Compassion can be a companion and an ally that walks with us as we engage with the turbulence of the world and our own hearts. It's one of the many ways that a free heart and mind expresses itself in the world. Practicing Dhamma, cultivating wisdom and compassion, prepares our heart for compassionate action in the world.
Dawn Scott
Residential Retreat Teacher
Dawn Scott has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2008. She is a graduate of the Insight Meditation Society’s teacher training program and is a core teacher of Spirit Rock’s Liberation, Emptiness, and Awareness Practices (LEAP) Program. Dawn has a deep love of long retreat practice and the Buddha's liberative teachings.
Dawn Scott's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land | Hybrid
December 18 - December 23, 2025 | Thursday - Tuesday | 5 nights
Winter Solstice Retreat: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light
Full - with waitlist. Commuter spaces available! Throughout this residential retreat, we will focus on centering ourselves at the time of the holidays and the New Year. Together we will quiet our minds, ground our bodies, open our hearts, and use inquiry to help energize our practice. Special emphasis will be placed on opening to the darkness, including to our difficulties and challenges, and opening to the coming light, which includes the beauty, joy, wisdom, and love within and around us.
Retreat | Online | Hybrid
December 18 - December 23, 2025 | Thursday - Tuesday
Winter Solstice Retreat: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light
A Few Spaces Still Available! Throughout this residential retreat, we will focus on centering ourselves at the time of the holidays and the New Year. Together we will quiet our minds, ground our bodies, open our hearts, and use inquiry to help energize our practice. Special emphasis will be placed on opening to the darkness, including to our difficulties and challenges, and opening to the coming light, which includes the beauty, joy, wisdom, and love within and around us.
Retreat | On-Land
December 27 - January 4, 2026 | Saturday - Sunday | 8 nights
New Year's Insight Meditation Retreat
Full - waitlist. Commuter spaces available! This is a traditional Insight Meditation (vipassanā) retreat with sitting and walking in silence, and regular meetings with teachers. Each day there will be systematic meditation instructions, Dharma talks, and movement practice. We will mark the turning of the year with a late evening sitting and simple ceremony on New Year’s Eve. In celebration of the New Year, our focus will be on cultivating loving awareness and embracing each moment as fresh and new. All are welcome.
Retreat | On-Land
February 3 - March 28, 2026 | Tuesday - Saturday | 53 nights
2026 Insight Meditation 2-Month Retreat - Application
Application Open. An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained, dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of Insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness combined with training in lovingkindness and compassion, and practice will be structured around a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, Dharma talks, and practice meetings with teachers.
Dawn Scott
Vance Pryor
Tuere Sala
JD Doyle
James Baraz
Brian Lesage
Tara Mulay
Tempel Smith
Kristina Baré
Anushka Fernandopulle
Greg Scharf
Rasika Link
Retreat | On-Land
February 3 - March 28, 2026 | Tuesday - Saturday | 53 nights
2026 Insight Meditation 2-Month Retreat
Spaces Still Available! An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained, dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of Insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness combined with training in lovingkindness and compassion, and practice will be structured around a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, Dharma talks, and practice meetings with teachers.
Dawn Scott
Vance Pryor
Tuere Sala
JD Doyle
James Baraz
Brian Lesage
Tara Mulay
Tempel Smith
Kristina Baré
Anushka Fernandopulle
Greg Scharf
Rasika Link
Retreat | On-Land
February 3 - March 2, 2026 | Tuesday - Monday | 27 nights
2026 February Insight Meditation 1-Month Retreat - Application
Application Open. An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained, dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of Insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness combined with training in lovingkindness and compassion, and practice will be structured around a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, Dharma talks, and practice meetings with teachers.
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | Online
Monday, December 8 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice Insight Meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a Dharma talk.
Dawn Scott
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Dawn Scott through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.