IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
The Buddhist tradition of the householder-yogi places mindfulness meditation at the very center of daily life – inspiring how we raise our families, help our neighbors, and engage our livelihoods.
And it is also traditionally recommended that householders go on extended meditation retreats to deepen our practice and understanding of the Buddhist path.
As we approach 2024, The Wisdom Seat will be exploring options for us to practice together in extended retreats:
The Noble Silence Retreat at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
Authentic Presence Retreat at Drala Mountain Center
Roar of the Werma Retreat at Pawo Khandro Ling
There is much to do to bring these retreats to fruition and all are invited to lend a hand and practice together!
We have just published a new Podcast interview with Anam Thubten on the topics of Joy in Buddhism.
In Dharma,
The Wisdom Seat
21st Bodhi: The Joyful Life of a Bodhisattva
Taught by Michael Carroll and Matt DiRodio
As with all the programs offered at The Wisdom Seat, 21st Bodhi will be grounded in the practice of mindfulness-awareness meditation.
During this 10-session program we will:
Explore the tradition of the bodhisattva and consider how it can unfold in our everyday lives.
Learn and practice the fundamental gesture of a bodhisattva: formless meditation.
Share among others our experiences in traveling the bodhisattva path.
Thanks again for being a part of The Wisdom Seat and we look forward to learning together in 2024
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.
For 2023, we have changed the nyinthun registration site, so that you sign up for each nyinthun retreat day individually. This replaces the old way of just joining a nyinthun email list and receiving a monthly reminder. This will help greatly by knowing how many people are actually coming to any given nyinthun, so we can arrange the shrine room to accommodate in person attendees, and plan for online attendees. 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.
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.
VAJRA REGENT OSEL TENDZIN LIBRARY
Primordial Confidence
December 3 & 10, 2023
The two classes led by Lady Rich are on Sunday mornings, 10-11:30 a.m. Mountain Time,
Location: Online
Taught in Chicago in November of 1987, as part of a teaching tour throughout the mandala following the Parinirvana of the Vidyadhara, the Vajra Regent presents an introduction to Shambhala warriorship based on primordial confidence. From the experience of a genuine broken heart arises brilliance that illuminates a sacred outlook toward every aspect of life, providing the foundation of enlightened society.
We are very pleased to invite you to attend the upcoming 2-week online course, Primordial Confidence led by Lady Lila Rich, based on two talks by Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin.You are welcome to invite anyone you know who would like to participate.
Note: As you may have noted, our programs are usually free of charge. If you are able to make a donation, that will help us go further, especially in 2024 when we hope to publish more books, provide more classes, and help many more practitioners on their journey.
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
Westchester Meditation Center
WMC 2024 Annual Weeklong Meditation Retreat
Heart Essence of Meditation: Essential Points of Practice
We invite you to join us for this special occasion – Judy Lief will join us in leading this retreat! The main focus of this retreat will be on mindfulness-awareness (shamatha-vipashyana) meditation and is appropriate for practitioners at all levels. We will explore the simple practice of sitting and connecting to the earth, our bodies and our experience; contemplate the pithy meditation instructions of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche such as mixing mind with space, not too tight, not too loose, and touch and go; and appreciate the silence, nature, space, and welcoming environment of Garrison Institute.
Additionally, there will be a separate track for vajrayana practitioners.
January 19 to 26, 2024
Garrison Institute
The Penn Program for Mindfulness
Intensive Mindfulness Retreat Winter 2024 at Pendle Hill, Wallingford PA
Wednesday, January 31 – Sunday, February 4
Wednesday: 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sunday: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Pendle Hill 338 Plush Mill Rd, Wallingford, PA 19086
Participants will be asked to observe silence for the duration of the retreat.
The program will include silent sitting meditation, instructor talks, and group discussions,
We will practice daily mindful movement and walking meditation.
All meals are included, starting with dinner upon arriving and ending with lunch on Sunday.
Commuter: $799.00
Double Room if registering along with someone else: $999.00
Single Room: $1,269.00
Michael Baime, MD, Karen E. Bowles, MD, Beryl Herrin, M.Ed
PREREQUISITES
Completion of an 8-week Mindfulness program with Penn or other institution or permission from the facilitator.
If you are interested in attending or want more information, please email Beryl Herrin
Three Yana Society
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.
“Ordinary beings are chained by conceptualization;
Yogis, who do not conceptualize, become free.
The wise have said that the very cessation of
conceptualization is the fruit of refined analysis.”
—Entering the Middle Way, 6:117
Candrakīrti
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