Welcome to Springwater Center
Springwater Center is looking for people interested in joining staff! The current open position calls for good skills in the area of repair and maintenace of buildings and grounds. There are also other possible openings in the near future that benefit from a range of other skills. The main benefit in joining staff is the opportunity to attend many retreats and to work with the Center’s meditative community in the spirit of the work of its founder, Toni Packer. A five-week period of volunteering is a requirment before being accepted on staff. If you have interest or questions about joining staff or scheduling time to come visit and volunteer, please reach out to Stacey at info@springwatercenter.org.
40th Anniversary
It’s now 40 years since Springwater Center came into being! Use this link to see photos, writing, and art submitted by friends of the Center about their time and experiences here through the years. From the first retreats held at Camp Onanda on Canandaigua Lake to more recent days.
Located an hour south of Rochester, New York, Springwater Center offers silent meditation retreats and year-round guest visits in a beautiful and spacious facility on 212 acres of country land with streams, meadows, forests, a pond, and miles of walking trails.
There are no rituals, required beliefs, or assigned practices.
The essence of retreat at Springwater is being together in the simplicity and openness of silent awareness. Attending moment-to-moment to what is happening within and without, in a spirit of wonder, curiosity, and discovery.
Springwater Center is located on the traditional homelands of the Onondowahgah (Oh-KNOWN-doe-wah’gah), also known as the Seneca Nation. The Onondowahgah are members of the Haudenosaunee (Hoe-dee-no-SHOW-nee) Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The confederacy precedes the establishment of Springwater Center, New York state and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Onondowahgah, dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Onondowahgah people, past and present, to these lands and waters.
COVID-19 Update
The Center has an updated COVID policy as of May 1st, 2023. Details include:
- Vaccinations are not required for in-person guests.
- Retreat attendees (including staff and teachers) will test before retreat and mask for the first 3 days; attendees will test again on Day 3 and if all tests are negative, then masks will be optional. (Participants are requested to provide both of their own tests, but there is a small supply of them at the Center if that isn’t possible for the Day 3 test.)
- If someone tests positive, masks will remain in place for all and the person testing positive will be asked to leave; all participants should have a plan for getting home quickly should they test positive or come down with an illness.
- During an in-person retreat, anyone who leaves the Center and shares space with people outside of retreat is asked to mask. If someone leaves and masking isn’t possible, they are asked to continue masking for the rest of the retreat.
- Anyone exhibiting cold/flu symptoms are asked to reconsider visiting. If symptoms are mild with a negative COVID test and you do choose to come, masking would be required for the duration of symptoms.
Our deepest gratitude to all of our members and friends who continue to support us as we all move through such uncertain times.
ONLINE OFFERINGS:
We will continue to offer timed quiet sittings, group meetings, private meetings with teachers and retreats accessible online.
For more information, email Stacey at: info@springwatercenter.org.
Meditation
The heart of our meditative work is simple awareness. Right now can there be simple listening, being present to what appears as sound and feeling and thinking in the midst of open silence? A vast listening space of no preferences and no judgments?
The mystery, the essence of all life is not separate from the silent openness of simple listening.
Sitting quietly is vast boundless being, not belonging to me or you. Revealing what is as it is, beholding it and yet not meddling with it in the light of wisdom and compassion too marvelous to comprehend.
Meditation
The heart of our meditative work is simple awareness. Right now can there be simple listening, being present to what appears as sound and feeling and thinking in the midst of open silence? A vast listening space of no preferences and no judgments?
The mystery, the essence of all life is not separate from the silent openness of simple listening.
Sitting quietly is vast boundless being, not belonging to me or you. Revealing what is as it is, beholding it and yet not meddling with it in the light of wisdom and compassion too marvelous to comprehend.
A Variety of Ways to Participate
Silent retreats form the heart of life at Springwater. Grounded in an atmosphere of inquiry and shared silence, a daily schedule is offered with timed sittings, a morning talk, meetings with teachers, and an afternoon group dialogue.
