IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
As many of you know, I am entering the 3 Year Retreat @ Sopa Choling in Nova Scotia, Canada. In fact, as you're reading this, I'm probably on the road.
Firstly, I wanted to thank all who have donated so graciously to my endeavor. I have directly contacted many of you expressing my gratitude. Yet, I do not have direct contact information for some of you, so I'm using this opportunity to thank you and to acknowledge your gift.
I want you all to know because of your generous support - through words, thoughts & monetary offerings - I recognize that you too will be entering this retreat with me. May my efforts during this retreat not be squandered with thoughts of self-doubt and indecisiveness – may this retreat inspire you to practice Buddha dharma.
I also want to thank each of you for being my friend. Those who have been part of the Wednesday night sangha, particularly - we've gotten to appreciate each other’s deep desire to wake up. And many of you have established a connection with me discussing your meditation practice and path.
Since the earliest days of the Buddhist sangha, donating so others can engage in formal practice has been part of this 2,647-year tradition. Traditionally this is known as “dana”, it is said that giving without expecting anything in return is learning how to give up our territory and let go into a bigger world.
If I may, I would like to quote Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche from the 1981 Vajrayana Transcripts.
" If you give a gift with something behind it, with an ulterior motive that you feel good about, then you are still planting habitual patterns in the back of your mind.........it is quite clear that when you give gifts you don't expect anything in return. You simply give. That is one of the most important points. Even in the hinayana or mahayana traditions, as well as the vajrayana tradition, it is necessary that your gift be an absolutely ideal gift......
Even in exchanging ourselves for others [ tonglen], we might expect some kind of a good result to come out of that- but here we are uprooting that as well. That is the idea of basic gift in the vajrayana sense, which is “mandala”, the third practice of the ngondro discipline. Mandala offering is definitely a shamatha discipline, training your mind not to expect anything in return, but constantly giving, giving, giving. Therefore, this practice is very much related with the outbreath, much more so than any of the other disciplines related with the outbreath.
Outbreath here means a lot. We breathe out more, and the inbreath becomes natural: in order to breathe out, we have to breathe in, naturally......We constantly go out again and again: therefore, we discover natural dignity and natural richness all over, again and again. We are intrinsically rich. We have basic richness because we are capable of giving lots of gifts.
In closing, I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities that The Wisdom Seat offers with our weekly sittings, monthly nyinthuns, our upcoming autumn retreat at Karme Triyana Dharmachakra and our future Authentic Presence Retreat next summer, 2025. And as part of our Wisdom Seat vision of “dana”, if cost makes it difficult for you to attend retreats, please contact us about scholarships.
May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.
May they be free from suffering and the root of suffering.
May we cheerfully delight in others' joy and accomplishments.
May they dwell in the great equanimity free from passion, aggression, and prejudice.
Yours with love and devotion in the Practice Lineage of the Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Matt DiRodio
Elements of a Shrine - A Mindful Gathering
Sunday, August 11, 3pm-4pm
Michael Carroll, Jeremiah Fruchtman, and Bill Moriarty invite you to a community discussion about the elements of a shrine and how to extend that principle to other aspects of life. Jeremiah created the Wisdom Seat shrine shown in the photo.
We welcome you to share photos of your home shrines here: https://www.thewisdomseat.org/forum/monthly-mindful-gatherings/elements-of-a-shrine-a-mindful-gathering
We will discuss the elements used in Buddhist shrines, how to create one in your home, and how to extend the shrine principle to other aspects of life.
Come join us at this community event to learn from Matt about his retreat, how he is preparing, and what it entails.
This is our August event in a monthly series called “A Wisdom Seat Mindful Gathering.” These gatherings are intended to be discussions about a specific topic, with Q&A sessions with the community. Please join us, and bring your curiosity and your questions!
Wednesday Meditation
Ongoing offering: Online meditation every Wednesday evening 6:15 to 7:30 PM EST
Summer Hiatus dates August 21st and 28th
Return September 4th
Worldwide Wednesday evening online sitting meditation practice.
We, at The Wisdom Seat, invite you to meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:15 – 7:30 PM Eastern Time to practice the sitting meditation discipline as taught in the Buddhist & Shambhala tradition of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Nyinthun: Everyone is welcome!
Ongoing offering: Nyinthun (in-person and online) The first Sunday of every month. All day sitting interspersed with walking meditation. The word nyinthun*, is Tibetan for “day session.”
