IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Being immersed in the heart of winter allows one to slow down and take a deep close look at our life. In the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism this period is known as the Dön Season which is characterized by an intensity of disruptions and ripening of karma.
At the end of this period the celebration of the Tibetan New Year is known as Losar / Lunar New Year / Shambhala Day . There are celebrations that you can join in the Year of the Wood Dragon, February 10, 2024
Dön Season Retreat Online on Ocean: Vajrakilaya and Pacifying the Turmoil of the Mamos practices during the final 12 days of the old year, to dispel obstacles and pave the way for a good beginning to the new year. Mamos chants sessions open to all. https://www.chronicleproject.com/don-season-retreat-on-ocean/
Shambhala Day Sadhana of Mahamudra practice, in person and online from the Halifax Shambhala Center. Look for an announcement on Ocean at: https://ocean.chronicleproject.com/ or https://halifax.shambhala.org/
Tergar Meditation Community Losar Event: Join Us for Losar with Lama Trinley. February 10, 2024, 10 a.m. EST (New York), 4 p.m. CET (Berlin), and 11 p.m. HKT (Hong Kong)
For more information and to register, go to: Tergar Losar Event
Mangala Shri Bhuti Losar Address by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche: Feb 10, 2024, Online. Welcoming the year of the Wood Dragon, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche will give the annual Losar Address on Saturday, February 10th, at 10am MST.Go to the livestream on Feb. 10 a Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche Losar Address
In Dharma
The Wisdom Seat
Refuge & Bodhisattva Vow
Saturday March 9 2024
Time TBA
Where: Online & in person (In person @ Pawo Khandro Ling)
These vows will be offered by Michael Carroll, who has been authorized by Judy Lief to impart these vows in the tradition and lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
These vows are taken as part of traveling the Buddhist path and are usually taken separately, over a period of a few years. Taking Refuge is how we make a formal commitment to becoming a Buddhist. We dedicate ourselves to a daily meditation practice and to taming our minds and dismantling our own self-deception.
Traditionally, the Bodhisattva Vow is taken a few years after taking Refuge. As we soften and make friends with ourselves, we develop a natural kindness toward others and an interest in the world, which inspires use to dedicate our lives to work for the benefit all beings.
To learn more about the tradition of the refuge and Bodhisattva vows please see Chapters 5 and 6 of “The Heart of the Buddha” by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
If interested contact Matt DiRodio matt.dirodio@thewisdomseat.org
Wednesday Meditation
Ongoing offering: Online meditation every Wednesday evening 6:15 to 7:30 PM EST
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.
Live an Awakened Life
June 20–23, 2024
Drala Mountain Center-Colorado
Description What is mindfulness-awareness meditation and where did it come from?
How does this simple act of “sitting still” unleash wisdom & compassion?
How can we establish a sustainable meditation practice?
Why are the Three Supports and theThree Sacred Acts central to the practice?
This program will offer a thorough and gentle introduction to mindfulness-awareness meditation with time for discussion and optional personal conversation with one of the teachers. Short daily yoga sessions included.
TUITION:
Tuition $215 + 3 nights lodging
Authentic Presence and The Feminine Principle
June 26–July 6, 2024
Taught by Susan Piver and Michael Carroll
A 10-Day Heart Sutra Meditation Retreat
Offered in partnership with The Wisdom Seat and the OpenHeart Project
The Heart Sutra – the most pith of the Prajnaparamita Sutras – is a central text throughout all of Buddhism. It is widely revered, demonstrably powerful, and, one could say, thoroughly incomprehensible – at least by the conceptual mind. This is all great news.
On this 10-day retreat, we will bring these three elements together – study, meditation, and letting go – as we practice “The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge” in a supportive and spacious community. We will explore what is meant by authentic presence and the feminine principle, how each is invoked in our practice to reveal liberation, balance, and joy.
