Monastic Academy (MAPLE)

What a life-changing time at the Monastic Academy! After getting to know Soryu Forall in 2011 as his first student from Germany, I finally was able to enjoy his teachings and the place, he created, for six weeks. My practice got such a boost!
I am so happy and endless grateful for this experience. This place is not comparable to any other spiritual place that I have been before. And I did check out several Christian and Buddhist sites in the last decades.
The first moment, I entered the place, met the community that lives there and runs the place, and knew immediately that this is it! And I am not talking about the unbelievable natural beauty of the site. No,- so much more important: These are finally my people!

It was/it is this the place that I was longing for, for so long, because the people here REALLY live and radiate wisdom and compassion! On so many levels, - it is amazing. Everyone is wholeheartedly striving for wisdom and compassion all day long. No exception. Everyone lives it. Expresses it. The head teacher, Soryu Forall, being a great role model. He is able to interpret, apply and live deep buddhist teachings in and for our modern world. I haven't met any other teacher yet, that I trust more and who has this beautiful way of combining competence, clarity and kindness in his teachings.

The Monastic Academy is so different. One of the most outstanding differences is, that they see conflict as an opportunity to connect and not turning away. In these kind of situations you can prove people's practice. I was able to directly experience that the Monastic Academy folks really live wisdom and compassion when there are challenges, when stuff is rough, when there is conflict. It is breathtaking. They really walk their talk. I can highly recommend this place to anyone who is interested in a serious, effective and modern spiritual path.

I am looking forward to my next time at there, where I know, I can trust and transform myself for the better even more. And come back to my dear friends that I was looking for my whole adult life.

Sabine Heggemann

I stayed at MAPLE for a two-month apprenticeship and it was a wonderful experience. The residents and teachers are such a welcoming community and really care about developing their meditation practice and friendships together with everyone who visits. The monastery itself is in an area with beautiful forests and hiking trails, and it’s a great environment to immerse yourself in for practice.

Note that there are specific rules and norms of practice at the monastery to get used to (influenced by Zen Buddhism), but they are all explained in full to visitors and the residents are friendly / open to answering any questions.

I’d highly recommend visiting for a retreat or as a coworking guest—consider applying for the free apprenticeship if you have two months to focus on meditation practice!

In these times of uncertainty and collapse, the Monastic Academy is cultivating a community and ecology of practices to develop trustworthy people. I came to MAPLE as a seasoned meditation practitioner, circler, and veteran of many leadership training programs. In their Apprenticeship program I quickly learned that there is so much more Surrender and skill that I can access. MAPLE's unique combination of traditional awakening training with a culture of accountability, responsibility, and Service has offered me the best container I've found yet for becoming the kind of person who can meet the chaos of the 21st century with strength, wisdom, and love.

I arrived to the Monastic Academy as an apprentice without any expectations. What brought me here was a longing to live in a community - a sangha - of other seekers that were committed to not looking away from the unfolding collapse and meta-crisis we collectively face. I also wanted to cultivate the leadership skills within myself to best serve my community in these increasingly stressful times, further developing my meditation and interpersonal practices so that I can serve from a place of clarity and wisdom. This was my intention. And despite the fact that I had no idea what to expect in my apprenticeship, I knew that it wouldn't be easy.

What I did end up experiencing was one of the most rich yet challenging two month periods of my life. Let's just say this isn't a program for those that desire to go off to retreat so they can escape the world and get all high with feelings of peace and calm. Its a program for those committing to go deeper, committing to growth, even if - or I should say invariably if - that means dealing with some uncomfortable repressed emotions. In the normal world, I find it's much easier to hide or push away these shadow aspects of self. Not here though. Through the ecology of practices utilized at MAPLE - which besides for formal meditation practice, include circling and bio-emotive feedback- I was forced to confront lurking shadows. Rather than avoiding them like I might in the outside world, here, I just sat with these difficult emotions that would arise. I'd sit with them, breathe into them, and come back to the sensations in my body and my direct experience. Not to say that I feel "better" than any idealized - possibly illusory - state of being that I had before coming to MAPLE. But I do feel more real, I feel more grounded, and I feel more open to all of the world - particularly that world that only I can see and experience.

I get that this might not strike the reader as the glowing and uplifting review they were hoping for. But I can't speak highly enough about MAPLE and about their apprenticeship program. My time here has lead me to feel like whatever these crazy times bring us as a species and bring me individually, I will be able to show up more skillfully - with more wisdom, more love, and more power to positively influence whichever environment I find myself within. I feel less fear and more equanimity when I gaze out at the untrodden road that awaits

I am three days into a five day stay as a first time guest here at MAPLE and my heart is full getting to experience the lively pulse of a community that is so passionately and explicitly actually about what it says it is about: collective awakening for the benefit of all beings.

I am deeply inspired by the hardworking and sincere souls who have entered into this pursuit together. People are real and available and generous with their time and attention, especially considering the rigors of the training programs they have committed to. Mostly in their 20's 30's and 40's, MAPLE residents' and 'villagers' will provide you with hope for the future, or at least a taste of the practices to help wisely co-create one.

On Saturday I will get to try my first "full day of meditation" with these fellow aspirants. My first attempts at mediation in a retreat setting were not pleasant to say the least, but the supportive and encouraging community here makes me feel confident and excited about testing out this next step in my practice journey.

I didn't know anyone in the organization before showing up, so don't think you need a personal "in" to be welcomed. While there is a proud 'wear it on your sleeve' culture of immersive dharma practice here that is sometimes referenced with humor that can border on wry, don't be intimidated. While it is true that those who aren't familiar with the time-tested techniques of Buddhist development spaces may feel affronted (by not understanding the purpose of the discipline, decorum and perfectly healthy "deprivation" from some of the more gluttonous delights of modern life), give a MAPLE visit a serious look if you yearn to learn how to sever the root of suffering in yourself and all beings.

