SUÑÑAGĀRA
“empty dwelling”Bodhgaya, India
PABBATA
“mountain”Mt. Shasta, California
MAHĀSAMUDDA
“ocean”Malibu, California
MARU
“desert”Mojave Desert, California
︎about the retreat︎THE GOALfrom @realitymap:“I am not here to become your teacher. I am not here to make a profit. I have no interest in entertainment, the search for more bliss/pleasure, or increasing your efficiency in the workplace. I am simply and honestly what the Buddha called a kalyāṇa-mitta, a “spiritual friend”. My only purpose is to walk alongside those on the long winding path, and sit alongside those genuinely seeking to understand the nature of reality, the nature of their own mind, and the techniques the Buddha left us to accomplish both.I’ve immersed myself deeply in the dhamma for 18+ years now. I went forth into homelessness 3 years ago and survive 100% on alms and generosity from my followers on social media and in real life, as true contemplatives have done for millennia. Through my practice alone I’ve earned trust, respect, and favor which allows me to pursue meditation and the dhamma full time. I’m now at a point on my path where I’ve trained my mind, arguably, as far as it can go without ordaining as a monk. We're at a very unique moment in human history and I feel it’s time for me to focus my efforts on others, to embody loving-kindness through service to fellow humans in saṃsāra.By serving and accompanying my dhamma brothers and sisters (and secular friends) who can afford these retreats, I've envisioned a way for us all to benefit while helping those desperately lacking such resources. I’m writing this from Bodhgaya where I’ve been volunteering at Shanti India, a school for the poorest, most vulnerable children in the area. It’s opened my eyes to a new purpose that will occupy the next several years of my life—travelling the world, administering retreats, and using the majority of profit to fund the mission and help those most in need.I ask that you join me in reflecting on our temporary time here and what the best use of it will be. Join us in understanding the nature of reality, our minds, and our actions. Join us in providing much needed relief to our fellow humans suffering the most. Join us on this retreat!”— @realitymap, Oct. 2026OUR USE OF JHĀNAAbsorption creates the setting for a still, bright, unified mind which is utilized to inspect the impermanent (anicca) and non-self (anattā) nature of the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness). Almost all of our suffering results from the pleasure and pain of clinging to those five things.“Here, a monk — quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome qualities — enters and remains in the first jhāna: rapture and pleasure born of seclusion…”— Jhāna SuttaWe are training our mind to find a sanctuary secluded from indulging pleasure and averting pain, leading to unwholesomeness. The most popular jhāna retreats lack essential ingredients for truly benefitting from the jhānas in this way. These ingredients, aside from samādhi (concentration)—are sīla (ethics) and paññā (wisdom). Ethics is like clearing the night sky full of storms and anxiety so the mind can settle. From that clear dark sky, wisdom arises like the sun at dawn—dissolving the darkness of our delusions and illuminating our everyday experience. This shift creates lasting, deeply personal results that extend far beyond the days we spend sitting.
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