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:
February 11th, 18th, 25th
Here is the Zoom link for each of these sessions: Sunday Sitting Zoom Link
All are welcome to attend
Westchester Meditation Center
Trungpa Rinpoche on Emptiness & Compassion: The Path of the Bodhisattva
A Profound Treasury Series Intermediate Course
January 10th – March 27th, 2024 (11 classes)
Wednesdays: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET
Led by Derek and Jane Kolleeny and Tom Pantaleoni
Meets online by Zoom
PHILADELPHIA SHAMBHALA CENTER
Title: Milarepa Day at the Philadelphia Shambhala Center
Dates: Saturday, Feb 24th, 2024
Suggested donation: $10-$20
Description: A celebration of the parinirvana, death and enlightenment of Milarepa, as well as a reflection on the Kagyu lineage holders and other mahasiddhas. The majority of the day will be spent reading songs of realization of great teachers aloud, as a community. These spontaneously uttered songs have been recorded in the book The Rain of Wisdom, or the Kagyü Gurtso in Tibetan. The authors include Tilopa, Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa, Mikyo Dorje, Lodro Thaye, Rikpe Dorje, Chogyam Trungpa, and more. The day’s activities are broken out into multiple sessions, interspersed with breaks. Tea and a light breakfast will be offered by the Shambhala Center, but participants will be responsible for their own lunch and dinner. We will meet in person only. This is a community practice day, and all are welcome. Please join us for whichever sessions you can! If you have a copy of The Rain of Wisdom, please bring it. https://philadelphia.shambhala.org/monthly-calendar/?yearID=2024&monthID=2
Drala Mountain Center
Lineage & Devotion in Kagyu Ngondro Practice
March 9–17, 2024
Drala Mountain Center
This 9-day practice intensive at Drala Mountain Center is a great opportunity for new and old generations of Tantrikas to hear, practice, and discuss the ngöndro dharma as taught by the Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Experience the power, energy, and magic that unfolds on both a personal and group level. For newer practitioners this may be your first group intensive. For older practitioners, we are reminded that practices are not one-shot deals. Marpa the Translator, considered to be the Father of the Tibetan Kagyu tradition, did ngöndro seven times during his life.
With Jon Barbieri and Rhea Colmar
Profound Treasury Retreat
BROKERING PEACE - APPLYING THE LOJONG SLOGANS
June 7 to 16, 2024
We are now accepting applications for the 11th annual Maine Profound Treasury Retreat at Ferry Beach Retreat & Conference Center, Saco, Maine.
The Profound Treasury Retreats create a community of both new and experienced meditation practitioners who come together to share & learn at a wonderful location on Maine's coast. Everyone is welcome. We offer generous financial aid to those who need it, so please don't let a lack of funds deter you from applying.
Tergar
Mahamudra: Revealing Our True Nature with Khandro Rinpoche
February 24, 2024
10-11:30 a.m. EST (New York),
Location: Online
Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche will share how the path of Mahamudra can be practiced in the modern world, helping us understand how to transcend suffering by connecting with the pure nature that embraces all of our experiences.
Three Yana Society
Free Online Information Session
Entering the Vajra World: A Three-Yana Retreat
February 4, 2024 - 3:00-4:00 PM Eastern Time
Do you have a solid grounding in Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism?
Are you interested in the Vajrayana, but have questions about it?
Are you wondering about things like samaya commitments, having a guru, vajrayana transmission, and ngondro practice?
Join us for this free online info session with Andy Karr, Gaylon Ferguson and other members of the staff of Entering The Vajra World: A Three Yana Retreat.
The retreat will take place at Drala Mountain Center, July 19-August 18, 2024. An application is required for this program. The deadline for applying is March 1st. If you're at all interested in or curious about the program, we do hope you'll join us for this free info session!
Entering the Vajra World: A Three-Yana Retreat
July 19, 2024 to August 18, 2024
Drala Mountain Center
Next summer’s retreat is designed for students with a solid foundation in Buddhism, and the preparation, aspiration and commitment to become vajrayana practitioners trained in Trungpa Rinpoche’s inimitable style. The retreat will be led by senior teachers who were trained by the Vidyadhara and supported by a new generation of instructors committed to the propagation and preservation of these teachings.
The retreat will integrate training in all three yanas and include the opportunity to receive vajrayana transmission and begin ngondro practice within the retreat.
Drala Mountain Center is generously offering a 50% discount on lodging for the program; faculty and staff have waived honorariums; and there is no additional charge for tuition.
Dorje Denma Ling
A Month of Meditation: Shamatha-Vipashyana Dathün 2024
(Weekthun opportunities available)
July 19 - August 18, 2024
Dorje Denma Ling - Nova Scotia, Canada
Teacher: Val Loring
Dathün is a month-long, group meditation retreat of shamatha-vipashyana, or mindfulness-awareness practice. This is the basic sitting meditation that goes back to the Buddha, which also includes contemplative practices for cultivating insight and compassion. Practicing together as a group creates an atmosphere of courage and wakefulness.
The dathün follows the basic schedule developed by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The daily schedule begins at 7am and ends around 9pm most evenings. Sitting meditation sessions are alternated with walking meditation throughout the day. The three main meals are served and eaten in the meditation hall using the Zen contemplative eating practice of oryoki. After lunch, there is a mid-day work period, when participants have light cleaning and kitchen tasks, which are opportunities for meditation in action.
PROGRAM CONTACT:
Karen Porterfield
"Samsaric existence comes from karma and afflictions,
they in turn from distorted perceptions, which, in turn,
come from conceptual elaborations;
it is through realizing emptiness that such conceptual
elaboration is brought to an end."
-Root Verses on the Middle Way, 18:5
Nāgārjuna