5.0
Verified
Incredible Experience
What a beautiful, well organized and tended to place. I hosted a three day retreat there in November and couldn't have been happier with the experience!
Attention and Focus - Level 1 Meditation Retreat
Top Rated
Attention and Focus - Level 1 Meditation Retreat
4.95168 reviews
February 13 - 16, 2026
About this Retreat
Your Guides
George Wiegand is our well-known and loved volunteer at Ratna Ling. He has been a student of our Founder Tarthang Tulku and a full-time volunteer in Nyingma organizations for 40 years, as a chef, baker, kitchen manager, temple builder, book binder, and pressman.
He earned his Masters of Education in Counseling in 1974. After teaching high school while in the Peace Corps, he served as a Counselor at a Catholic high school before moving to California in search of a meditation teacher. He intensively trained in Tibetan Yoga (Kum Nye) from 1982-1986 at the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, and then moved to the Odiyan country center.
George describes his daily practice as meditation in action, working on projects in the Nyingma community, cooking, baking, building temples, printing, binding books, and teaching Tibetan meditation. His active meditation has been a solitary practice, internally studying the working of his own mind as he performs dharma activities. Some of his greatest lessons have come from caring for a dying parent and teaching communication to teenagers at a mindfulness-based youth treatment center.
His hobbies include bread baking, basketball, and choir singing.
Details of this retreat
For those interested in deepening their Meditation practice, Ratna Ling has designed three levels of retreats for folks at different stages of the path. Join George Wiegand for a fun, enlightening journey into your mind...
This Level 1 Retreat is designed for those who are curious about meditation and the benefits it might actually bring to their lives. Maybe youʻve heard about the positive results of meditation from teachers, gurus, or life coaches. Maybe youʻve tried it before, but you think itʻs a waste of time. Youʻre skeptical about what it can do for you. Maybe you try to meditate, but you donʻt really know if youʻre doing it right. You might be able to sit for 1-12 minutes in silence with relative ease.
We invite you for a 4-day Retreat with George Wiegand to focus your awareness and build your concentration. In this phase of practice, we will keep bringing the mind back to the object of concentration, whether itʻs the breath, a sound, a smell, or a sight. We practice placing our awareness on a single thing.
We will learn about the 9 stages of shamatha (calm abiding meditation), as depicted in this painting of a monk, elephant and monkey on the path.
Using guided meditation, visualization, and sensory awareness, we will begin to notice that we are not our thoughts. You are not a victim of your emotional patterns. You have choice and agency.
You will learn what distraction means in training the mind. You will practice how to touch the present moment and feel alert and awake. You will improve by noticing and observing the mind instead of gripping or spiraling into stories and emotions. You will learn to not judge these mental events.
This weekend includes:
Silent Practice
Guided Meditation/Visualization
Readings and Discussion
Play and Exploration
Schedule (Subject to change):
FRIDAY
3pm Check in
4:30pm Meditation in Nature
5:30pm Dinner
7pm Opening Circle, Intro to the Nine Stages of Calm Abiding Meditation
SATURDAY
7am The Elephant: the dullness of mind
8am Breakfast
9-10:30am The Monkey: distraction and mental agitation
11-12:15pm The Monk: clarity and mindful recollection
12:15pm Lunch
1:15pm Temple Tour (optional)
3-4pm Meditation in nature
4:30-5:30 Reenacting the Elephant, Monkey and Monk
5:30pm Dinner
7-8:30pm Practice
Sunday
8-845am Letting the Monkey Rest
9-10am Closing Circle
10am Brunch
This Level 1 Retreat is designed for those who are curious about meditation and the benefits it might actually bring to their lives. Maybe youʻve heard about the positive results of meditation from teachers, gurus, or life coaches. Maybe youʻve tried it before, but you think itʻs a waste of time. Youʻre skeptical about what it can do for you. Maybe you try to meditate, but you donʻt really know if youʻre doing it right. You might be able to sit for 1-12 minutes in silence with relative ease.
We invite you for a 4-day Retreat with George Wiegand to focus your awareness and build your concentration. In this phase of practice, we will keep bringing the mind back to the object of concentration, whether itʻs the breath, a sound, a smell, or a sight. We practice placing our awareness on a single thing.
