Our search for happiness drives us, but this search leaves us in a state of “suspended happiness”—not quite happy yet, hoping someday I might be. This story of happiness is always about an imaginary future, dependent on conditions being met. That's a pretty tough task... to get everything to fall into place, someday. This plan reinforces the view that “I am not there yet.” We all want peace, but we think it lies at the end of the rainbow. We think that it takes time. We don't realize that there is no salvation in time. Peace is in you now as your natural state when you are not waiting for it, not postponing it.
Howard Cohn, MA
Residential Retreat Teacher
Howard Cohn is one of the original Spirit Rock teachers. He has led Insight Meditation retreats worldwide since 1985. He has also led the Mission Dharma Community in San Francisco for over 40 years. The community meets primarily online now in addition to frequent in person hybrid day retreats. He has trained with teachers from all the main Buddhist lineages, though his root tradition is the Burmese Insight Meditation lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw. He was also profoundly impacted be his association with the Advaita teacher HWL Poonja and Tibetan Vajrayana teacher Tulku Urgyen Rimpoche. He emphasizes the ever-present awareness that is our natural state and the wisdom and heart qualities that emanate from it. He has a graduate degree in Counseling Psychology and has been mentoring students since 1984.
Howard Cohn's Upcoming Programs
Short Program | On-Land
Friday, September 25 | 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Insight Meditation Day of Practice: A Mini Retreat
4 CE Credits. This day of practice in the Insight Meditation tradition is an invitation to develop and strengthen our capacity for mindfulness and friendliness. Practicing sitting and walking meditation, with a relaxed and kind attention to our present moment experience, we are able to more easily welcome all experience and reduce our reactivity. Direct experience of the present moment enables us to connect with ourselves more intimately, leading to insight knowledge.
This day is suitable for new and experienced meditators.
Howard Cohn
Short Program | Online
Friday, September 25 | 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Insight Meditation Day of Practice: A Mini Retreat
4 CE Credits. This day of practice in the Insight Meditation tradition is an invitation to develop and strengthen our capacity for mindfulness and friendliness. Practicing sitting and walking meditation, with a relaxed and kind attention to our present moment experience, we are able to more easily welcome all experience and reduce our reactivity. Direct experience of the present moment enables us to connect with ourselves more intimately, leading to insight knowledge.
This day is suitable for new and experienced meditators.
Howard Cohn
Retreat | On-Land
November 27 - November 30, 2026 | Friday - Monday | 3 nights
The Gift of Loving Awareness: Embracing Life with Wisdom & Kindness
Spaces Still Available! Mindfulness and love are essential qualities of an awakened life. When awareness and compassion are integrated, they offer a wise and tender way of meeting whatever arises within ourselves, our relationships, and the world. This retreat invites you to cultivate loving awareness through mindfulness and heart-opening practices, supporting clarity, kindness, and resilience. Together, we will explore how to meet life’s challenges with greater ease, understanding, and an open, responsive heart.
Retreat | On-Land
December 1 - December 5, 2026 | Tuesday - Saturday | 4 nights
The Natural Clarity of Awareness: Courage, Connection, and Compassion
Spaces Still Available! This retreat explores refined qualities of attention that deepen mindfulness and support insight into the nature of experience. By inclining the mind toward restful, non-reactive awareness, we open to tranquility, clarity, and joy. Moment-to-moment presence reveals our entanglement with changing conditions and guides us toward freedom. These natural capacities are seeds of awakening and help integrate mindfulness, compassion, and wise action into daily life. The retreat includes Dharma teachings, meditation instructions, mindful movement, and guidance in the practice of lovingkindness.
Retreat | On-Land
January 5 - January 11, 2027 | Tuesday - Monday | 6 nights
Winter Insight Meditation Retreat
Registration Open.The Buddha’s teachings and meditation practices 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 is designed for both new and experienced meditators, and 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.
Howard Cohn
Erin Treat
Leslie Booker
Teresa Todoroff (Movement Teacher)
Ramona Lisa Ortiz-Smith (Teacher in Training)
Retreat | On-Land
September 1 - September 6, 2027 | Wednesday - Monday | 5 nights
Labor Day Insight Meditation Retreat
Registration Open. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity and depth of practice. Traditional instructions will be combined with a spirit of lovingkindness, and our time together will include a schedule of silent sitting and walking periods, guided Yoga/movement sessions, as well as practice meetings with teachers and daily Dharma talks. This retreat is for experienced as well as new students.
James Baraz
Howard Cohn
Dawn Mauricio
Terry Vandiver (Movement Teacher)
Eve Decker (Teacher in Training)
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Howard Cohn through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.