ABSTRACT
The idea of a religious retreat is a fairly modern phenomenon, with its roots in traditions of religious monasticism and pilgrimage. The desert hermit, forest monk, and ascetic who leave the householder life behind are tropes in early Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The support from lay members of religious communities was needed to maintain monasteries. A religious retreat involves travel to a space created and maintained by an institution where a person engages in “a limited period of isolation during which an individual, either alone or as part of a small group, withdraws from the regular routine of daily life, generally for religious reasons”. Buddhism is arguably the religion most compatible with the retreat format, as vipassana meditation from Southeast Asia, Zen meditation from Japan, and Tibetan forms of meditation from the Himalayan regions all recommend various periods of time away from everyday life to focus on meditative practice in a deep, transformative, and intensive way.
