March 13-15
Guru Yoga Retreat
with Gen Kelsang Chenma
Guru Yoga is a special way of viewing our Spiritual Guide. Through this practice we deepen our connection with him and recite his mantra with strong faith to receive blessings and request help with our spiritual goals.
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This blessed and beautiful practice brings us closer to our Spiritual Guide.
June 19-20
Mandala Offering Retreat
with Gen Kelsang Chenma
Because of emptiness, everything is possible. Mandala offering practice is a chance to discover the magical power of the mind and our imagination to create the world we want.
In this retreat we focus on the preliminary practices of accumulating merit. Making mandala offerings is the gateway to accumulating the collection of merit and attaining an enlightened pure land. This practice creates immeasurable positivity in our mind, or merit. This good fortune allows us to fulfill our wishes, accomplish our aims, and benefit others.
We all wish for spiritual realizations, but these depend upon creating certain inner conditions such as purifying negativity, accumulating merit, and receiving blessings. As a result, we will gain Mahamudra realizations – the quick path to enlightenment.
September 25-27
Refuge Retreat
with Gen Kelsang Chenma
Refuge Retreat is the first of the four great preliminary guides that we need to practice if we want to enter into Buddhism and make progress on our spiritual path to enlightenment. Through training in sincerely going for refuge we enter the gateway to Buddhism; and training in the compassionate mind of bodhichitta we enter the gateway to the Mahayana – the main path to the state of enlightenment.
If we do not have a practice of refuge in the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – we will not enter Buddhism and this means we have no opportunity to attain permanent liberation from suffering or the supreme happiness of Enlightenment. Then we will have lost the meaning of human life.
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December 18-20
Vajrasattva Purification
with Gen Kelsang Chenma
We dedicate most of our time and energy trying to avoid problems by making changes to the external world. However, the main cause of our unhappiness and difficulties cannot be found in external conditions. It is caused by the negative karma we have created in the past through performing harmful actions.
By relying upon Vajrasattva, the Buddha of purification we will cleanse our mind of delusions, negativity and obstacles. Through special meditation and mantra recitation we have the great opportunity to purify our mind quickly, so that we can make swift progress on our spiritual path.