Welcome to Springwater Center
Located an hour south of Rochester, New York, Springwater Center offers silent meditation retreats and year-round guest visits in a beautiful and spacious facility on 212 acres of country land with streams, meadows, forests, a pond, and miles of walking trails.
There are no rituals or assigned practices.
The essence of retreat at Springwater is being together in the simplicity and openness of silent awareness. Attending moment-to-moment to what is happening within and without, in a spirit of wonder, curiosity, and discovery.
Meditation
The heart of our meditative work is simple awareness. Right now can there be simple listening, being present to what appears as sound and feeling and thinking in the midst of open silence? A vast listening space of no preferences and no judgments?
The mystery, the essence of all life is not separate from the silent openness of simple listening.
Sitting quietly is vast boundless being, not belonging to me or you. Revealing what is as it is, beholding it and yet not meddling with it in the light of wisdom and compassion too marvelous to comprehend.
Meditation
The heart of our meditative work is simple awareness. Right now can there be simple listening, being present to what appears as sound and feeling and thinking in the midst of open silence? A vast listening space of no preferences and no judgments?
The mystery, the essence of all life is not separate from the silent openness of simple listening.
Sitting quietly is vast boundless being, not belonging to me or you. Revealing what is as it is, beholding it and yet not meddling with it in the light of wisdom and compassion too marvelous to comprehend.
A Variety of Ways to Participate
Silent retreats form the heart of life at Springwater. Grounded in an atmosphere of inquiry and shared silence, a daily schedule is offered with timed sittings, a morning talk, meetings with teachers, and an afternoon group dialogue.
A one day retreat experience, our All Day Sittings begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. The day includes time for sitting, a talk, vegetarian lunch, an afternoon dialogue group, and concludes with refreshments and social time.
During quiet weeks, specific areas of the building are kept in silence, while the rest of the house continues in its work day. This provides a quiet, meditative atmosphere in the midst of everyday life.
We offer daily timed quiet sittings, events with sitting and dialogue, private meetings with teachers and retreats that are accessible online.
Retreats
Here at Springwater there is no special practice assigned or suggested. You may wish to continue with a previously learned practice, or to try something new: simply attending without a known method or purpose.
Each retreat has a daily schedule with meditation periods, a talk, private meetings with teachers, and group dialogue. All activities are optional and you are free to interact with retreat in a way that works for you. The only requirements are to participate in silence and contribute an hour of work each day.
We have been holding retreats in Springwater for over 30 years, and they have evolved over time into an innovative form that flows naturally.
Retreats
Here at Springwater there is no special practice assigned or suggested. You may wish to continue with a previously learned practice, or to try something new: simply attending without a known method or purpose.
Each retreat has a daily schedule with meditation periods, a talk, private meetings with teachers, and group dialogue. All activities are optional and you are free to interact with retreat in a way that works for you. The only requirements are to participate in silence and contribute an hour of work each day.
We have been holding retreats in Springwater for over 30 years, and they have evolved over time into an innovative form that flows naturally.
Upcoming Events
Quiet Weeks
The November Quiet Weeks offer an opportunity to create a personalized retreat while the Center enters into a modification of its day-to-day working life. There are many possibilities to connect […]
Find out more »All Day Sitting (in-person and online)
All Day Sittings are one of the most popular ways to participate in the work of Springwater Center. We come together for a day of sharing silence, sitting, listening, and […]
Find out more »Center Closed (Staff Break)
The Center will close at the end of the day on Saturday, December 15, and reopen the morning of Thursday, December 26. Staff will be taking a break during this […]
Find out more »4- Day New Years Retreat with Wayne Coger (in-person and online)
Wayne Coger has led retreats since 2001. He worked with Toni Packer for more than 30 years, and has been a staff member of the Center since 1983, currently serving […]
Find out more »Recorded Talk by Toni Packer and Dialogue (online)
At 1:30 PM there will be a 25 minute round of quiet sitting followed by an audio or audio/visual recording of a talk by Toni Packer. After Toni's talk there […]
Find out more »4-Day Retreat with Liz Heron (in-person and online)
Liz Heron came to Springwater in the mid-1990s and was deeply touched by the teaching of Toni Packer. A trustee of the Center, she lives in the woods of New […]
Find out more »Open Meditative Dialogue w/ Guest Speaker (online)
Speaking and dialoguing at Springwater Center is different from a lecture or a discussion group, where we share what we already know. The spirit of Meditative Inquiry infuses talks and […]
Find out more »Origins
Springwater Center was founded in 1981 by Toni Packer along with over 200 friends dedicated to the work of meditation and inquiry.
Trained as a teacher in Zen Buddhism, Toni left the tradition to work with the essence of meditative practice attending to what is happening in the immediacy of each moment.
Over the years, Springwater has evolved into a large and lively community. People of all backgrounds come here to meditate in deep silence to inquire and share with one another their questions, insights, and difficulties.
Origins
Springwater Center was founded in 1981 by Toni Packer along with over 200 friends dedicated to the work of meditation and inquiry.
Trained as a teacher in Zen Buddhism, Toni left the tradition to work with the essence of meditative practice attending to what is happening in the immediacy of each moment.
Over the years, Springwater has evolved into a large and lively community. People of all backgrounds come here to meditate in deep silence to inquire and share with one another their questions, insights, and difficulties.
