectures, discussions, and question-and-answer sessions with Robert Thurman will provide a source of nourishment for the mind.

Thursday evening there will be a welcoming dinner and talk. Friday will feature an on-site day hike. And early Saturday morning the group departs from the base of Pantherkill Mountain for 5-10 mile hike to Giant Ledges. The views from the top of Panther are truly amazing, and the hike is quite invigorating—not to mention all the wonderful conversations that naturally arise as the group ascends the sacred mountain. Upon return individuals will unwind with a choice of either a sweat lodge by the stream, restorative yoga, or a wellness treatment (extra fee). The day will end with a guided meditation and discussion.

Sunday morning there is a stimulating (and much less rigorous) 2-mile roundtrip hike to the pleasant views of Lookout Cliff on the Menla property. For those too tired for a second hike, bocce, croquet, tennis and massage are offered, followed by an afternoon teaching by Tenzin Thurman.

Menla Mountain Retreat & Conference Center, operated by Tibet House US, was founded to provide a place for groups and individuals to further their professional and personal development. Since opening in 2002, it has received rave reviews for its stunning beauty, meditative environment, and high-quality accommodations. Located only two hours from New York City, Menla is a secluded 320 acre valley in the heart of the Catskill National Forest Preserve. Named "Menla" after the Medicine Buddha, the center aims to develop an integrative healing center.

Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Columbia University, President of Tibet House U.S., a popular lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism, the translator of many philosophical treatises and sutras, and author of numerous books including the national bestseller, Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness; Anger, the fifth book from a series on the Seven Deadly
Sins, offered by The New York Public Library and Oxford University Press. His most recent book is Why The Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World, published by Atria Books/Beyond Words.

Item Special Note

Program includes tuition and deluxe private accommodations including meals.

Cost of bringing an additional guest and sharing accommodation: $461 payable to Menla Mountain.

Applies to weekend and program exclusively.

All prices $USD