Sometimes it's helpful to go on a meditation retreat. We can do it for a day, a weekend, or longer if we have the time. During a retreat, we leave behind our usual occupations and activities to concentrate on a particular spiritual practice. There are three kinds of retreat: physical, verbal, and mental. We practice a physical retreat when, with a spiritual motivation, we isolate ourselves from other people, activities, and noises, and abandon all actions unrelated to the spiritual practice; we practice a verbal retreat when, with a spiritual motivation, we abandon meaningless conversations and remain silent for a certain period of time; and we practice a mental retreat when we avoid distractions and mental disturbances, such as hatred, attachment, jealousy, and ignorance, and maintain mental awareness and vigilance. If we remain in physical and verbal retreat, but don't practice a mental retreat, we won't get results. Although it may help us relax, if we don't avoid delusions, our mind will remain troubled even while in retreat. Despite everything, a physical and verbal retreat will always help us to maintain a mental retreat."

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso