STEADY IN THE STORM: CULTIVATING COMPASSION AND EQUANIMITY
A Meditation Retreat with Devin Berry
In person only at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, WI
August 1–3, 2025
We're delighted to let you know that Devin Berry will be leading our retreat this August. The retreat will be held at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, Wisconsin. Overlooking Lake Mendota and the Madison skyline, the monastery sits on 130 acres of land, with a glacial lake, wooded nature trails, restored prairie, gardens, and orchards.
Retreat Description
Compassion (karuṇā) and equanimity (upekkhā) are not qualities we force or perform. They are natural capacities of the heart that deepen through practice. They allow us to stay in relationship with suffering without becoming overwhelmed, and to meet joy without clinging or forgetting what matters.
In this weekend retreat, we’ll cultivate these two powerful qualities as everyday, embodied responses to a world in flux. Compassion that doesn’t collapse. Equanimity that doesn’t withdraw. Together, they form a grounded, steady presence that can meet this very moment, with honesty, care, and courage.
Rooted in the classical teachings of the Buddha and grounded in the realities of modern life, our time together will be held in empowering noble silence, supported by Dhamma reflection and instruction.
This retreat isn’t about escaping the world. It’s about learning to stand in the middle of it, awake, responsive, and free.
The retreat will be appropriate for both new and experienced practitioners.
Note. Those new to meditation retreats are sometimes surprised by the whole days of silence, unguided meditation periods, and the sleepiness, restlessness, and emotional swings that can accompany solitary inward investigation. We want everyone who registers to have some sense of what retreat is like. If you have any questions, please contact the registrar at registrar@madisonmeditation.org and plan to attend the orientation at 8:30 am on the first day of the retreat (August 1).
If you’d like an introduction to Devin’s teachings, check out his website and his talks on Dharma Seed.
Cost
The retreat will be primarily nonresidential, with a residential option for a limited number of practitioners. Registration fees are on a sliding-scale basis. The sliding scale goes from 50% to 150% of our costs, and within this range, you’re invited to offer the amount that best suits your circumstances. Please pay at the highest level of the sliding scale you can afford to give others who need to pay less the opportunity to attend. If the lower end of the range exceeds what you can afford, please offer the amount that best suits your circumstances.
Fees for those attending the retreat go toward our costs for room (for residential retreatants), simple vegetarian meals, and fixed costs (teacher transportation, room, and meals; facility rental costs; and miscellaneous expenses).
In keeping with Theravāda Buddhist tradition, there is no charge for the teachings, and no portion of the fee goes to the teacher. Instead, toward the end of the retreat there will be an opportunity to offer a free-will donation (dāna) to the teacher in appreciation for the benefit you received.
Health Precautions and Waiver
You are registering for a residential retreat that is being conducted in person only. To protect the community's health, the following policies are in place:
No COVID testing will be required before the retreat. However, if you're feeling unwell, we ask that you remain home and notify the registrar right away at registrar@madisonmeditation.org.
Masks will be optional.
We ask yogis to report any symptoms of sickness that set in while on retreat, and we will test for COVID under that circumstance. Anyone testing positive will be asked to return home or isolate.
Hand sanitizer will be located in heavy traffic areas, and hand sanitizing will be required before meals.
Retreatants must agree to a waiver of liability as part of registration.
Reserved Spaces for Young People and Persons Of Color
We reserve the last few spots before the retreat fills up for young people (age 25 and under) and people of color who haven’t yet registered. We’ll reserve these spots until three weeks before the retreat (July 11). After that, we’ll open up any remaining spots to people on the waiting list. If you identify with one or both of those groups, check the appropriate box(es) on the registration form. If you have questions about whether spaces are still available, please contact the registrar at registrar@madisonmeditation.org.
Meals
On each full day of the retreat, a vegetarian lunch and dinner will be served in the dining hall. A continental breakfast will be available for residential retreatants. The retreat will end after lunch on Sunday, August 3.
Please let us know if you have food allergies. Although we can’t promise that Holy Wisdom will be able to accommodate special dietary needs, they try very hard to do so. A kitchen is available upstairs in the guesthouse for anyone who wishes to bring supplemental food.
Assistive Listening Devices and Other Special Needs
If you want to use one of our assistive listening devices, please indicate this on the registration form. We find that these work best with your own earbuds or headphones. If you have questions about our devices, please contact Mike Kehl at mike.fiddlehead@gmail.com. To inquire about other needs, contact the registrar at registrar@madisonmeditation.org.
Chemical Sensitivity
Please refrain from using perfumes or scented shampoos, ointments, or lotions in consideration of those with chemical sensitivities.
Ridesharing
If you would like to request or offer a ride to and/or from Holy Wisdom, please indicate this on the registration form. Alternatively, contact the registrar at registrar@madisonmeditation.org.
Schedule
Friday, August 1: 9:15 am – 8:30 pm
Check-in at Holy Wisdom: 8:15 am – 9:00 am
Orientation for those new to retreat or the facility: 8:30 am – 9:00 am
Saturday, August 2: 9:00 am – 8:30 pm
Sunday, August 3: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Please note: The teacher may make slight changes to this schedule.
Registration and Payment
To register, please COMPLETE ONLINE REGISTRATION by Monday, July 28. We encourage you to register early, especially if you would like to stay at Holy Wisdom. If the retreat is full, we can place you on the waiting list. If you do not get a spot, you will receive a full refund.
After completing the registration form, you will be asked to pay your registration fee online. If you prefer not to pay electronically, please contact the registrar at registrar@madisonmeditation.org to make other arrangements.
If you cannot pay your registration fee when you submit your registration form, you may return to this page later and use this payment link.
After registering and paying your fee, you’ll receive an email confirmation. Closer to the retreat, you’ll receive another email providing additional details.
For questions about registration, please contact the registrar at registrar@madisonmeditation.org.
Please note: Your place in the registration queue will not be secured until we receive your payment along with your registration form.
Cancellations
If you cancel by July 1, we will refund the registration fee you paid minus $50. If you cancel after July 1, you will receive a refund only if we are able to fill your spot.
About the Teacher
Devin Berry is a Guiding Teacher at Insight Meditation Society and Insight Western Mass, and a visiting teacher at Spirit Rock. He has practiced in the insight tradition since 1999, under the guidance of Larry Yang, Lyn Fine, Joseph Goldstein, Carol Wilson, and Kamala Masters. His teaching is rooted in the classical Dharma, shaped by long-term retreat practice and the heart practices of metta and vipassanā.
Devin has taught widely across the U.S. He spent many years working with youth, including school-based mindfulness, rites of passage, wilderness camp, urban summer camps, and healing-centered programs.
He is also a co-creator of Deep Time Liberation, an ancestral healing journey centered on the impact of ancestral legacy, intergenerational trauma and wisdom on Black Americans.
He teaches with a grounded, heartfelt style that blends deep Dharma with real-world honesty.