In understanding dharma, Trungpa Rinpoche placed a strong emphasis on mindfulness/awareness meditation practice. This community practice of Nyinthun - all day sitting interspersed with walking meditation - gives us the opportunity to experience the full spectrum of our mind, make friends with our immediate experience and rediscover our natural sanity.
Please take a look, and sign up to join us for some nyinthun retreat days. It is ok to join for as much of the day as you can.
The Wisdom Seat Retreat
October 12 - 20, 2024
This 8-day practice intensive is designed to help us deepen our mindfulness-awareness meditation and integrate it into our daily life.
The retreat will include:
6 - 7 hours of daily shrine room meditation alternating sitting and walking during each session
Daily breath and body relaxation practices
Daily readings from Buddhist texts
Outdoor walking meditation
Individual meditation instruction upon request
Periodic group meditation instruction
75 - 90 minutes of daily chores
Participants will be asked to observe “functional silence” throughout most of the retreat, limiting verbal communication to a minimum.
Since the retreat will be limited to 30 participants, those attending will be expected to participate in all 8 days of the retreat.
Location: Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
Woodstock, NY
Collaborative practice undertaking with The Wisdom Seat & The Profound Treasury Retreat
The Wisdom Seat encourages as many opportunities for practitioners to engage in the discipline of mindfulness/awareness(shamatha/vipashyana) as one can engage in. We are happy to invite the Profound Treasury Retreat (PTR) with their offering of Sunday sitting.
PTR community is hosting a 2-hour sitting session from 9:30am to 11:30 am EST
There will be meditation instruction every third Sunday of the month, given by a qualified meditation instructor.
Dates: August 11, 18 & 25
Here is the Zoom link for this session: Sunday Sitting Zoom Link
All are welcome to attend.
KARMÊ CHÖLING
Sons & Daughters of Noble Family-Speaker Series
May 12th - October 20th
Sundays 1pm - 3pm EST
Online
Join more than twenty individuals who began their Buddhist path as students of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, or within the Vajradhatu / Shambhala community, and who have continued walking the path of dharma in an extraordinary variety of ways.Speakers and participants will together, explore the richness of our greater Vajradhatu/Shambhala extended dharma family, as well as have an opportunity to cross-pollinate our understanding of each other’s lineages and paths.
BONUS: Sept. 29 - Join Michael Carroll for a discussion on The Wisdom Seat and Meeting the Spiritual Challenge of Modern Materialism
Celebrate Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche's 90th Birthday
Arrival on August 17th at 7:30 pm EST
Departure on August 26th at 9:00 am EST
At Karmê Chöling
Taught by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Jim Scott & Scott Wellenbach
Please join us for a very special celebration of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche's 90th birthday! This 8-day long Vajrayana event will feature the Sadhana of Mahamudra written by Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso and will be led by Khenpo's students Jim Scott, Birgit Scott, Scott Wellenbach, Sukhi Barber, Alexander deVaron, and others. The lung of the sadhana will be given at the beginning of the retreat.
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche's principal student will give teachings on the Sadhana of Mahamudra during his weekend residence. The practice will include singing, dancing and lujong (Tibetan yoga) as has been taught by Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso in his well known 13 retreats at Karme Choling.
Prerequisite: Vajrayana students who have received pointing out instructions.
Early Bird Special Tuition is $990 when you pay by July 14.
Price increases to $1175 after that date.
VAJRA REGENT OSEL TENDZIN LIBRARY
Vajrayogini Teachings by Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin
Class will meet once/month
September 22nd, October 20th, November 17th, December 15th
Online
The course is based on the Vajrayogini teachings of Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin from the new book, The Indestructible Path: The Sadhana of the Coemergent Mother. At each class we will listen to and discuss the audio recordings of the talks from the two Vajrayogini ATS programs taught by the Vajra Regent with the Dorje Loppön in 1984 and 1985.
You may attend any or all classes. There is no charge for participation, but the course is only for sadhakas.
NOTE: If you are unable to attend one of the classes, they will all be recorded and posted on the Timeline.
TO REGISTER
If you have already registered with us as an empowered Vajrayogini practitioner, please let us know if you would like to pursue this course, click jackiesaunders10@gmail.com
If you are a Vajrayogini practitioner but have not registered that classification with us, please email the date of your abhisheka, where, and by whom. We will be happy to add you to the list. That will also enable you to access sadhaka-level teachings on the Timeline, whether or not you can take this course. If you would like to take this course, include that in your email to us.
