Program Q & A

Application for Fall Inquiry (Apply by Sept 15 for program beginning October 2019)

  • Who should apply?
    • Our intention is to accept into the Fall Inquiry 2019 program dedicated practitioners who anticipate having the energy & willingness to commit to a three-year program (2020-2023) including online coursework and online meetings closely integrated with small silent residential retreats at multiple geographic locations. We aim to reserve approximately 3/4 of the spots for youth aged 18-32. The rest of the spots will be available for dedicated practitioners of any age who have the maturity and the energy to actively engage in the collaborative leadership structure as well as the inquiry and practice elements of the program.
  • Do I have to be Buddhist to apply to this program?
    • No. The program aims to give you the tools to decide for yourself what is most meaningful, while supported by a community of spiritual friends engaged together in experiential and intellectual inquiry. However, we will begin by critically examining a particular set of Buddhist practices. (See the Range of Practice Policy)
  • Do I need to have meditation experience?
    • Everybody has experience cultivating states of heart & mind that we don’t actually want to. Many of us also sometimes try to cultivate states we do actually want to grow stronger in us. The Gathering Community team is interested in hearing how much experience you have with practices that aim to cultivate states such as mindfulness, goodwill, care, joy, & evenness of heart. But we are especially interested in how deeply these practices have had a chance to grow in you, as this will support the whole group in our ability to investigate experientially and intellectually the meaning and meaningfulness of this kind of practice.
  • What happens once I apply?
    • We will reach out to all those who have applied by Sept 15 to schedule an initial meeting in which you and we will all discuss together how best to proceed with the timing of aspects of the program. Specifically, we will discuss when would be the best dates to run the initial 7-week Inquiry, how long to keep the program open to new applications, and at what point it would be best to close the group to allow for growing depth and intimacy. We look forward to you being a part of our collaborative decision-making process!


Fall Inquiry program (will run over the course of 7 weeks)

  • Do I have to complete the Fall Inquiry program to be part of the Three-Year program?
    • Likely yes. We will discuss this as a group after Sept 15.
  • Is there a cost to the Fall Inquiry program?
    • We do require an investment of your energy and time, but the program is freely offered as a gift.
  • What is the time commitment for the Fall Inquiry program?
    • No more than 11 hours over 7 weeks.
  • What will be expected of me in this program?
    • Committing to completing the work in each module, including attending the small group discussions.
  • What time will the online sessions be? What if I am unable to attend due to my time zone?
    • Pre-recorded video and text portions will be available for you to complete at your convenience.
    • Online small group discussions will be offered at multiple times to accommodate people in various time zones. Small group timings will be determined by participant availability, to be determined after acceptance.
  • What if I am unable to attend a module due to travels/retreats/etc?
    • You can complete the pre-recorded video & text portions in advance, but not after the week has completed. If you are unable to attend your regular small group meeting that week, you may attend a different one in the same week to ensure that you complete that week’s module.
  • What if I am unable to attend any of the small group meetings for a particular module?
    • You will be able to miss the small group meeting of maximum one module and still continue with the program.
  • What if I was unable to complete all of the modules for the Fall Inquiry?
    • We understand that life is out of your control (anattā). There are four natural consequences of a choice to leave the Fall Inquiry part way through, but no further consequences that we are imposing. The first is that we will be sad, and miss you! The second is that you won’t get the benefit you might have gained by being in the remainder of the program. The third is that you won’t have the option of participating in the Three-Year Program. The fourth is that someone who could have taken that spot and completed the Fall Inquiry & the subsequent Three-year program also won’t get the benefit they might have. For that reason we encourage you to consider carefully your energy & willingness to commit to the three-year program as well as the Fall Inquiry at the time that you apply.
  • What will happen beyond the Fall Inquiry?
    • As the values of the group emerge over the Fall Inquiry, we hope that there will be a mutual sense of fit between the program and many of the individuals in the Fall Inquiry. Through a collaborative decision making process, you & we all together will decide how long to keep the program open to new applications, and at what point it would be best to close the group to allow for growing depth and intimacy. We look forward to you being a part of the decision making!


