Retreats & Stays at
Sangha House NOLA
Self-reflection, healing and transformation in Beloved Community.
Retreats at Sangha House NOLA, whether for a few days or a longer stay, are contemplative stays that invite slowing down, deep looking, and reflection in community. Each stay weaves practice and sacred service as a path of healing and transformation in Beloved Community.
Registration is required for all retreats and stays. All retreats are offered with suggested donations on a sliding scale, pay what you can.
Short-Term Retreats
Come rest into the flow of community life.
Whether for a few days or longer, short-term retreats open space for stillness, reflection, and sacred service while grounding you in clarity and connection through shared practice.
Themed Retreats
Focused Practice Within Beloved Community. Immersions into the heart of practice, guided by themes of wisdom and community. Retreats may center on Noble Silence, poetry, the Brahmavihāras, or offerings such as Pleasant Abiding, Already Free, Emancipating Hearts and Minds, or Cultivating Seeds of Stillness. Each retreat is an invitation to return home to our true nature, deepen collective healing, and walk together in the freedom that is already here.
Self-Directed Retreats
Short-term Retreats
A gentle return to practice through renewal, reflection, and reconnection. These co-created retreats unfold within a shared schedule, immersed in meditation, Dharma, and the life of community. They are for those called to pause, find grounding, or deepen their practice. Whether for a single day, a weekend, or up to 30 days, each retreat flows with a rhythm of mindfulness, sacred service, and collective care. Open to all levels of practice, each gathering is held in the spirit of Beloved Community.
Long-Term Retreats
Deepen practice, sacred service, and community life.
For those called to dwell more fully in contemplative life, these retreats weave practice into the rhythm of each day. They offer the conditions to let go, look deeply, and reflect inwardly within the embrace of Beloved Community.
Contemplative Study
A 3–6 month guided commitment to contemplative study, personal practice, and sacred service. This path is for those seeking long-term residency, mentorship, or deeper training, and offers the chance to live deeply into the Buddha’s teachings through daily practice and community life. In the steady rhythm of Beloved Community, residents cultivate clarity, resilience, and the freedom that arises from devoted practice.
Extended stay
For those needing more than 30 days, extended stays provide space to heal, reflect, and take root within the daily rhythm of Sangha life. These retreats can support those navigating transition or seeking to get back on their feet, offering time to settle, reorient, and strengthen practice in community. Availability is shaped by the needs of the Sangha.
Monastic Residency
The monastic residency is a practice of living the teachings as embodied presence. Guided by the Dhamma-Vinaya, monastics uphold the rhythm of Sangha life through daily practice, activities, and sustainability programs. Residents support Venerable Dayananda, the wider Sangha, and community offerings, tending to practice and service as inseparable parts of the path.
Emancipating Hearts & Minds: 10 Day Retreat
June 9th, 5:00 PM – Juneteenth, 12:00 PM
This 10-day silent Vipassana retreat is a journey into the deepest layers of liberation: from the mental and emotional fetters that hold us captive to the patterns that keep us from our most authentic, awakened selves.
Through sustained meditation, penetrating inquiry, and the practice of deep looking, we will meet the obstacles within and discover the power to uproot them.
As we gather in the days leading to Juneteenth, a sacred commemoration of freedom, we honor the truth that liberation is both ancestral inheritance and daily practice. At Sangha House NOLA, we create conditions for the transformation our communities need and deserve: the courage to see clearly, the compassion to hold what we find, and the wisdom to respond to suffering with skillful action.
This retreat strengthens our capacity to live as agents of collective liberation. When we free our own hearts and minds, we participate in freeing the world.
Intern Opportunity
Sangha House NOLA is welcoming applications for our Service Internship, a 3 to 6 month immersive period of sacred service, spiritual companionship, and communal care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Guidance on visiting, practicing, and living in community at Sangha House NOLA.
Please note: This FAQ offers general guidance rooted in the present rhythm of Sangha House. It is not comprehensive, and details may shift depending on the season, visit type, or evolving needs of the community.
Are your offerings beginner-friendly?
Yes. Whether you’re new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, you are welcome.
What are the Five Precepts I will be asked to uphold while at Sangha House?
Are intoxicants or inebriation allowed?
No. Our path is rooted in clear consciousness and practicing the precept to refrain from intoxicants. Recreational substances are not permitted on the premises.
What is Noble Silence?
Can I meet with Venerable during my stay or visit?
How are meals and shared care handled?
What is dāna, and why is it important?
Dāna is the practice of generosity. All our offerings are pay-what-you-can with suggested donations on a sliding scale, and we turn no one away for lack of funds.
This model only works when everyone gives generously to their capacity. Your sincere offering, whatever it is, makes this work possible for many. It also ensures Venerable and the monastics have the support they need, freeing them to remain rooted in practice and available to serve. In this way, your generosity sustains refuge in the 7th Ward and beyond, carrying the Dharma into our communities for the benefit of all beings.