IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Cheerful new year!
We are happy to share there are many opportunities to study and practice together in 2024.
Please read below and join us soon.
In Dharma,
The Wisdom Seat
21st Bodhi: Leading the joyful life of a Bodhisattva
Taught by Michael Carroll and Matt DiRodio
For centuries, millions of women and men have lived the life of a bodhisattva, traveling a spiritual path marked by joy, compassion, and vast wisdom. And for hundreds of generations, they inspired the best in others, passed down what they learned and celebrated their tradition. Today, in this remarkable, brilliant and confounding 21st century, such inspiration flourishes to live the noble life of a Bodhisattva.
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.
Description:
We will once again use the Tuesday/Wednesday format, where Tuesday is dedicated to study and Wednesday meditation, readings will be selected pertaining to the Tuesday night class. Please note this class format will meet on alternating weeks.
Starting:
Jan 9/10, Jan 23/24, Feb 6/7, Feb 20/21, March 5/6
Time:
Tuesday 6:15-8:30 PM EST, Wednesday 6:15-7:30 PM EST
21st Bodhi January – March 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.
Why Go On A Meditation Retreat? Free Info Session With Michael Carroll & Susan Piver
January 11, 2024 @ 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Please join Susan Piver and fellow teacher Michael Carroll on January 11th at 7p EST to talk about what actually goes on during a lengthy retreat. We’re hosting a free one-hour info session to answer all of your questions.
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
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.
Recognizing the value of continuity of practice and of group support the PTR, together with the Wisdom Seat, is offering a 2-hour Sunday Sitting beginning January 14, 2024.
On the first Sunday of each month everyone is warmly invited to join the Wisdom Seat nyinthun from 930 am - 430 pm Eastern. For more details on how to signup, please visit: https://www.thewisdomseat.org/nyinthun.
Thereafter, on each Sunday PTR will have a 2-hour sitting from 930 am - 1130 am Eastern. This will include a short reading and walking meditation. Each umdze is invited to share a short 1-2 paragraphs reading on meditation, there will be meditation instruction every third Sunday of the month, given by a certified MI instructor. Here is the signup sheet to be umdze/MI.
We would like to encourage everyone to read Trungpa Rinpoche's Touch and Go and the Foundations of Mindfulness [from Garuda IV].
Please join us in the practice of paying attention and of mind awareness.
The Profound Treasury Retreat
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
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
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
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.
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
"It is seen neither in the past
Nor in the future.
It does not enter the present,
Remaining where it is.
Do not use mind to look for mind,
Just let it be …"
– Longchenpa
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