WESTCHESTER MEDITATION CENTER
The Way of the Buddha:
Waking Up through the Path of Meditation
WMC Foundation Level Course – Semester One
Wednesdays 7 – 8:30 PM
September 11 – December 18, 2024
at the Aligned Center, Irvington
Hybrid Class: also on Zoom
Description:Join us as we explore the authentic path of meditation and insight as originally described by the Buddha and skillfully transmitted to the West by one of the great Tibetan masters of our time, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. We will explore such topics as the life of the Buddha; the birth of confusion and suffering; karma; and the path to sanity, insight and compassion. We’ll focus on the techniques and stages of meditation, as well as bringing meditation into our daily lives. Our study will be presented in talks and group discussion.
Readings have been compiled from a wide variety of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s writings and provided in a sourcebook, available in both printed and digital versions. In-person attendance is encouraged, but the course will be 'hybrid' format, with the option to attend via Zoom.
Taught by Gene Bobker
& Tom Pantaleoni
Suggested* offering: $125 (or $15 per class)
DORJE DENMA LING
Mahamudra Retreat: Discovering the Nature of Mind
with Scott Wellenbach and Kristine McCutcheon
September 27 - October 20, 2024
Dorje Denma Ling, Canada
Description:
We are delighted to invite you to a vajrayana program this autumn, restricted to tantrikas and sadhakas who have received pointing out instruction.
Kristine McCutcheon and Scott Wellenbach will lead the group in this three-week, mostly silent retreat following Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje’s shamatha and vipashyana mahamudra meditation instructions.
An opportunity for a supported deep retreat. A chance to be alone in a group. A time to simplify, enjoy and meditate.
The retreat generally follow the format as practiced in the Sopa Choling Retreat. Our practice will be both inside the shrine room and outside in nature, both still and moving. Each retreatant will have options for interviews. Everyone will support the container with shared care of the environment.
Link:https://dorjedenmaling.org/programs-listing/2107/mahamudra-retreat-discovering-the-nature-of-mind/
PROFOUND TREASURY RETREAT
The Colorado Retreat: Everything is Connected
October 4 – 13, 2024
Drala Mountain Center, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado
The topic of this year’s retreat is the mandala principle. Mandalas present Buddhist teachings in the form of a circular diagram, as a dynamic and interconnected system. Mandala teachings encourage us to think more holistically and to relate to experience in terms of energies, systems, relationships, and patterns of interconnection. Mandalas display the intersecting webs of connection between all experiences and all beings. They help us to place our personal experiences within a broader context, a context in which every experience is welcomed and included.
Throughout the retreat, our focus will be on cultivating a direct visceral connection with the five basic elements—earth, water, fire, wind, and space— as a way to go more deeply into Buddhist teachings on working with emotions.
KATOG CHOLING GON
Nyingtik Yabzhi
November 8th – 12th
Nyingtik Tsapod
November 14th – 17th
Katog Choling Gön (Katog Rit’hröd) Retreat Center
Parthenon, Arkansas
On the occasion of the consecration of the new temple and representations, Khentrul Lodrö T’hayé Rinpoche offers this special event at the Katog Choling Gön retreat center in Parthenon, Arkansas.
You may attend just the Nyingtik Yabzhi or just the Nyingtik Tsapod or both, but full attendance of either section is mandatory. The Nyingtik Yabzhi will be from the morning of the 8th to the evening of 12th. The 13th serves as a rest and travel day. The Nyingtik Tsapod will be from the morning of the 14th to the evening of the 17th. You must arrive the day before and depart the day after these dates for either both or one of the teachings.
The cost for attending both events is a sliding scale $560-800. The amount is reduced if you are attending only one of the empowerments. Katog-provided accommodations are an extra charge. Full cost and accommodation details are provided during the registration process below.
Link for Registration & Questionnaire:https://katog.org/event/2024-11-8-katogrithrodgon/
There are some meditators who don’t rest naturally in themselves but watch every occurring thought like a cat waiting for a mouse.
Just rest directly in the thought when it occurs and in the absence of thought when there is no occurrence.
From Naturally Free Wisdom Mind
by Dza Patrul Rinpoche
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