{"id":15569,"date":"2026-05-18T08:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/?p=15569"},"modified":"2026-05-18T08:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:19:28","slug":"silent-simplicity-retreat-spring-renewal-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/blog\/2026\/05\/18\/silent-simplicity-retreat-spring-renewal-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent Simplicity Retreat &#8211; Spring Renewal &#8217;26"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On May 17, 2026, retreatants gathered at Buddhist Faith Fellowship in Middletown, Connecticut for our <em>Silent Simplicity Retreat: Spring Renewal<\/em>, a peaceful 2.5-hour morning retreat overlooking the beautiful Sh\u014dy\u014dan Teien Zen Garden. The retreat focused on quiet sitting and walking meditation, beginning with basic meditation instruction including the traditional Six Points of Posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the closing reflection, participants shared insights from their meditation experience, observing the &#8220;monkey&#8221; mind\u2019s constant flow of narratives, emotions, memories, and random thoughts. One yogi reflected on gently working through rumination and loosening anxiety, while another described how meditative inquiry (vipashyana) revealed a deeper sense of openness, acceptance, and spaciousness of mind. All participants reported feeling renewed, more present, and inspired to continue or deepen a daily meditation practice. Our next <em>Silent Simplicity Retreat<\/em> is planned for late July 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"981\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"15570\" src=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-a-981x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-a-981x1024.jpg 981w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-a-287x300.jpg 287w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-a-768x802.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-a.jpg 1398w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 981px) 100vw, 981px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Silent Simplicty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-meditate.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"826\" data-id=\"15571\" src=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-meditate-1024x826.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-meditate-1024x826.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-meditate-300x242.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-meditate-768x620.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-meditate-1536x1239.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-meditate.jpg 1785w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quiet Sitting Meditation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-selfie.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"999\" data-id=\"15572\" src=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-selfie-1024x999.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-selfie-1024x999.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-selfie-300x293.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-selfie-768x750.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-selfie.jpg 1496w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A ggroup selfie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FF-Zen-Garden-after-retreat-26.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" data-id=\"15574\" src=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FF-Zen-Garden-after-retreat-26.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15574\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FF-Zen-Garden-after-retreat-26.jpg 960w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FF-Zen-Garden-after-retreat-26-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FF-Zen-Garden-after-retreat-26-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shoyan Tien Zen Garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-b-1024x501.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-b-1024x501.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-b-300x147.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-b-768x375.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-b-1536x751.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Silent-Simplicity-May-26-b.jpg 1751w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Buddhist Faith Fellowship&#8217;s Meditation Hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On May 17, 2026, retreatants gathered at Buddhist Faith Fellowship in Middletown, Connecticut for our Silent Simplicity Retreat: Spring Renewal, a peaceful 2.5-hour morning retreat overlooking the beautiful Sh\u014dy\u014dan Teien Zen Garden. The retreat focused on quiet sitting and walking meditation, beginning with basic meditation instruction including the traditional Six Points of Posture. During the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[237,265,262,263,249,594,595,238,461,277,252,241,591,590,587,588,242,592,471,593,589],"class_list":["post-15569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sangha","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhism-in-connecticut","tag-buddhism-middletown-connecticut","tag-buddhist-faith-fellowship","tag-ct-buddhists","tag-dzogchen-connecticut","tag-mahamudra-connecticut","tag-meditation","tag-meditation-retreat-connecticut","tag-meditation-retreats","tag-middletown-connecticut","tag-mindfulness","tag-retreat-center-middletown","tag-retreat-centers-connecticut","tag-slient-retreat","tag-spring-renewal","tag-thich-nhat-hanh","tag-vipashyana","tag-vipassana-connecticut","tag-zen-connecticut","tag-zen-garden","ctfw-has-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15569"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15578,"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15569\/revisions\/15578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}