Ways to stay
Bring your group
Retreat together. Bring a workshop, a class, a retreat or a company retreat to 500 acres of Vermont land, with rooms, meals and the household's support.
Groups come to Karmê Chöling for workshops, classes and retreats, and companies come to step away from the office for a while. Every retreat held on the land includes an element of mindfulness practice, contemplation or meditation. Nobody needs to be Buddhist, though everyone should be comfortable living among a Shambhala Buddhist community. Sitting sessions begin with chanting, which anyone may sit out.
Spaces
Workshops meet in the Community Room, the Pavilion, the Shambhala Shrine Room or the Main Shrine Room. The dining room, the lower living room and the library are common rooms, and there is a Zoom studio by appointment and an exercise room.
Support
Qualified meditation instructors can give instruction or lead a class, and talks on mindfulness at work and mindful leadership can be arranged. The Retreats Coordinator reads your plan before you arrive. Technical equipment and support are on hand for your sessions, and conference equipment is lent free on request.
Rooms and meals
Your group stays in single and shared rooms and dorms in the main house, or from May through September in the campground, and eats with the household: breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner, cooked for omnivore, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets. Wifi and parking are included.
The rental package
A group books a residential retreat package, quoted per participant per night for the whole group by its size and the nights it stays, for at least 10 participants and 2 nights. You assign your participants to rooms; our quote follows the group's size and the lodging it fills, from rooms in the house to dorms, and tents and campsites for a larger group.
The package includes:
- Lodging for the group.
- Shared meals in the main dining room.
- One shrine room or meeting room sized to the group.
- The grounds, the trails and the common outdoor spaces.
- An orientation on arrival, your room set up for you, and housekeeping before and after.
Further meeting rooms, technical support and room resets can be added. Private dining and exclusive use of the campus are not part of a package: Karmê Chöling is a residential practice center where staff and residents live, and other guests or programs may be here while you are.
A good fit
Groups need not be Buddhist or Shambhala. We welcome groups whose retreat respects the land, the practice atmosphere and the household's rhythms. Karmê Chöling is not the place for a party, or for an event that needs the campus to itself.
Shared work
Everyone here shares the work of the house. A visiting group helps with the dishes and keeps the rooms it uses tidy; see Rota.
How to begin
- Tell us about your group, the kind of retreat you have in mind, and when.
- We arrange a call to talk it through.
- Guest Services books your rooms and any office space with you.
Begin at least six weeks before you would like to arrive; we will try to make room for later requests. A retreat can be a weekend or as long as three months.
A deposit holds your dates; your final count and the balance follow before you arrive.
Getting here
Parking is included and there is a charging station for electric cars. Bicycles are welcome outdoors, with no racks, and large recreational vehicles cannot be accommodated. Getting here has directions.
Tell us about your group
Write to Guest Services at guestservices@karmecholing.org or call (802) 633-2384.