Retreat Center - Grüner Baum

Individual retreats are possible throughout the year. Minimum retreat duration is one week.

Three times a year, quiet retreat periods are scheduled, with a minimum retreat duration of two weeks.

• Mid-September to mid-December (3 months)
  Early January to early April (3 months)
  Early May to early July (2 months)

Please contact us if you have any individual requests regarding dates.

During courses held at the house or in Titisee, rooms are double-occupied whenever possible. However, this is arranged individually with the retreat participants.

• Individual retreats always start and end on a Saturday!
• Before applying, you will need either a recommendation from Lama Tilmann or, for retreats and courses lasting one week, contact the house team directly.
  • For a one-week stay, it is sufficient to contact a member of the house team by telephone.
  • For a stay of two weeks or more, a recommendation from Tilmann is required. You can meet him in person or online during an event, or arrange a telephone appointment with him. He will assess whether you are ready for a retreat and how long it might last.
  • Those who have already done a retreat at Grüner Baum can register directly for a period that does not exceed the length of previous retreats.
• You can contact to find out when a room will be available at a reasonable time.
• Then please register via Retreat Registration.

A retreat is about deepening one’s own practice; not about living together with the teachers (smile). Retreatants have to be able to bridge over difficult days by themselves. The teachers are present, but not continuously available.

• We practice according to the instructions received from our teachers.
• We follow our own bio-rhythm, not disturbing others, and in accordance with the common daily schedule.
• The goal is to develop continuous awareness around the clock.
• We practice in self-responsibility, without fences and with very few rules.
• Men and women live in the same house. Couple retreats are possible.
• Everyone practices together once a day from 5 to 6 p.m..
• We eat lunch together; this is our community sharing time.
• Conversations are essentially about one’s own experience. If possible, we do not engage in discussing philosophy, politics or other people.
• Outside contact is reduced to a minimum during each 3 month period.
• A retreat can be interrupted in consultation with the teacher in charge, if family or practitioners need it.
• Daily physical practice (walks in nature, yoga etc.) is encouraged.
• Alltasks in the house are distributed among the practitioners, daily about 1-3 hours. This includes cooking, cleaning, maintenance, lawn mowing, snow removal, office work and the like.
• The longer one stays, the more the aspect of serving others in the house becomes important in one’s practice.
• Distractions are to be avoided during retreat; in particular no TV, no internet, not going out for coffee, and no personal mobile phones.

Regarding the catering, we would like to inform you that we are in the fortunate position to purchase very high quality organic food through a regional wholesaler. Our food is almost all of organic standard, often even Bioland or Demeter quality. We see responsible purchasing as an important expression of the spirit of bodhicitta and wish to contribute to responsible and ethically acceptable food production. Accordingly, please treat the food with care.

We offer 3 meals per day, cooked by the retreatants themselves. Meals are vegetarian/vegan and gluten free is available if needed. Fruit is always available in sufficient quantities according to the season. Soy milk, oat milk and good margarine are in the house, all other dietary necessary food we ask you to bring yourself.

During an individual retreat:

05:00 – 08:00 individual practice
08:00 breakfast
09:00 – 12:00 individual practice
12:30 lunch
14:00 – 17:00 individual practice
17:00 – 18:00 group practice
18:00 Dinner
19:00 – 22:00 Individual practice

Teachings usually take place in the afternoon. They are determined by the teachers at short notice and announced on the whiteboard in the dining room.

The daily schedule for courses with Lama Tilmann Lhündrup or other Dharma teachers is determined by them as needed.

During the retreat times there is no personal shopping and no shopping via internet. Therefore, it is important to bring everything that is needed from you during the time of the retreat.

Food:
If you have food intolerances, please refer to the food information and bring any additional food you may need.
Chips and chocolate if needed
Cosmetics:
Sufficient toothpaste, dental floss, shower gel, shampoos, etc.
Medication:
A small emergency first aid kit is in the house.
Please bring any medications that you personally need.
Please also remember to bring
Eye drops
Migraine medication
etc.

