The Center for Contemplative Research in Castellina Marittima, Italy, has been established to nurture the conducive circumstances necessary for those who wish to enter into long-term solitary meditation retreat, with the aspiration of attaining unwavering samadhi, realizing the nature of the mind and of all phenomena, and entering the path of the Great Perfection for the benefit of all sentient beings.
All retreatants will have access to a qualified teacher via email and will also have the opportunity to engage with Lama Alan Wallace on monthly group Zoom calls with dedicated retreatants around the world. (CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE)
The Application Process
There are some firm prerequisites for entering long-term retreat at Sita Tara Villa:
- In almost all cases, it is a required that you have attended (whether in person or by podcast) at least one 8-week retreat with Lama Alan Wallace prior to applying for a long-term retreat.
- It is also requested that you be practicing under the guidance of Lama Alan, either personally, or by consistently following his teachings from afar, with the aspiration of coming under his personal guidance via email and in group Zoom calls while at Sita Tara Villa.
- You must have completed at least one solitary meditation retreat in the past, of three weeks or more in duration.
- You must have a current daily practice of shamatha meditation.
The requested donation for a room at the Villa is $400 (US Dollars) per month. This does not include food, travel, or other personal expenses. There will be a one-time cleaning fee of 50 Euros.
It is likely you will have a video interview with a teacher and a video interview with a CCR clinical psychologist prior to retreat acceptance.
The Application
The Long-term Retreat application can be accessed at the bottom of this web-page. The application can easily take over an hour to complete. You can save it along the way and come back later to work on it as you go. So be careful not to press “Send” until you’ve carefully reviewed your application.
When filling out the application, be prepared to answer many personal questions and provide emergency contact information, references, a description of your past practice and information about your spiritual teachers, as well as to submit a statement of 300-600 words describing why you would like to be accepted into retreat at Sita Tara Villa.
We ask for your honesty and full disclosure in providing answers to the application questions. Not doing so will be grounds for rejecting your application, or, if discovered after retreat entry, asking you to leave the retreat.
Please know your application information is kept confidential and will only be seen by Lama Alan Wallace, the Executive Directors of CCR and SBI, and one or more CCR teachers. Your personal information is not shared beyond these positions.
Once you’ve submitted your application, you will receive a copy of it at the email address you provide. Once your application is received, it could easily be several weeks before you hear from us. But you will hear from us! We wish you all the best in your application process, which can be an experience of discovery in itself.
APPLY NOW
There are 8 sections to the Application. We realize that English may not be your primary language. Please be assured that grammar and spelling are not criteria being evaluated. We are looking for your heartfelt honesty, the care and attention your put into your presentation (as in meditation), and the extent of your study, practice, experience, and dedication to the steady discipline of meditation in solitary retreat. Take your time and only submit the application when you feel ready.
At anytime you may use the "Save and Continue" functionality by scrolling to the bottom of the application form and clicking the "Save & Continue" link. This will create a link for continuing the form at a later date. Upon clicking the link, you will be presented with a custom link to the current state of your form submission, with the option of sending the link via email. Please note that links created will only last 30 days. After that period, the link will no longer be accessible.
We recommend re-reading the website pages on Long-term Retreat and on CCR Europe in particular, including the current retreat environment at Sita Tara Villa. Please be realistic with yourself as you consider these questions.
Would you like to serve as Retreat Manager during your retreat at Sita Tara Villa?
The retreat manager should have aptitude for work organization and is responsible for:
(1) sharing, coordinating and overseeing the daily and weekly work responsibilities shared among all the resident retreatants, including cleaning and maintenance of the Villa and receiving package deliveries,
(2) overseeing visiting workers for occasional repairs whenever it may be needed,
(3) monitoring the overall condition of the physical and spiritual needs of the Sita Tara Villa community,
(4) reporting needed repairs to the Managing Director, Paolo Mori, and
(5) seeking assistance from the Director of Contemplative Training, Lama Alan Wallace, and/or from the Psychological Support Team when needed.