Retreat Application Sita Tara Villa - Center for Contemplative Research

Retreat at CCR Europe—Sita Tara Villa

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.

The Application Process

There are some firm prerequisites for entering long-term retreat at Miyo Samten Ling Hermitage:

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 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.

Long Term Retreat at CCR Europe – Sita Tara Villa in Castellina Marittima

Application for Long-term Retreat at Sita Tara Villa, Castellina Marittima, Italy

Part 1: Contact Information

Name(Required)

First Name (legal) Last Name / Surname

Name by which you would like to be called:

Address(Required)

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

Email Address(Required)

Primary Phone(Required)

Mobile Phone(Required)

Gender:(Required)

Occupation:(Required)

(include whether you are retired, on sabbatical, on retreat, or currently unemployed)

Date of Birth:(Required)

Are you an E.U. citizen?(Required)

YES

If not, how long are you permitted to legally remain in the E.U.?

Emergency Contact

Emergency Contact Name(Required)

First Last

Relationship to you:

Emergency Contact Phone Number:(Required)

Emergency Contact Address:(Required)

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

Part 2: Meditation and Study Experience

Please describe the arc of your Buddhist studies and your meditation practice over the course of your life. In particular, please include your background in the study and practice of the Four Immeasurables, the Four Applications of Mindfulness, Shamatha, Vipashyana, and Dzogchen in particular. Please include, if applicable, your experience with the outer and inner preliminary practices or their equivalent in any of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.(Required)

Who is your primary spiritual mentor, or who is the meditation teacher currently the most familiar with your practice?

Please describe your relationship with this teacher, including how long it has lasted and how well this teacher knows you?(Required)

If this teacher is someone other than Lama Alan Wallace, do you intend to engage your retreat under the direct guidance of this teacher?

If so, may we contact him or her?

YES

Please provide contact information.(Required)

Please list the 8-week retreat(s) with Lama Alan Wallace that you’ve attended in person or listened to in their entirety by podcast. Be sure to include the year, location, topic and whether in-person or via podcast.(Required)

Please list any 5-10 day retreats you have participated in with Lama Alan Wallace in the past. Please include the approximate date, location, topic, and format as well as whether your attendance was in person, via podcast and/or through any Wisdom online courses).(Required)

Please list the style of practice, duration, and location of any additional intensive meditation practice you have done in a group retreat setting.(Required)

Have you participated in solitary retreat before?(Required)

YES

If so, please describe your solitary retreat practice, duration, and location as well as who guided the retreat.

As you consider the prospect of solitary long-term retreat within a close-knit community setting, do you feel that your past experience in retreat has prepared you to maintain your own sustained silence and solitude, balanced with periodic and disciplined interactions with fellow retreatants?(Required)

Please describe your current daily practice. For example, how many hours do you devote to preliminary practices, shamatha, Dzogchen, and, if you have commitments to Vajrayana practices, please list those as well.(Required)

Part 3: Plans for Practice

What is the duration of retreat for which you would like to apply? (If your retreat plan is “open ended,” retreatants are asked to give one month’s notice before departing Sita Tara Villa.)(Required)

When do you anticipate being ready to start your retreat, if accepted?(Required)

What is your initial retreat plan? Please describe the practices on which you would most like to focus, and how you would like to structure the initial days, weeks, and months of your solitary retreat. Please be as specific and realistic as possible, based on your knowledge and experience. Of course, this will remain flexible, in consultation with your teacher, but it is important to think about this question carefully in advance of retreat.(Required)

Have you taken Refuge in the Buddhist tradition?(Required)

YES

If so, when? Please mention the teacher and lineage.

Have you taken Bodhisattva Vows in the Buddhist tradition?(Required)

YES

If so, when? Please mention the teacher and lineage.

Are you a member of an ordained sangha (i.e., are you a monk or nun)?(Required)

YES

If so, please mention the ordination lineage or order.

Are you a Vajrayana practitioner?(Required)

YES

If so, please describe the lineage and nature of your daily and monthly Vajrayana practice and commitments.

Please describe any other types of daily spiritual practices you may be committed to, apart from those mentioned above.

Personal Statement: Please write a detailed statement describing your intentions and aspirations for long-term retreat at Sita Tara Villa. Please do not exceed 600 words.

Part 4: Environment

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.