Bedding / Towels:
Can be provided by the Green Tree, but it is encouraged to bring your personal belongings if possible

Clothing:

Mainly comfortable clothing
Slippers
Outdoor clothing such as rain jacket, sturdy shoes
Warm clothes are also good in summer
Winter-proof clothing, warm sweaters, socks, winter jacket in the cold season
Winter boots in the snowy season
Swimwear in the summer (swimming lake is within walking distance)
Washing machine can be used

Seat cushion / seat mat:
Can be provided by the Green Tree, but it is desired to bring the personal cushions if possible.

Practice utensils:
Please bring everything you need for your practice.

For example:

Everything for your altar such as offering bowls, statues, ….
Instruments
In case of mandala offering practice, the mandala discs and everything else. Please ask in advance what you need for this.
Everything for Tsok , if you are doing a Tsok practice.
If a new practice is started unplanned during the retreat, it is possible to buy everything needed.

Room furnishings:

Short term retreat: up to 6 months
You are welcome to bring beautiful cloths to decorate your room. Simple room furnishings are available.  No candles, incense sticks or other burning utensils or hair dryers may be used in the room, see also under miscellaneous.

Long term retreat:
You can design your own room and bring your own furniture for it. Beyond that, there is no storage space for additional furniture, etc.
Please check in advance how big your room will be.
You are also welcome to bring your bike.

Miscellaneous:

Kettles are available in the kitchen. You are not allowed to use your own kettle in your room. It is recommended to bring your own thermos (also available in the house). A hot water bottle often makes relaxing easier

The Grüner Baum retreat centre, like all other Ekayana activities, is based entirely on generosity (Sanskrit/Pali: Dana). Our wish is to keep prices as low as possible so that everyone who is interested can access Buddha’s teachings, regardless of their financial situation.

Prices include accommodation and three meals a day, made almost exclusively from organic produce. They serve to cover all running costs and repay the loans for the renovations. Arrival and departure count as one day.

Donations: Participation in meditations and group lessons during the retreat is on a dana basis. We appreciate a donation at the end of the retreat. The supervisory discussions with the teachers are also based on generosity. Donations for the discussions are welcome.

Help: Everyone at the Green Tree helps out for 1-2 hours a day with household chores, gardening or cooking. This is the only way to keep prices so low.

Rooms have different prices depending on size and comfort. There are 5 price categories, which become cheaper for longer stays. Long-term retreats are therefore more heavily subsidised than short-term retreats.

For short group retreats and courses, double occupancy is preferred. With double occupancy, the cost of accommodation is reduced by 40%.

The following tables show examples of prices for a stay of 1, 4 and 13 weeks (3 months) for the different room categories.

Prices for the Ekayana Caravan, your own motorhome or caravan, and a tent are also listed. Prices include meals (€14 for 3 meals), but do not include the tourist tax of €3/day.

To the room price calculator

The possibility of doing a long-term retreat will only be discussed after a three-month retreat.
If the house and outdoor area are fully booked, there are numerous holiday apartments in the surrounding area. We have provided a list under “Accommodation in the surrounding area” on this page.

You are welcome to bring your children to the courses and events. However, there is no childcare available. You will need to arrange this yourself. Children are welcome during retreats by prior arrangement. Please contact us to discuss this.

We would like to allow pets to be brought along. However, we are also aware that this can lead to complications. Therefore, it would be advantageous if you could organise alternative accommodation for your pets.

If this is not possible, pets are allowed under the following conditions:

• The retreat schedule must not be disrupted in any way.
• Barking dogs are not allowed in the house.
• Pets are not allowed in the meditation room, kitchen or dining room for hygiene and cleanliness reasons. Consideration must be given to guests who may suffer from allergies.

In Lenzkirch:
http://www.ferienhaus-sonnhalde.de/

In Falkau:
https://www.ferienwohnung-kassler.de/
https://www.praxis-dreisamblick.de/falkau/.

Here you can find our extensive list as PDF: