Ethics and Love in Interpersonal Life [Online]

A dharma program with Matthew Brensilver, open to both beginners and experienced practitioners.
*5-day Retreat (in-person & online) + 6 week course*

We live in a web of mutuality; the interpersonal realm is where the rubber meets the road in our spiritual practice. Our relationships – personal and professional – act like a magnet, pulling both our goodness and our pain to the surface. How can we draw on dharma principles and practices to enrich our interpersonal lives? How can others serve as mirror for our inquiry into ourselves?

The Buddhist tradition provides ethical guidance: lives founded on goodness, sensitivity and respect give us the best chance for deep happiness. Love fuels our ethics and guides us to more rich, harmonious relationships. Self-understanding dramatically deepens our empathic capacities and through our practice, the circle of care widens. As Sri Nisargadatta says, ‘In love, there are no strangers.’

This dharma program will begin with a five-day retreat, offered both in-person at the Big Bear Retreat Center or available to participants online. Although oriented around interpersonal themes, the retreat will be held in silence rather than interactive in nature. Ordinarily, retreats end and we return to our lives to integrate the experiences of the silence on our own. Here, the teacher will be providing support beyond the retreat to further cultivate and digest the fruits of retreat practice. The retreat will be followed by six, hourlong, weekly online meetings that will integrate and explore the teachings offered in the retreat.

This dharma program is co-sponsored by Big Bear Retreat Center and Insight Retreat Center.

All are welcome.

Dates for the program are as follows:

In-person and Online Retreat: (must attend all dates)

April 16th –  20th, 2025

Online Integration Sessions via Zoom: (please plan to attend all sessions)

April 24th: 7pm – 8pm PT
May 1st: 7pm – 8pm PT
May 8th: 7pm – 8pm PT
May 15th: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm PT
May 22nd: 7pm – 8pm PT
May 29th: 7pm – 8pm PT

Registration for this program closes on April 14th, 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.

An Online Hybrid Interactive Retreat

This retreat will be an interactive online retreat with the in-person participants and teachers, with camera views of the hall and projected for participants to see you. Please plan to have your video on during the sessions. This will be offered over Zoom. We encourage practitioners to participate fully and have a retreat experience in their home, but understand that circumstances require flexibility and participants are invited to do as much of the retreat as they wish. Online participants will have live access to all teachings in the meditation hall and access to the recordings. Online participants will not have group or individual practice discussions with the teacher. Matthew will have dedicated question and answer periods with the online retreatants.

At registration you will receive a link with a landing page for the online community that includes the Zoom and schedule information for the online component of this program, along with any other helpful tips before, during, and after your retreat. This link will be emailed to you again 24 hours before your retreat. The retreat recording will be available within 48 hours of the retreat. This program recording as well as past program recordings can also be found in full on Big Bear Retreat Center’s YouTube Channel.

What retreat participants have to say about programs at Big Bear Retreat Center

“Big Bear created an online retreat experience that was inclusive, supportive, and responsive. I felt held and cared about throughout the hybrid retreat, as an online participant.” – Bernadine

“I appreciated the way they held space for people in small groups and encouraged authentic sharing within the container of noble silence. I felt that they all skillfully met everyone where they were at, including myself.”  – Joe

Schedule for Online Retreatants

Below is a general sample schedule to support in planning ahead. All times PST and subject to change.

Opening Day
12:00 pm  Zoom room opens (optional for testing connection)
7:00 pm     Retreat Opening (all please attend)

Full Days of Retreat
6:30 am     Wake Up
7:00 am – 9:45 pm Full day of retreat, please plan attend (meals at 7:30a, 12:30p, 5:30p)
*throughout day expect periods of seated and walking meditations in addition to teacher guided sessions and talks

Closing Day
6:30 am    Wake Up
7:00 am    Sitting
8:00 am    Breakfast
9:30 am    Closing Program
11:30 am   Retreat ends

RETREAT FEES AND TEACHER DANA

Retreat fees, Course fees and Teacher compensation for this program are all completely dana-based.
For teacher compensation, please note the registration dana offered does not include teacher compensation. Learn more about the practice of dana here.