We will learn about the 9 stages of shamatha (calm abiding meditation), as depicted in this painting of a monk, elephant and monkey on the path.
Using guided meditation, visualization, and sensory awareness, we will begin to notice that we are not our thoughts. You are not a victim of your emotional patterns. You have choice and agency.
You will learn what distraction means in training the mind. You will practice how to touch the present moment and feel alert and awake. You will improve by noticing and observing the mind instead of gripping or spiraling into stories and emotions. You will learn to not judge these mental events.
This weekend includes:
Silent Practice
Guided Meditation/Visualization
Readings and Discussion
Play and Exploration
Schedule (Subject to change):
FRIDAY
3pm Check in
4:30pm Meditation in Nature
5:30pm Dinner
7pm Opening Circle, Intro to the Nine Stages of Calm Abiding Meditation
SATURDAY
7am The Elephant: the dullness of mind
8am Breakfast
9-10:30am The Monkey: distraction and mental agitation
11-12:15pm The Monk: clarity and mindful recollection
12:15pm Lunch
1:15pm Temple Tour (optional)
3-4pm Meditation in nature
4:30-5:30 Reenacting the Elephant, Monkey and Monk
5:30pm Dinner
7-8:30pm Practice
Sunday
8-845am Letting the Monkey Rest
9-10am Closing Circle
10am Brunch
Getting Here
Directions
San Francisco International and Oakland International airports are approximately three hours south of Ratna Ling by car. Alaska Airlines flies to and from Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa which is approximately 1.5 hours from Ratna Ling by car. Unfortunately, there are no shuttles that bring you directly to Ratna Ling, so it is best to rent a car or email us to support in coordinating a carpool with fellow retreatants.
Accommodation
14 guest cottages on 120 acres of property. Each spacious, quiet cottage has 2 private rooms, with high ceilings and a deck with a view. Cottages include jet tubs (or ADA shower), towels, deluxe linens, refrigerator, tea kettle, coffee/tea, kitchen sink/counter, diningware, dining table, and living room with a stove fireplace. Free wifi available and a landline telephone. Guests can choose to have an exclusive cottage for ONE person; a private room for ONE person in a SHARED cottage; or a cottage for TWO people. Any additional guest after TWO is $100 per person per night. Meals and classes included.
For 1 guest in Private Room
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Three miles from the beautiful Sonoma coast. Organic, vegetarian meals. 120 acres of redwoods, canyons, reservoirs, and wildlife. Sacred architecture timber cottages and communal spaces. Featured stupas, gardens, and temple empowered by Tibetan Buddhist Lama Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche.
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
All of our meals are organic and vegetarian, made with love and care.
We provide homemade yogurt and granola for breakfast. Lunches and dinners always include salads or salad bar. Each meal is self-served on a buffet table.
Customer Reviews
Verified
5.0
Verified
My favorite retreat center
I love Ratna Ling. The cabins are spacious, filled with windows and high ceilings, and very clean. The staff are so kind and helpful. They gives tours of the temple, property, nearby hikes, and talks about the history of the property. The vegetarian food is absolutely delicious and satisfying. Recently they have begun making bread which is fresh and hard to resist.
I've come here 6 times now and can't wait to come back. Every time I'm here, the stress of life just melts away and feel so cared for and rejuvenated. This is a special place.
I've come here 6 times now and can't wait to come back. Every time I'm here, the stress of life just melts away and feel so cared for and rejuvenated. This is a special place.
5.0
Verified
such a special place
Ratna Ling is a very special place- comfortable natural and great food. super nice staff.
I will be back for another great yoga retreat
I will be back for another great yoga retreat
5.0
Verified
😊🩷
Love it there! It would be nice if you updated the shower heads an easy fix.
Thank you for the great wewkend
Thank you for the great wewkend
5.0
Verified
Peace Beauty Serenity
2+ day yoga retreat with the inimitable, Bex Urban. Highlights of Ratna Ling Retreat Center - the staff, food, temple (including sound meditation), education, extraordinary nature (forest baths readily available) and comfortable, clean accommodations. Kindness abounds.
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