Summary: Don't come here looking for 'answers' or for therapy or for that idyllic community to help fill the proverbial hole in your soul. Do take the leap and commit to explore if you understand the importance of disrupting the patterns of ego that modern society is invested in profiting off of. If you have put some foundational work into your own self-awareness and have experienced the value of humbling yourself, then you are a good candidate to greatly benefit from practice at MAPLE, even if it is just for a short while. Every day here is a gift!

Coming to MAPLE has been a profoundly beneficial experience for me as well as a difficult one.
Early on in my stay, I could clearly sense the wisdom and love emanating from the people here; I knew I had a lot to learn from these people and I still do. The land is among the most beautiful I have been on. The zendo, or meditation room, is the most beautiful building I have been in. The schedule holds me. The community holds me. All this was clear early on in my stay. It was also clear that I could throw myself into the training here. I was welcome to spend time meditating and feeling my feelings in the evenings so that I could day by day build a sense of clarity, calm, warmth, and joy that is priceless.
So precious and rare is the training here, a community of people that are actually working every day, joyfully and rigorously, to become friends to all beings, trustworthy and internally clear leaders of families, communities, and organizations. There is so much to learn from each person here.
MAPLE is a training centre, a monastic container, where the sense of both care and rigour is evident. The food is delicious, and the residents offer feedback as gifts, the kindness of a friend who won't just do the easy move but will do the right move, to help me see the impacts that my actions have on myself and others. The schedule is solid and evidently both hard and beneficial, evoking awakening and responsibility, which mostly shows up as sitting in meditation to clean up the mind and working purposefully to support the functioning and growth of the organization.
Being here is a challenge for many reasons: rigid schedule, living with others, renouncing many of the pleasures of modern western life, sitting, chores. Each of these challenges shows me myself, the resistance I have, and how to overcome those to work joyfully and to actually care for myself and others, cultivating enthusiasm and energy that can be directed towards what is most important in life which often not easy. Each day I spend here shows me a group of people training to walk in a good way, to see the world clearly and stay connected with the world while pursuing deep monastic training. I love it here. It is hard and it is so worth it.

The Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth(MAPLE) has enriched my life in so many ways. I have stayed at MAPLE for a two month apprenticeship. The experience was humbling, inspirational, loving, and wholesome. I have learnt how to address my bad habits, how to reform myself and build good habits, how to have deeper connections with those around me, how to lead and how to follow, how to meditate, how to lead a good life, and so much more. A life that is good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end. There are many programs MAPLE runs beside the apprenticeships. Silent retreats and guest stays, vision quests and deep dives into other modalities, Co-working and online learning. I invite you to stay for a retreat or just for a weekend, you will be welcomed with love and have the opportunity to be a part of an alternative mode of living. The friendships I have gained are invaluable, the practises that I have begun are invaluable, the trust in my own capabilities to walk the path I have realized is invaluable. If you can't make it out to MAPLE you too can be involved. You have the opportunity to donate! The generosity of supporters is how MAPLE sustains itself. Receive the joy of giving to a good cause. I do hope you can see the difference your presence, your contribution can make, to MAPLE, to the world, and to your life.

I have had several life-changing experiences here. The residents are kind, generous individuals, and my time here, both in retreat and as a guest, has radically improved my meditation practice in ways that have enriched my day-to-day life.

I am deeply grateful to this organization, and highly recommend any seekers invest in exploring their path here. You are supporting not only yourself, but an inspiring, authentic community that envisions a better, enlightened world.

Retreat experiece here was friendly, challenging, rewarding, insightful. I love the secluded beauty for hiking and meditation walking. The rugged beams and fireplace give the main room an attractive, relaxing atmosphere. The food was delicious, healthy and abundant. Large front porch and lawn for walking. As someone said, I'll be back!

Fabulous people, great meditation instructions, sublime discipline, tasty and healthy food and world class systems thinking.

Pros
- beautiful heartfelt community
- inspiring dharma teachings
- serreal land and valley views
- mix of traditional and modern modalities
-intense meditation retreats
- working on some cool projects to address existential risk and not just be naval gazers

Cons
- not everyones cup of tea
- remote location, can be insular from both local and broader society

Context - Resident for two years

I’m a current resident at MAPLE, and have trained both here and at Oak in the SF Bay Area since January 2020. This training has been immensely significant for me, a unique integration of classical awakening with responsibility for facing the problems of the world. While it’s already valuable and good to work in either of those areas, the audacity here to do both in service to each other really resonates with me.

The culture here is quite remarkable for having established the view that giving feedback is a loving act. Having a propensity for relentless questioning, I have stress-tested it in my own ways, openly challenging the community and their leaders, including the main teacher, Soryu Forall, by simply daring to be as authentic as possible (while holding intention to uphold all training agreements to stay in integrity).

My conclusion so far: this sangha is for real in their commitment to respect for each other’s sovereignty, to humility for the sake of continuous personal and collective development, to a level of friendship for all that I thought was impossible before training here. Their standard for goodness is one I have not found anywhere else, and inspires me to grow beyond myself everyday.

Nonetheless, the training can be very challenging and confronting, so it may not be the right place for you where you are on your journey. That’s totally fine, as there are many good things to do in the world, and many good places to be. Even if this calls to you, I’d recommend visiting for a few days as a guest first. Some parts of this culture may be unimaginable before having direct experience of it.

Beauty and love.