When is one ready for long term retreat? (Part 4 of 15)

In this fourth video in the “Śamatha in the 21st Century” series, Dr. Eva Natanya answers the question: How can an individual who wants to enter long-term śamatha retreat know that the inner conditions for entering such a retreat have sufficiently ripened in their mind? These inner conditions traditionally include things like having inner contentment, having few activities, maintaining pure ethical discipline, and so on.

Additional Resources

• For more information on long-term retreat at the CCR, including recommended reading, talks, and guided meditations, please visit our retreat page.
• The CCR offers in-depth guidance for those preparing for or already in long-term retreat through the Seeds of Wisdom Library—sign up here.
• For an engaging talk on śamatha meditation, please see “Crucial Points in the Practice of Shamatha”
• For the Buddha’s analogy of the cat and the elephant, see the Upāli Sutta (Aṅguttara Nikāya 10.99)