3 Year program (beginning 2020)

  • Is there a cost to the 3 year program?
    • This is partly to be decided by appropriate teams - which means by you if you join those teams. See below.
  • Is there a cost to the online Inquiry portions of the 3 Year program?
    • We are very confident we can find donations to cover the minimal costs for registering the domain name and hosting the content online. The question of how teachers responsible for creating the content for the online portions 2020 and beyond will be supported financially is to decided by the Guidance & Support team.
  • How much will retreats cost?
    • One of the central and radical aspects of the Attha program is the aim to eliminate one of the largest portions of retreat costs by refraining from taking on the costs of owning or renting retreat space. Instead, we aim to keep retreats small enough that they can be held in houses that are freely offered for retreat periods of at least seven days.
    • There may nonetheless be costs associated with other aspects of holding retreats, such as providing food and retreat management. It is possible, however, that sources may be found to donate to cover all of these costs. Decisions in this area, and the responsibilities that follow from these decisions, will belong to those who elect to collaborate on the Quiet Abiding team.
    • There may also be costs associated with supporting teachers for the retreats, including donations requested, support for teachers’ travel, and other aspects. Decisions in this area will belong to those who elect to collaborate on the Guidance & Support team.
  • What if I can’t afford to come?
    • Assuming that retreat costs are kept to a minimum as per above, we are very confident that we can fundraise for scholarships for those who wish to be part of the program but could not do so without financial support for the minimal costs of Attha retreats.
    • There may also be additional fundraising done to help defray travel costs. Decisions in this area will belong to those who elect to collaborate on the Quiet Abiding team.
  • Where will retreats be held?
    • The aim is to hold a number of small retreats, distributed geographically around the planet so as to enable all who wish to to be part of the program to do so. Given the constraints of time & energy of those teachers selected by the Guidance & Support team, there may be real limitations on the number of retreats that can be offered during the first 3 program, and later. We aim to offer at least three 7-day retreats per year of about 12 individuals, with at least one outside of North America. Decisions in this area will belong to those who elect to collaborate on the Quiet Abiding team, in coordination with the Guidance & Support team.
  • How many retreats do I have to commit to attending each year?
    • We are aiming to offer 3-4 retreats per year, at a range of geographic locations. We will likely require that participants attend a minimum of 2-3 retreats over the three year period. However, the exact requirement and other retreat details will be determined by the group collaboratively - this means that if you make the commitment to the three year program you will have the option of joining the team making these & other decisions.
  • What will be the time commitment for online study portions of the three-year program?
    • The exact requirements and other details of the Inquiry program will be determined by the group collaboratively - you will have the option of joining the team making these & other decisions. Overall, the aim will be offer sufficient material to rigorously inquire into our contemporary understandings of what is true and what is valuable, into the understandings of what is true and what is valuable that are found in the Buddhist Pāli texts, and other sources to be determined. We will marshal a rich variety of intellectual resources to this task, drawing on recent historical, philosophical, and scientific research, as well as a range of other cultural and religious traditions. As part of this, the program will offer sufficient support for all those involved to develop the ability to read short excerpts from the Pāli Nikāyas in the original language, learning to understand “the words of the Buddha” for themselves.
  • What if I was unable to complete all the three years?
    • We understand that life is out of your control (anattā). There are three natural consequences of a choice to leave the three-year program part way through, but no further consequences that we are imposing. The first is that we will be sad, and miss you! The second is that you won’t get the benefit you might have gained by being in the remainder of the program. The third is that someone who could, at the beginning of the three years, have taken that spot and completed the program also won’t get the benefit they might have. For that reason we encourage you to consider carefully your energy & willingness to commit to a three-year program at the time that you apply for the Fall Inquiry, and at the end of the fall when we each consider our commitment to the three year program.
  • What if I have further questions?
    • Please do use the Inquiry form to ask further questions, and we will add these to the Q &A as appropriate. Those who have been collaborating on the Visioning process this far will do our best to answer new questions that are posted.
    • As you will see, the answers to some questions - particularly regarding aspects of the 3 Year program beginning January 2020, are to be decided by you! Through the Collaborative Leadership process you can elect to give your time & energy in collaborating on teams responsible for decisions in the areas you care most about.