A one day retreat experience, our All Day Sittings begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. The day includes time for sitting, a talk, vegetarian lunch, an afternoon dialogue group, and concludes with refreshments and social time.
During quiet weeks, specific areas of the building are kept in silence, while the rest of the house continues in its work day. This provides a quiet, meditative atmosphere in the midst of everyday life.
You are welcome to visit as a guest or volunteer outside of retreat. You can create a personal retreat experience, supported by daily sittings, shared meals, and the option to meet with teachers.
Retreats
Here at Springwater there is no special practice assigned or suggested. You may wish to continue with a previously learned practice, or to try something new: simply attending without a known method or purpose.
Each retreat has a daily schedule with meditation periods, a talk, private meetings with teachers, and group dialogue. All activities are optional and you are free to interact with retreat in a way that works for you. The only requirements are to participate in silence and contribute an hour of work each day.
We have been holding retreats in Springwater for over 30 years, and they have evolved over time into an innovative form that flows naturally.
Retreats
Here at Springwater there is no special practice assigned or suggested. You may wish to continue with a previously learned practice, or to try something new: simply attending without a known method or purpose.
Each retreat has a daily schedule with meditation periods, a talk, private meetings with teachers, and group dialogue. All activities are optional and you are free to interact with retreat in a way that works for you. The only requirements are to participate in silence and contribute an hour of work each day.
We have been holding retreats in Springwater for over 30 years, and they have evolved over time into an innovative form that flows naturally.
Upcoming Events
All Day Sitting (in-person)
All Day Sittings are one of the most popular ways to participate in the work of Springwater Center. We come together for a day of sharing silence, sitting, listening, and […]
Find out more »Annual Meeting (online)
At the Annual Meeting members of the Center may participate in the Trustee's election and all attendees may participate in an open discussion. There will be a potluck lunch following […]
Find out more »Seven-Day Retreat with Stephan Bielfeldt (in-person)
Stephan Bielfedt started working with Toni Packer in 1983, regularly taking part in her retreats in Germany and and in the United States. Towards the end of 1990, Toni asked him […]
Find out more »Seven-Day Retreat with Richard Witteman (in-person and online)
Richard Witteman will give talks and private meetings and will take part in the daily group dialogue. In the silence of retreat, space is here to pause, to slow down. […]
Find out more »Four-Day Retreat with Les Schaffer (online)
In this late winter/early spring retreat, Les Schaffer will give morning talks, and offer private meetings. In Les’ retreats, there is an emphasis on 1:1 meetings to focus on the […]
Find out more »Four-Day Retreat with Susan Schepp (in-person and online)
Susan Schepp has a deep commitment to meditative work and has been involved in the Center since its inception. She has a small collection of poems she’s written at the […]
Find out more »All Day Sitting (in-person)
All Day Sittings are one of the most popular ways to participate in the work of Springwater Center. We come together for a day of sharing silence, sitting, listening, and […]
Find out more »Origins
Springwater Center was founded in 1981 by Toni Packer along with over 200 friends dedicated to the work of meditation and inquiry.
Trained as a teacher in Zen Buddhism, Toni left the tradition to work with the essence of meditative practice attending to what is happening in the immediacy of each moment.
Over the years, Springwater has evolved into a large and lively community. People of all backgrounds come here to meditate in deep silence to inquire and share with one another their questions, insights, and difficulties.
Origins
Springwater Center was founded in 1981 by Toni Packer along with over 200 friends dedicated to the work of meditation and inquiry.
Trained as a teacher in Zen Buddhism, Toni left the tradition to work with the essence of meditative practice attending to what is happening in the immediacy of each moment.
Over the years, Springwater has evolved into a large and lively community. People of all backgrounds come here to meditate in deep silence to inquire and share with one another their questions, insights, and difficulties.
