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The meaning of a spiritual retreat can be different for different religious communities. Spiritual retreats are an integral part of many Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Sufi communities. In Hinduism and Buddhism, meditative retreats are seen by some as an intimate way of deepening powers of concentration and insight. Retreats are also popular in Christian churches, and were established in today's form by St. Ignatius of Loyola (14911556), in his
Spiritual Exercises The ''Spiritual Exercises'' ( la, Exercitia spiritualia), composed 1522–1524, are a set of Christian meditations, contemplations, and prayers written by Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th-century Spanish priest, theologian, and founder of the Society ...
. Ignatius was later to be made patron saint of spiritual retreats by
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...
in 1922. Many Protestants,
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Orthodox Christians partake in and organize spiritual retreats each year. Meditative retreats are an important practice in Sufism, the mystical path of Islam. The Sufi teacher Ibn Arabi's book ''Journey to the Lord of Power (Risālat al-Anwār)'' is a guide to the inner journey that was published over 700 years ago.


Buddhism

A retreat can either be a time of
solitude Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think, or rest without distur ...
or a community experience. Some retreats are held in
silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the ce ...
, and on others there may be a great deal of conversation, depending on the understanding and accepted practices of the host facility and/or the participant(s). Retreats are often conducted at rural or remote locations, either privately, or at a retreat centre such as a monastery. Some retreats for advanced practitioners may be undertaken in
darkness Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low ...
, a form of retreat that is common as an advanced Dzogchen practice in the
Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and trans ...
school of Tibetan Buddhism. Spiritual retreats allow time for reflection, prayer, or meditation. They are considered essential in
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, having been a common practice since the Vassa, or rainy season retreat, was established by the founder of Buddhism,
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
. In
Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...
retreats are known as
sesshin A ''sesshin'' (接心, or also 摂心/攝心 literally "touching the heart-mind") is a period of intensive meditation ( zazen) in a Zen monastery. While the daily routine in the monastery requires the monks to meditate several hours a day, dur ...
.


Christianity

The Christian retreat can be defined most simply as a definite time (from a few hours in length to a month) spent away from one's normal life for the purpose of reconnecting, usually in prayer, with God. Although the practice of leaving one's everyday life to connect on a deeper level with God, be that in the desert (as with the Desert Fathers), or in a monastery, is nearly as old as Christianity itself, the practice of spending a specific time away with God is a more modern phenomenon, dating from the 1520s and St. Ignatius of Loyola's composition of the Spiritual Exercises.O'Malley, J W 1993, 'The First Jesuits', Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts p. 4 The fasting of Jesus in the desert for forty days is used as a biblical justification of retreats. The retreat was popularised in Roman Catholicism by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), whose founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, as a layman began, in the 1520s, directing others in making (participating in) the exercises. Another form the Exercises came in, which became known as the nineteenth "Observation", 'allowed continuing one's ordinary occupations with the proviso of setting aside a few hours a day for this special purpose.' The spiritual exercises were intended for people wanting to live closer to God's will for their life. In the 17th century, retreats became much more widespread in the Catholic Church. Retreats were not originally seen as suitable for women, but in 1674 Catherine de Francheville ( fr), supported by the Breton Jesuit
Vincent Huby Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...
( fr), founded a retreat house for women in Vannes. This developed into a community of laywomen, who also founded a daughter house in
Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography Th ...
, but were dispersed by the French Revolution. Some however came together to found schools, and additional communities were established in England, and later in Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. These developed in the course of the 19th century, under the name of '' La Retraite'' ( fr), into a religious Congregation of nuns. The active involvement of the sisters in retreats was curtailed later in the 19th century, but blossomed again after the Second Vatican Council, involving among other activity an extension of the community into Chile, South Africa, Cameroon and Mali. Spiritual retreats were introduced to the Church of England by priests of the
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
Society of the Holy Cross The Society of the Holy Cross (SSC; la, Societas Sanctae Crucis) is an international Anglo-Catholic society of male priests with members in the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, who live under a common rule of life that i ...
in 1856, first for clergy, and then also for laity. These retreats lasted five days. The Society of the Holy Cross's first retreats were held in secrecy. The practice was spread by Anglo-Catholic priests such as Francis Henry Murray, Alexander Forbes, and Thomas Thellusson Carter. The
Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
further spread the practice of retreats to many devout men and women, borrowing upon Catholic practices. Their retreats were typically 3–4 days, and featured much silence and prayer. At the end of the 19th century, and in the first years of the 20th century, retreats began to spread among the working classes and beyond those of notable devotion. These retreats were less ascetic in character, and included more conversation and leisure. They typically lasted 1–3 days. Spiritual retreats may have various themes that reinforce Christian values, principles, and scriptural understanding. They may be individual or involve a group. Retreats for Christian youth groups are common, as are getaways for Sunday School classes, men's and women's Bible study groups, and
Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some count ...
field trips. Common locations for Christian retreats include churches and retreat centers. Retreat centers typically offer overnight accommodations (such as in a cabin or
dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
), meals, activities, meeting rooms, and chapel space. Following the growth of the
Cursillo ''Cursillos in Christianity'' ( es, Cursillos de Cristiandad, "Short courses of Christianity") is an apostolic movement of the Catholic Church. It was conceived in Spain between 1940 and 1949 and began with the celebration of the so-called "first ...
movement in Spain in the 20th century, similar retreats have become popular, either using licensed Cursillo material or independent material loosely based on its concepts, leading to the development of the three day movement.


