Vallecitos Ethics and Reconciliation Council (VERC)

VMRC is committed to creating a safe and respectful place for all who choose to practice with us. We value the cultivation of our vibrant and connected sangha and retreats through individual responsibility, mutual respect, and practice of the precepts. We are committed to holding our leaders and teachers accountable to the ethics appropriate to their roles.

The VERC (Vallecitos Ethics and Reconciliation Council) is here to serve in the rare event that an ethical breach were to occur. This council is not designed to be a conflict resolution process or to address grievances outside of ethical violations. In the event of an ethical breach, our Formal Grievance Procedure would be implemented. The VERC does not offer legal counsel and can act only in the occasion of actual ethical misconduct. The VERC is legally bound to report illegal or criminal behavior.

Any VMRC participant who believes that they have been subjected to or who is aware of any form of serious ethical misconduct or harassment involving a Vallecitos teacher is requested to set up a meeting with a VERC member to voice their concerns and receive support.

To contact the VERC, please email director@vallecitos.org or call 505-469-9017 to request a meeting. We take your complaints seriously and they are held confidentially.

Code of Ethics for Teachers at Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center

1) We undertake the precept of refraining from killing.
In undertaking this precept we acknowledge the interconnection of all beings and our respect for all life. We agree to refine our understanding of not killing and non-harming in all our actions. Acknowledging the deep environmental crisis we face, we understand that this precept extends also to our care of the earth and the way we use the earth’s resources.

2) We undertake the precept of refraining from stealing.
We agree to not take that which does not belong to us and to respect the property of others. We agree to bring consciousness to the use of all of the earth’s resources in a respectful and ecological way. We agree to be honest in our dealing with money and not to misappropriate money committed to Dharma projects. We agree to offer teachings without favoritism in regard to student’s financial circumstances.

3) We undertake the precept of refraining from false speech.
We agree to speak that which is true and useful and to refrain from gossip in our community. We agree to hold in confidence what is explicitly told to us in confidence. We agree to cultivate conscious and clear communication, and to cultivate the quality of loving-kindness and honesty as the basis of our speech.

4) We undertake the precept of refraining from sexual misconduct.
We agree to avoid creating harm through sexuality and to avoid sexual exploitation or relationships of a sexual manner that are outside of the bounds of the relationship commitments we have made to another or that involve another who has made vows to another. Teachers with vows of celibacy will live according to their vows. Teachers in committed relationships will honor their vows and refrain from adultery. All teachers agree not to use their teaching role to exploit their authority and position in order to assume a sexual relationship with a student.

A sexual relationship is never appropriate between teachers and students.
During retreats or formal teaching, any intimation of future student-teacher romantic or sexual relationship is inappropriate.
If interest in a genuine and committed relationship develops over time between a single teacher and a student, the student-teacher relationship must clearly and consciously have ended before any further development toward a romantic relationship. Such a relationship must be approached with restraint and sensitivity – in no case should it occur immediately after retreat. A minimum time period of three months or longer from the last formal teaching between them, and a clear understanding from both parties that the student-teacher relationship has ended must be coupled with a conscious commitment to enter into a relationship that brings no harm to either party.

5) We undertake the precept of refraining from intoxicants that cause heedlessness or loss of awareness.
It is clear that substance abuse is the cause of tremendous suffering. We agree not to abuse intoxicants at any time while on retreat premises. We agree that if any teacher has a drug or alcohol addiction problem, it should be immediately addressed by the community.

...17 years ago, I received an invitation to sit for 10 days of silence at Vallecitos. I accepted the invitation with no idea of the lasting impact the retreat would have on me. Over the years, the annual pilgrimage has provided me with tools to sustain and deepen my ongoing mediation practice. Sweeping fields of wildflowers, star-dotted nights, and bubbling streams provide a unique opportunity to directly experience interconnectedness. This gentle, wild setting is a profound environment to recharge mind, spirit, and body.

Debra Susan Abbot

...I had a tremendous experience at Vallecitos, which is one of the most rewarding and positive things I’ve done within my lifetime. I have incorporated many of the things I learned into my daily life, and it has been very healthy for me. I had to experience loving kindness, sympathetic joy and generosity to understand the full power and grace of these profound feelings and actions.

...I came to Vallecitos for a retreat years ago and fell in love with it. Now as a volunteer and yogi I try to come back every summer to soak up the stunning landscapes as well as the rich dharma. This place truly calls me home.

Mark Coleman

...Vallecitos has always been one of my spiritual homes. It is a place where I have learned so much about the refuge of wilderness. It is where I have discovered so much about my own nature, from the wildness of nature there. Not only is it exquisitely beautiful and pristine, it is also profoundly serene and a place of deep renewal. I feel so blessed to have been able to visit every year for the past twenty years. I am eternally grateful for that land.

Swati Prakash

...The time and the space to reflect and cultivate inner calm were so valuable. This was a very healing experience for me. It also started me on the practice of meditating. I meditate every day now, just for 10 minutes, but it makes a huge difference in my everyday life and with work.

Krys Kornmeier

...The view of the Aspen trees outside my casita, the cool silent mornings of meditation, the warmth of the lodge, and the exquisite majesty of the land created a gentle but powerful impression... in one short visit I have come to treasure Vallecitos.

Katie Gall

...Vallecitos has truly become a home to me. Working with such great teachers and mentors is an honor and being able to absorb all the knowledge and blessings that flow through the gorgeous land has shaped my soul and nourished my mind. It really is a magical place that I am forever grateful for.

Mushim Ikeda

...I was teaching at Vallecitos one year in August, during the meteor showers. Our sensitivity heightened by hours of silent meditation, we would stand outside at night and watch trails of light cross the vast dark sky, signs from what I call the Greater Reality. Unforgettable.

Cristina Mormorunni

...I am so much more aware of the path I want to be on and the power of the sacred in my life.

Khalil Hassan

...I cannot express in words alone how important the retreat was for me. One of the most valuable lessons I learned is the importance of listening to my inner self. Vallecitos provided the necessary environment that makes it impossible not to go inward. When I returned home, I hit the ground running, but with a more focused direction. I attribute that to my stay at Vallecitos.

Jane Cronlund

...Since the retreat, my pace of personal breakthroughs has quickened and old dynamics seem to be changing in positive ways. I am better able to deal with previously tense situations and successfully resolve them. I have increased feelings of peace. Thank you!

Code of Ethics

Vallecitos Ethics and Reconciliation Council (VERC)

Code of Ethics for Teachers at Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center

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