Do you feel comfortable entering solitary long-term retreat in an atmosphere of deep silence in a shared house?(Required)

YES

Sita Tara Villa is self-managed, therefore every resident contemplative will be asked to help maintain the Villa. This means sharing within the community the following responsibilities: the cleaning of the common area such as the kitchen, living space, bathrooms and around the villa, receiving package deliveries, and overseeing visiting workers for repairs when needed (which may take several additional hours away from meditation on occasion). Are you physically able and ready to participate in solitary or communal work practice for about 2-3 hours per week, plus some additional responsibilities on a rotating basis?(Required)

YES

In addition to this, each resident contemplative is responsible for cleaning their own rooms and the bathroom they are using, preparing their own meals in one of two shared kitchens, and cleaning up after themselves. Retreatants are responsible for obtaining their own food supply, whether through mail order (a local supermarket, Esselunga, delivers to the Castellina area), or by occasional car trips to town, when available. Are you prepared for this?(Required)

YES

Do you have any specific skills, interests, and/or abilities in one or more of the following service areas: keeping a temple altar, property maintenance, gardening, Italian language skills, etc.?(Required)

YES

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.

Ideally, the Retreat Manager would have some ability to communicate in Italian. The Retreat Manager will be compensated through a reduction in the requested room donation to $300 per month (instead of $400). Would you like to serve as Retreat Manager?(Required)

YES

Part 5: Psychological Health

Are you currently seeing a therapist?(Required)

YES

If yes, please describe.(Required)

Are you currently in treatment with a psychiatrist?(Required)

YES

If yes, please describe.(Required)

Have you ever been diagnosed with a psychological condition or mental illness?(Required)

YES

If yes, please describe.(Required)

Have you ever made a serious attempt at taking your own life?(Required)

YES

If yes, please provide the context and what unfolded.(Required)

Have you ever witnessed yourself (or had someone witness you), being emotionally unstable for periods of time during intensive meditation retreats?(Required)

YES

If yes, please describe.(Required)

At times in any long retreat, many people experience deep emotions, ranging from grief or sadness to exhilaration and ecstasy. Do you feel that you can handle such swings of emotion and the kinds of nyam, or meditative experiences, described in the teachings of The Vajra Essence?(Required)

YES

Are there any traumatic experiences from your childhood or other periods of your life that you feel may potentially create problems in your meditation or interfere with your retreat in any way?(Required)

YES

If yes, please describe (knowing that this does not have to become an obstacle to entering long-term retreat, if you are well-prepared).

Do you feel you have sufficient preparation for entering a long-term solitary retreat by way of your past practice and experience in the Dharma?(Required)

YES

Did you receive any psychological support in previous retreats that you have attended?(Required)

YES

If yes, and if this was an 8-week retreat with Alan Wallace, may we contact the psychologist with whom you consulted at the time?(Required)

YES

If yes, please provide the name of that psychologist.(Required)

Do you give permission for a psychologist associated with the CCR to assist you if required?(Required)

YES

Describe any present circumstances that are creating additional stress for you that may make meditation more difficult if you withdraw into retreat in the near future (e.g., recent loss of a loved one or a job, illness, etc.).(Required)

Part 6: Physical Health

Do you have any history of physical illness or limitations that might be aggravated by, or interfere with, intensive and extended periods of meditation?(Required)

YES

If yes, please describe.(Required)

Are you currently taking any prescription medications for physical or psychological conditions?(Required)

YES

If yes, please describe.(Required)

If so, from the rural location of Castellina Marittima, it may be difficult to fill all medication prescriptions at a pharmacy in a timely manner. At the beginning of your retreat, it is necessary to bring all essential medications with you. Will you be able to bring prescribed medication with you or else have it delivered by mail while in retreat in Italy?(Required)

YES

Do you have any medical needs that would require you to leave the Villa on a regular basis during your extended retreat?(Required)

YES

Do you have any known allergies to medication, food, or environmental factors such as pollen?(Required)

YES

If yes, please describe.(Required)

Are you aware of your current daily health and are you good at maintaining a balanced and healthy diet, especially with sometimes limited resources? (You can order food supplements and easily-shipped supplies through the mail and you will be preparing meals for yourself in a shared kitchen.(Required)

YES

Do you conduct regular physical exercise of any kind (including yoga, t’ai chi, walking, hiking, etc.)?(Required)

YES

Please Describe.

Do you currently smoke cigarettes or medical marijuana (includes e-cigarettes)?(Required)

YES

Smoking will be prohibited throughout the CCR property in Castellina, both indoors and outdoors. Are you prepared for this?(Required)

YES

Do you currently drink alcohol on a regular basis?(Required)

YES

Will it be a problem for you to remain in retreat without drinking alcohol?(Required)

YES

Do you currently use any recreational drugs (e.g. marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy)? All recreational drug and alcohol use will be strictly prohibited at all times on the CCR property and anywhere else a retreatant may be during the retreat.(Required)

YES

Do you have any other specific physical or cognitive issues we should know about?(Required)

YES

If so, please describe briefly.(Required)

Part 7: Practical Considerations

Do you anticipate being able to donate $400 per month to CCR Europe as your contribution for the services and housing provided at the Villa (including all utilities, but not including food and personal items)?(Required)

YES

How do you plan to fund your personal needs during retreat (i.e., food, clothing, and personal supplies)? Please think carefully about your current financial resources and ways in which you might raise funds for your personal retreat expenses and mention those methods here (e.g. a personal website, crowdfunding, etc.).(Required)

Do you have the support of your family and loved ones in your wish to enter long-term retreat?(Required)

YES

Are there other life circumstances that we should know about, which may affect your ability to enter or remain in retreat?(Required)

What is your biggest potential obstacle to entering long-term retreat?(Required)

If you are not an EU citizen, have you successfully been able to acquire short-term visas to enter Italy for three months or more in the past?

YES

Do you anticipate being able to acquire such visas again?

YES

COVID-19 Provision: We are taking every precaution to keep Sita Tara Villa free of any trace of the coronavirus for as long as the pandemic lasts, and we need everyone’s understanding and active participation to make this possible.

Have you received the bivalent vaccine or will you before arriving at the Villa?(Required)

YES

If not, are you willing to abide by sanitary guidelines, both before your departure from home and once you arrive in Italy, to help keep yourself and everyone else at the Villa free of the coronavirus?(Required)

YES

Part 8: Our Community Commitments to Courtesy and Respect

While staying at Sita Tara Villa all residents will be expected to follow the five basic Buddhist lay precepts of:

Not intentionally harming life in any form, from a fellow human being down to the smallest insect.
Not stealing. Although we may frequently make use of objects and property that is held in common to the retreat community, this means taking even greater care with these objects and dwelling places than we would with our own, and it means leaving behind, in good condition, all objects that you did not bring with you when you arrived or purchased personally once arrived. Any community objects accidentally broken or damaged will be replaced through an appropriate monetary or in-kind offering to be worked out in consultation with the Retreat Manager.
No sexual misconduct. In strict retreat it is often appropriate for the contemplative to withdraw from sexual activity altogether. But most importantly, we will each observe extreme respect for every other person’s desire for solitude in retreat and the relationships in which they hold dear (especially when the other members of those relationships are not physically present at the Hermitage). Sexual harassment of any kind may serve as grounds for immediate dismissal.
No false speech. While our “default mode in retreat is silence,” we will watch our speech in all forms (verbal, written, etc.) with utmost care, so that all representations we make of our experience or knowledge are as close to our own understanding of our inner and outer situations as possible.
No intoxicants. Possession and/or use of any recreational drugs or alcohol is strictly prohibited and may serve as grounds for immediate dismissal.

Are you willing to abide by these precepts, whether or not you have formally taken them as a Buddhist lifetime vow?(Required)

YES

In order to maintain the silence necessary for meditation retreat, no pets are allowed at Sita Tara Villa. Do you agree not to bring any pets?(Required)

YES

References: Please ask two (2) people who know you well to provide confidential reference letters. These can be employers, spiritual friends, teachers, mentors, students—anyone you think knows you in different facets of your life. Please consider that such reference letters will help to paint a picture of you outside of your direct relationship with Lama Alan Wallace, and are essential for a highly selective application process such as this. Please contact the two people you would like to write your letters, explain what it is you are applying for, and give them the following email address (retreats@sbinstitute.com), to which they can submit their letters confidentially. In the subject line of the email, please ask them to put: “(Your Name)—Retreat Reference Letter”

Please be sure your Reference Letters are submitted within 3 weeks after the date you submit your online application.

Is there anything else you would like us to know about you?

I acknowledge that all the information I have provided in this application is true and complete.(Required)

Please type your full legal name. This is a digital signature and you agree that the application is true and complete.

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.