Mettā and Insight Retreat with Tempel Smith & Kristina Baré [May16beth]

Retreat Description

Two Wings of Awakening: Mettā and Insight Retreat

In this 9 day retreat we will cultivate universal friendliness (Mettā) aimed at strengthening our hearts and developing concentration (samādhi).

Mettā becomes the gentle base for deepening insight into the true nature of body and mind.

Mettā meditation supports inner peace and aids us to powerfully engage with the world. Insight meditation supports clear seeing into what keeps us trapped in cycles of suffering and how we can free ourselves from these patterns.

The combination of these two practices offer a unique opportunity to blend the two wings of Buddhist wisdom based in love and emptiness.

This retreat is open to all meditators who have sat at least a weekend retreat in the insight meditation tradition. The retreat will be held in noble silence from the first evening until the last day, including a requirement to turn off and put away all electronic devices. We welcome all people from widely diverse communities and backgrounds, and our center support those with ability access requirements.

General Info

Please read all of the information about the retreat carefully before registering:

Registration: This retreat will go on sale January 30 at 10am PT. We anticipate tickets will sell out very quickly. We recommend you register as soon as possible once the tickets go on sale. Please note that the deadline for financial assistance is January 16 - see Supported Ticket section below for more details.

Retreat Fees: A range of registration fees are available for Private Rooms, Shared Rooms, and Commuter Spots. Please choose the highest rate you can comfortably offer:

Private Room Benefactor Ticket $2,800 CAD: The benefactor rate covers the actual cost of the program and also provides funds to subsidize the reduced fees paid by others who have more challenging financial circumstances. A donation tax receipt will be provided for the difference between the Sustaining rate and the Benefactor rate. If you would like to make a smaller donation to support financial assistance for others, please purchase a Sustaining Ticket and offer a donation of any amount to BCIMS via our Canada Helps page.

Private Room Sustaining Ticket $2,150 CAD: The sustaining rate represents the actual cost to BCIMS to operate our programs.

Shared Room Sustaining Ticket $1,700 CAD: For folks interested in attending the retreat with a shared room spot. There will be an opportunity in the Order Form to indicate if you have any room sharing preferences and/or if there is someone attending the retreat you wish to share a room with.

Commuter Spot Sustaining Ticket $1,300 CAD: For folks interested in joining the retreat as a commuter. You will need to arrange your own off-site accommodations. Your meals are included.

Supported Tickets: There are limited supported tickets available for up to 50% of the Sustaining rates (you may apply for financial assistance of up to $1,075 for Private Room, $850 for Shared Room, and $650 for Commuter tickets). To apply for a supported ticket please use this online form. There is general financial assistance for people with financial challenges, and also support available from our DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) fund. We encourage folks who identify as BIPOC (black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour), 2SLGBTQIA+, have a visible or invisible disability, or are from other underrepresented and systemically marginalized communities, to apply for this fund. The deadline for applications for all supported tickets is January 16, 2026.

Please note that your registration fee goes toward retreat costs and BC Insight Meditation Society organizational expenses which allow us to continue offering retreats such as this one. Financial support for the teacher is offered separately.

Teacher Dana: In the Buddhist tradition, teachings are given freely because they are considered priceless; in the Buddhist tradition we also practice dana, or generosity, by making monetary offerings to the teachers. Dana is not payment for goods or services rendered; it is given from the heart. Your generosity is a gift that supports not just the teachers, but also the Sangha, the larger Dharma community, and your own practice. More info on Dana will be shared with registrants.

BCIMS Cancellation Policy:

30 days or more before the start of retreat: refund offered, less a $175 cancellation fee.

Between 30 days to 10 days before start of retreat: 50% refund offered.

Within 10 days of the start of retreat: no refund guaranteed.

Please note, our BCIMS Cancellation Policy applies to all ticket holders, including those with discounted tickets.

Accessibility Needs: There will be an opportunity on the Registration Order Form to specify any special needs or accommodations, including any needs or requests on washrooms, dietary, and access needs.

We may not be able to meet everyone’s preferences but we will do our best to accommodate needs and make the retreat as safe and accessible as possible. We encourage you to please reflect on the difference between needs and preferences for your stay as you fill out the Form, as this allows us to more easefully accommodate all retreatants.

Ridesharing: The information collected during registration regarding ridesharing will be distributed by email to all interested retreatants about four weeks prior to the retreat. Each individual is then responsible for directly making any ridesharing arrangement.

COVID-19: It is anticipated that small gatherings will be allowed by the BC Provincial Health Authority at this time. All health guidelines in place at the time of the retreat for small gatherings will be followed and communicated to attendees.

Attendees are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated, including the boosters, though we will not be requiring proof during check in. Masks are optional and encouraged in shared indoor spaces.

About the Venue: Please visit the Bethlehem Retreat Centre for more info.

About the Teachers:

Kristina Baré is an insight meditation teacher, therapist, and Somatic Experiencing practitioner. She has trained primarily in the Burmese lineages of Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw and Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw.

She enjoys supporting students in deepening samadhi, loving-kindness and insight. Opening the door to an expansion of the heart and to liberating wisdom. In support of the Buddha’s teachings, Kristina also draws on knowledge from western psychology and Somatic Experiencing. She invites a kind, patient, and embodied approach as a base for samadhi and insight meditation practices.

Kristina graduated from a four year Dharma Teacher training program mentored by Marcia Rose, Sally and Guy Armstrong. She teaches insight meditation retreats in Canada, Spirit Rock CA and Insight Meditation Society MA. She lives in Victoria, BC from where she offers dharma support to students via zoom in North America and Europe.

Tempel Smith teaches Mindfulness, Insight and Metta meditation with an emphasis on Buddhist psychology and mind-body awareness. He spent a year as a monk in Burma with Sayadaw U Pandita and Pa Auk Sayadaw. Tempel serves on the Spirit Rock Governing Teachers Council, organizes the Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP), Concentration, and Month Long retreats for Spirit Rock, and teaches classes online for experienced students.

With heartfelt gratitude, BCIMS acknowledges we are based in what is now known as Vancouver, BC, the beautiful, traditional, and unceded lands of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples, who live on and have stewarded this land for thousands of years.