Sufi retreats or spiritual khalwa

The translation of ''khālwa'' (from
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
الخلوة) is seclusion or separation, but it has a different connotation in Sufi terminology in which it refers to the act of self-abandonment in desire for the Divine Presence. In complete seclusion, the Sufi continuously repeats the name of God as a highest form of remembrance of God meditation. In his book, Journey to the Lord of Power, Muhiyid-Did ibn Arabi (1165-1240 A.D.) discussed the stages through which the Sufi passes in his
khalwa Khalwa (Arabic, also khalwat; lit., "solitude"; pronounced in Iran, "khalvat"; spelling in Turkish, ''halvet'') has several meanings in Sufism, Islamic jurisprudence, and the Druze religion, which in some way derive from the concept of being alone ...
. Ibn Arabi suggested: "The Sufi should shut his door against the world for forty days and occupy himself with remembrance of Allah, that is to keep repeating, "Allah, Allah..." Then, "Almighty God will spread before him the degrees of the kingdom as a test. First, He will discover the secrets of the mineral world. If he occupies himself with dthikr, He (God) will unveil to the secrets of the vegetable world, then the secrets of the animal world, then the infusion of the world of life-force into lives, then the "surface sign" (the light of the Divine Names, according to Abdul-Karim al-Jeeli, the book's translator), then the degrees of speculative sciences, then the world of formation and adornment and beauty, then the degrees of the qutb (the soul or pivot of the universe-see #16) Then he will be given the divine wisdom and the power of symbols and authority over the veil and the unveiling. The degree of the Divine Presence is made clear to him, the garden (of Eden) and Hell are revealed to him, then the original forms of the son of Adam, the Throne of Mercy. If it is appropriate, he will know his destination. Then he will reveal to him the Pen, the First Intellect (as it is called by Sufi philosophers), then the Mover of the Pen, the right hand of the Truth. (The "Truth" as defined by al-Jeeli is that by which everything is created, none other than God most High.) The practice of khalwah is regularly followed by the Sufis, with the permission and the supervision of a Sufi authority. The Sufis base the assigning of forty days of
khalwa Khalwa (Arabic, also khalwat; lit., "solitude"; pronounced in Iran, "khalvat"; spelling in Turkish, ''halvet'') has several meanings in Sufism, Islamic jurisprudence, and the Druze religion, which in some way derive from the concept of being alone ...
period on the forty days Allah had appointed for Musa (Moses) as a fasting period before speaking to him, as mentioned in different chapters in the Qur'an. One of them is from surat al-Baqarah.
Khalwa Khalwa (Arabic, also khalwat; lit., "solitude"; pronounced in Iran, "khalvat"; spelling in Turkish, ''halvet'') has several meanings in Sufism, Islamic jurisprudence, and the Druze religion, which in some way derive from the concept of being alone ...
is still practiced today amongst authorized Sheikhs, such as Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani, Lefka, Cyprus.


Meditation

Meditation courses or retreats, either in a group or solo, are a common part of many meditation traditions.


Yoga

In modern Yoga a retreat is often a recreational holiday, where everyday business is left for a few days (weekend-retreat) up to weeks. The goal is to let go of daily stress and problems by doing
Asanas An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...
rather than pure meditation.


See also

* The Abode of the Message *
Asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
*
Cursillo ''Cursillos in Christianity'' ( es, Cursillos de Cristiandad, "Short courses of Christianity") is an apostolic movement of the Catholic Church. It was conceived in Spain between 1940 and 1949 and began with the celebration of the so-called "first ...
* Dark retreat * Enlightenment Intensive *
Kairos (retreat) The Sword of the Spirit is an international, ecumenical association of Christian communities within the charismatic movement. The member communities are composed predominantly of laypersons. It takes its roots from the Shepherding movement. T ...
*
Khalwa Khalwa (Arabic, also khalwat; lit., "solitude"; pronounced in Iran, "khalvat"; spelling in Turkish, ''halvet'') has several meanings in Sufism, Islamic jurisprudence, and the Druze religion, which in some way derive from the concept of being alone ...
* Simple living *
Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola The ''Spiritual Exercises'' ( la, Exercitia spiritualia), composed 1522–1524, are a set of Christian meditations, contemplations, and prayers written by Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th-century Spanish priest, theologian, and founder of the Society ...
* Vassa


References


Further reading

* * Merianne Liteman, Sheila Campbell, Jeffrey Liteman, ''Retreats that Work: Everything You Need to Know About Planning and Leading Great Offsites, Expanded Edition'', * Stafford Whiteaker, ''The Good Retreat Guide'', *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Retreat (Spiritual) Meditation Simple living