Often we find that we're meditating with a corrective mindset—the feeling that somehow what we're doing or experiencing is wrong. But this path isn't about correcting. Correcting is samsara, because in truth, there are no obstacles. Obstacles are the fodder through which we wake up. How are you developing a deeper way of being? That's what we're doing here, we're developing a reliable, illuminating capacity to be with our experience. The real power of mindful awareness lives within our innate capacity to be with all that arises in such a way that we can awaken through it, within it.
Erin Treat
Residential Retreat Teacher
Erin Treat has been practicing Buddhist meditation for nearly 30 years. She is the guiding teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center in northern New Mexico and served as Guiding Teacher of the Durango Dharma Center. Erin teaches the practical and the profound, from a heart grounded in respect for mystery and the many faces of awakening.
Her approach to sharing the dharma is influenced by her ongoing experience as a student of the Diamond Approach by A.H. Almaas and by Thanissara and Kittisaro's Dharmapala Training, designed to bring forth an embodied bodhisattva ideal within the lineage of Theravada Buddhism. Erin enjoys working with small groups of committed students over time and regularly offers classes, retreats, and mentoring to students from around the country.
Erin Treat's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
January 5 - January 10, 2026 | Monday - Saturday | 5 nights
Winter Insight Meditation Retreat
Registration Opens - July 15, 2025. The Buddha’s teachings remind us of the ever-present possibility of waking up to a sense of well-being, presence, and true nature that does not depend on circumstances. This silent Insight Meditation (vipassanā) retreat, designed for both new and experienced meditators, will include systematic instructions in vipassanā meditation following the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. The retreat will also include lovingkindness meditation, meetings with teachers, and evening talks highlighting the central teachings of the Buddha and their practical application to our lives.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Erin Treat through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.