The Joy of Meditation Practice
A Two-day Retreat
Taught by Howard Cohn
September 16 – 17, 2023
Prescott College Crossroads Center
Prescott, Arizona

"A committed meditation practice provides the opportunity to realize an unfettered heart and mind, opening the way for genuine joy and happiness."

A Friday Evening Special Event
September 15, 6:30-8:30

On Friday evening before our retreat Prescott Insight will host a public talk with our teacher, Howie Cohn.
All are welcome to this open community event at Prescott College Crossroads Center, as Howie introduces the theme to our upcoming retreat, discusses the essence of mindfulness meditation & loving-kindness, and creates a forum for questions and answers. Invitations to this event will be emailed in the weeks ahead, and if you're not on our list, sign up at the bottom of our Connect page.


The Joy of Meditation Practice

To experience the natural release of burdens from the past and less dependence on the future is joyful. Meditation retreat practice is a time-tested and reliable source of peace, ease, strength and joy. Joy is considered one of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment in the Buddha’s teachings. Join us for a weekend retreat to discover joy in practice, and learn the many ways that meditation can arouse joy in our hearts and lives.

A committed meditation practice provides the opportunity to realize an unfettered heart and mind, opening the way for genuine joy and happiness. Practice helps us move beyond our usual spiritual or material comfort zone and opens us to a wider view of ourselves and our world. Through Insight Meditation we can release our hearts from constriction and confusion and experience freedom, ease and joy.
Our Teacher

Howard Cohn is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California. He has led the Mission Dharma sitting group in San Francisco for over 35 years, been in private practice as a psychotherapist, and led Vipassana retreats worldwide since 1985. He incorporates the influences of Theravada, Zen, Tibetan Dzogchen and Advaita Vedanta in his teaching, with an emphasis on reawakening our intrinsic freedom. Among his many teachers and mentors are Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, U Pandita Sayadaw, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and the Advaita Vedanta Master H.W.L. Poonja. Howie is known by his students for his kindheartedness and warm sense of humor.

Honoring our ancient tradition of dana (generosity), the teachings of The Buddha are offered freely to all. The opportunity is always available to offer dana to Howie to help him continue his faithful and full-hearted conveyance of the teachings, at HowardCohn.com.
The Setting

We will gather at The Crossroads Center, a beautiful event center on the Prescott College campus, adjacent to Butte Creek walking areas and the Crossroads Cafe. The address is 220 Grove Ave, Prescott, Arizona.

The retreat will be composed of instructions, sitting meditation, walking meditation, question and answer sessions, and Dharma talks. Silence is observed throughout the retreat, except Q&A periods, providing an optimal environment for internal work. And we will be given instructions for the practice of loving-kindness — metta — cultivating friendship toward oneself and all beings. All levels of experience are welcome.

Check-in and set-up for practitioners will begin on Saturday at 8:30 a.m., September 16. Registration will be open to 50 participants; minimum age to participate is 15 years. We strongly encourage all practitioners to remain on-site throughout each day, including meal times, to maintain the container of our meditative community.

Retreat hours:
Saturday, 9:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

During the week prior to the retreat we will send you important, detailed information. An online ride-share and lodging-share signup sheet will be available for those who travel from outside the Prescott area.


Priceless

Our teacher receives no compensation from your fee for his teachings. Honoring early Buddhist traditions, he offers his time, energy, and wisdom free of charge. The teachings of The Buddha are considered priceless, sustained by the 2,500 year old tradition of dana, a Pali word meaning "generosity.” Practitioners are encouraged to help Howie lead a life devoted to teaching the dharma by offering dana in any amount, before, during or after the retreat. In the act of giving, we develop our ability to let go, cultivate a spirit of caring, and honor our inter-connectedness.

The fee for all practitioners is $100 per person, which covers our use of the facilities, expenses, and lunches on Saturday and Sunday. You may bring your own lunch, but the fee is the same for all attendees. If you must cancel your registration your fee will be used as a donation to Prescott Insight's retreat scholarship fund.

No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If you are unable to pay part or all of the retreat fee we offer a full or partial scholarship. For funding assistance please email us after registering, and before September 16.

To confirm your reservation we ask that you pay your fee as soon as possible, preferably with Paypal, using the link below.  Or pay by check, payable to:
PIM Retreat Planning
PO Box 3108
Prescott, AZ 86302


Registration is now closed for this retreat

Submitted names will be placed on a waiting list in the order in which they are received. Submit your fee once you come off the wait list and are confirmed to attend. If you must cancel after registering please let us know as soon as possible to allow others to plan ahead. If you experience symptoms or a positive test for any infectious illness in the week prior to the retreat, we ask that you not attend.


To get on the mailing list for announcements and news about this and other retreats, or about our weekly Tuesday night sits, please use the form at the bottom of our Connect page.

Click or tap an image below to download a printable flyer: