What happens when young adults have the chance to step away from their everyday lives, study and practice the Dharma, spend time in nature, and do it alongside others their own age?
In late August, Waking Up in a Living World brought together participants ages 18–35 for a five-day retreat led by Cara Lai and Zac Ispa-Landa. The group moved between silence and conversation, meditation and study, and indoor and outdoor practice. The natural world was part of the retreat itself, as participants practiced in, with, and as nature while exploring what it means to belong in a world that is wild, uncertain, impermanent, and astonishingly alive.
The retreat was offered freely in the spirit of generosity, supported by Dharma Gates and BCBS’s broader donor community, as part of our commitment to greater access for communities that have faced historical and ongoing barriers to participation, including young adults.
For Silas Starrantino, the retreat fulfilled a longing he had carried since adolescence.
“As a teenager, I longed for the opportunity to practice meditation and learn about Buddhism with others, but at the time I did not have access to a practice community, and I felt very alone on my journey,” he shared. “Eighteen years later, thanks to BCBS and Dharma Gates, I feel deep fulfillment of this long-held dream in connection with the sangha of other young adults and teachers created on the retreat.”
The timing was especially meaningful for Silas. He began a college program in environmental science the following week. The integration of ecology and Dharma, he said, “deepened my joy and curiosity about the natural world,” and he has carried that energy into both his studies and his meditation practice.
Dylan Walter came to the retreat with a different kind of hesitation. “Although I was terrified by the premise, dreading the idea of detaching from the constant stimulation of the modern world,” he wrote, “I found that it was enormously beneficial for my overall well-being.”
Dylan McKee described a new way of relating to both the earth and his own experience. “This retreat provided me with a new perspective on my connection to the earth, and helped me to truly become a planet of my own, where I can let thoughts and surrounding phenomena move over me like rivers, cars, and animals,” he shared.
He also said the retreat gave him “a positive and loving relationship with both mental and physical pain that I never thought possible.”
“I have been recognizing the beauty in the joy AND the suffering, and finding endless gratitude for it all as I let the waves pass through me.”
Dharma Gates, a nonprofit that connects young adults with Buddhist teachers, practice centers, and other young practitioners, partnered with BCBS to help make the retreat possible. Sydney Slavitt, Director of Programs at Dharma Gates, sees young adult retreats as a way to help this generation meet the challenges of the world:
“Retreats for young adults aren’t just pockets of peace and refuge, a place to find solid ground amid the storm—though they are that too. They’re a practice of turning toward the challenges of the world, from the inside out, so that this generation can meet the moment resourced with wisdom and compassion.”
We are grateful to Cara and Zac for leading the retreat, to Dharma Gates for their partnership, and to the donors whose generosity helped make these five days of practice and community possible.
For other young adults wondering whether retreat practice is worth exploring, Silas echoed the Buddha’s simple invitation: “Come and see.”
