The Immovable Heart:
Training in Stability, Flow & Wonder
A 7-Day Silent Meditation Retreat for people ages 18-35
with Sensei Jogen Salzberg
August 26th - September 3rd, 2025
Lifebridge Sanctuary, 333 Mountain Rd, Rosendale, NY, 12472
Photos from the 2024 Dharma Gates Retreat led by Sensei Jogen Salzberg at the Lifebridge Sanctuary
About the Retreat
Why let our energy go into worry when we can train to have flexible, clear awareness be the place from which we meet the changes of the world?
Why let pessimism dominate our hearts when we can train in fresh, energized perception?
Why let the dominant worldview cause us to believe that materiality is all there is to this life when each of us can taste and verify the unconditioned?
Within an intensive vessel of scheduled sitting meditation, dharma talks and face to face exchange and dialogue with the teacher, we will embody the timeless ingredients of awakening: single pointed focus, wholehearted release, devotion, playfulness, love, curiosity, and the examining of our ingrained beliefs, particularly around who and what we think we are.
The retreat is run entirely by dāna. Find out more about dāna here
Meet the Teacher
My roots are nearly 3 decades of Zen Buddhist practice alongside strong influence and practice in Tantric / Vajrayana Buddhism with various teachers. I have also engaged in devoted study of the Pali suttas, Mahayana philosophy, Dogen’s awakening poetics and consumed tons of mystical literature for the love of it.
I consider myself ultimately non-sectarian feeling that the vast Dharma is finally not encapsulatable or exhaustively contained by any teaching, description, system, cultural expression or lineage.
Among the influences on my dharma teaching and practice are Carl Jung and James Hillman’s understanding of Psyche and the polycentric self, Rumi’s odes to the enworlded Divine, Paratheatre embodied archetypal ritual, great Yogi Longchenpa’s Dzogchen love songs to the inexpressible, improvised music in general and my own drum kit studies.
Approximate Daily Retreat Schedule
note: the schedule for the arrival and departure days will be different than this schedule
5:00 am: Wake Up Bell
5:30 am - 8:00 am: Sitting Meditation, Chanting, Interview
8:00 am - 8:45 am: Breakfast
10:00 am - 12:30 am: Sitting Meditation, Movement Practices, Chanting, Group or Private Interviews
12:30 pm - 1:15 pm: Lunch
3:00 pm - 5:30 pm Sitting Meditation, Movement Practices, Chanting, Group or Private Interviews
5:30 pm -6:15 pm Dinner
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Sitting Meditation, Chanting, Interview
9:30pm Lights Out
You are expected to attend all the sessions on the schedule.
Noble Silence
During this retreat we will be practicing in Noble Silence. When the whole group enters into Noble Silence we offer each other and ourselves the gift of being with our experience as it is. This practice supports the mind in settling. Noble Silence includes no unnecessary talking, including social courtesy like saying “good morning” or “excuse me”, no reading or writing unless the teacher specifically encourages you to do so, and no tech use. You will be invited to give your phone to a retreat manager at the beginning of the week so they can keep it in a safe place for you. You can also keep it in your room turned off. Upon being accepted to this retreat, you will receive emergency phone numbers that we ask you to share with your loved ones so that you will not need to be monitoring your own messages. Retreat managers will be present throughout the entirety of the retreat to support the group. If at any point during the retreat you are feeling ill, are injured, or are in distress please speak with one of the retreat managers.
Housing & Lodging
For this retreat, you have the option to bring your own tent and camp for the duration of the retreat. Lifebridge Sanctuary has beautiful camping spots. If you would like to camp, please indicate on your registration form that you will be camping so we know how many rooms are still available. If you don’t want to camp, indoor rooms available. Please email us with any questions about camping or lodging (team@dharma-gates.org).
The retreat is run entirely by dāna. Find out more about dāna here
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, minimum of 1 weekend or silent retreat
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Nope. You do not have to be Buddhist to participate in this retreat. Jogen’s teachings are rooted in the Buddhist tradition and include beliefs that may be new or foreign for some. The invitation is to encounter the teachings, to commit to fully trying them on and confirming (or disconfirming) them with your own experience, and to maintain a healthy, open, discerning, and inquisitive mind.
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The 5 precepts are training guidelines as the foundation of sīla (ethics). Throughout this retreat we will all be maintaining the 5 precepts so that we can we can practice in harmony.
I will not engage in physical violence or intentionally cause bodily harm to myself or others
I will not steal or damage other people’s property.
I will refrain from forced, coercive, or non-consensual sexual contact or any other form of sexual harassment against others. For this retreat we will be practicing celibacy.
I will not intentionally insult or verbally abuse others.
I will not consume intoxicating substances including, but not limited to, alcohol, marijuana or any other illegal substances.
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The retreat is run on a donation basis in the spirit of dana. There is no required attendance fee. We ask that participants give a deposit of $100 in order to claim your place at the retreat. This deposit is returned back to you at the end of the retreat unless you choose to donate it. We keep your deposit in the case that you don’t show up, or you cancel within 3-weeks of the start of the retreat. For this retreat, that’s August 5th, 2025.
We ask you to donate the amount that feels appropriate and generous for you, given your situation and desire for Dharma Gates to continue to exist in the future.
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The food served at the retreat will be vegan. If you have specific allergies or requests, please let us know. We do our best to accommodate dietary needs / requests.
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There are indoor beds available as well as outdoor space for camping in tents and/or sleeping completely outside with no tent, weather permitting. If you would like to camp and/or have a tent (or two!) you would be willing to bring to the retreat, please indicate that in your registration form. If you have other gear such as additional sleeping pads and bags that would also be helpful.
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Dharma Gates wholeheartedly welcomes people of all cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities. There will be gender neutral bathrooms available and we may be able to provide single rooms if that would make you more comfortable. Our aim is to make retreat practice accessible to all young people—if there’s something we can do to help you feel comfortable attending, please do not hesitate to reach out to us (team@dharma-gates.org.)
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This retreat will be at the Lifebridge Sanctuary. The address is 333 Mountain Rd, Rosendale, NY 12472. It is a 2 hour drive from NYC.
The Trailways bus stops in Rosendale is 10 minutes away from the retreat center and we will be able to pick you up from the bus stop.
Dharma Gates will also provide a spreadsheet for participants to self-organize ride shares.
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Arrival: Please arrive between 2:00pm - 5:00pm on Monday, August 26th. It is important you arrive during this window so you can go through the check-in process before the evening activities begin.
Departure: The retreat will end at 1:00pm on Wednesday, September 3rd. -
We ask that everyone who attends wears modest loose clothing, with subdued colors and prints, and minimal/no words for the duration of the retreat.
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We no longer require testing for Covid-19. We are still committed to the safety and health of the retreat container. The intention is to move towards a culture of taking care of ourselves and others by self-monitoring symptoms, and reducing transmission of any possible sickness.
The retreat is run entirely by dāna. Find out more about dāna here