Past Retreats

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Foundation of All Good Qualities

Foundation of All Good Qualities with Ven. Tenzin Priyadarshi.
August 15th – 16th, 2009,
Salida Colorado.

The Foundation of All Good Qualities was composed by Tsongkhapa “Je Rinpoche” (1357-1419), founder of the Gelug-pa school. This classic Stages of the Path text provides very practical insight into the human condition with concise instructions in how to follow the Buddhist path from our present confused state to enlightenment.

The Lam Rim teachings originated with the great Indian master Atisha, who in the 11th century extracted the essential points from the Buddha’s teachings. Je Rinpoche expanded on Atisha’s teachings of the gradual path culminating in this clear and concise prayer entitled The Foundation of All Good Qualities.

In this weekend retreat, Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi explored the attitudes and actions contained within Tsongkhapa’s description of the gradual path to enlightenment. A thorough understanding of this text is considered highly beneficial to all, whether the goal is enlightenment or simply a more meaningful life. The retreat consisted of teachings, discussion and meditation sessions.

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Verses on the Middle Way by Acarya Nagarjuna, Part I

September 19-20,
Fairplay Colorado.

Part One of this two-part retreat series introduced the Verses on the Middle Way by Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna is thought to have lived during the fourth century C.E. as a scholar and monk at Nalanda University.

Nagarjuna’s writings address the major philosophical issues of his time, including the nature of causality and conditionality, motion and action, the self, its suffering and bondage, nirvana, and the Buddha. Nagarjuna’s profound insights have been the subject of much debate, inviting interpretations that range from the purely metaphysical to the purely pragmatic.

Nagarjuna’s logic reveals that the way human beings think is by nature inconsistent and self-contradictory. The Verses demonstrate that deluded ways of thinking cannot be replaced with a correct understanding. Instead, the true nature of things only becomes apparent when we let go of our delusions. The ensuing peace and serenity cannot be grasped by human constructs, but it can be experienced.

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Public Talks and Retreat with Venerable Drupon Samten Rinpoche

Public Talks and Retreat with Venerable Drupon Samten Rinpoche
Date: July 18-20
Location: Edwards, CO
Topic: Mahamudra, Green Tara and Purification

Kunrig and Vajravidharan Healing ceremonies:  Vajravidharan is a very important practice in Tibetan and the Indian Himalayas. This practice is a special antidote to purify all contaminated environments of the universe and sentient beings. This practice cleanses the contaminants of the air we breath, food we eat, the clothes we wear and other types of poisons and contamination. Also, it helps to cleanse the chakras and the energy of the body; and helps to pacify the frustration, depression and anxiety. It helps dispel the nightmares, dreams, and other unfavorable conditions. It brings healthy, happy, long life, and helps you succeed in whatever you wish. This practice has been used as a healing ceremony for generations and helped thousands of beings.

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Bardo" weeklong retreat with separate weekend retreat

Bardo” weeklong retreat with separate weekend retreat with Ven Tenzin Priyadarshi,
June 22 to June 28th, 2009.
Edwards, Colorado

Bardo (Tibetan. bar’do) refers to the “intermediate stage” in the Buddhist view of life and death. While Bardo is most commonly understood to mean the time between an individual’s death and next life, the term can also refer to other types of interim stages or transitions. Indo-Tibetan Buddhist traditions speak of Bardo as comprised of either four or six stages.

This retreat examined each of these and its respective implication for a serene death and rebirth. Participants were introduced to a special meditation practice that will deepen the understanding of the Bardo stages. The great Tibetan master Milarepa, a proponent of these meditation practices, said that the function of a student of Buddhadharma is to live like a yogi and to die like a yogi.

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Retreat on the Sutra of Vimalakirti

Retreat on the Sutra of Vimalakirti
June 9-10, 2007
With Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi

This retreat was an in-depth study of The Vimalakirti Sutra (we studied the translation by Burton Watson, Columbia Univ. Press).  The Sutra of Vimalakirti (Sanskrit. Vimalakirtinirdesha-sutra) occupies a unique place in the Mahayana sutra system. It is taught by a lay teacher and a contemporary of Buddha Shakyamuni. This discourse served as one of the fondational source for the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) School of Buddhism and influenced great teachers from Atisha to Tsong-khapa. The sutra gained immense popularity in India, China, Tibet, and Japan because of its wonderful literary style and profound content. Perhaps the first “deconstructionist” movement of great spiritual significance.

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Balancing Heart and Mind with Alan Wallace

Balancing Heart and Mind with Alan Wallace.
May 16-17, 2009.
Edwards, Colorado

In this weekend retreat, Alan Wallace focused on two methods for cultivating meditative quiescence, or shamatha. He taught the practice of “mindfulness of breathing,” which is an effective approach to soothing the body and calming the discursive mind. He also introduced a method that is both a shamatha practice and a preliminary to Dzogchen, called “settling the mind in its natural state.” The attainment of shamatha is widely regarded in the Buddhist tradition as an indispensable foundation for the cultivation of contemplative insight (vipashyana), and this retreat is designed to provide participants with a sufficient theoretical understanding and a basis in experience to enable them to proceed effectively toward this extraordinary state of mental and physical balance.

In addition, instruction was offered on the cultivation of the four immeasurables: loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. These qualities of the heart are so powerful that they can break down all the barriers that are created by attachment and aversion, opening our hearts boundlessly to all beings, which brings peace and happiness. Lectures and guided meditations were interspersed with periods for group discussions and focused on the practical applications of these practices in daily life. Participants were welcome to practice meditation in both the sitting (cross-legged or on a chair) position or in the supine position.

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Deepening Our Practice:

Achieving Calm and Clarity Through the Setting Up of Mindfulness
with Anne Teich.
April 24th – April 26, 2009.
Buena Vista, Colorado.

In this weekend we worked diligently to transform the ordinary mind through the practice of yoking mental awareness to an object. This is known in the Theravada scriptures as Satipatthana, or the setting up of mindfulness, and it is the gate-way to all meditative concentration. Through guided sitting and walking meditation sessions, the retreat aimed to loosen the obstacles of restlessness and worry, and of grasping and averting, in order to reveal to the practitioner the luminous qualities of calm and clarity, so characteristic of the awakened mind. As the Dhammapada reminds us, “He who having been heedless is heedless no more, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.”

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Understanding Buddha Nature:

The Tathagatagarbha Doctrine
With Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi
Buena Vista, Colorado
February 28th – March 1st, 2009

This event included a free public talk: “Contagious Conduct: a Guide to Meaning and Happiness”.  In this weekend retreat, Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi continued discussions on the “Mind Only” a School by introducing the doctrine of Tathagatagarbha, or “Buddha Nature.” Tathagatagarbha forms an important part of understanding the potential for supreme enlightenment. Buddha Nature is the inherent potential that resides in all of us to awaken and become Buddhas. Buddha Nature is our authentic identity obscured by clouds of ignorance and mental afflictions.

This retreat was based primarily on the teachings from the Lankavatara Sutra and commentaries pertaining to the Buddha Nature schools. The Lankavatara Sutra is characterized as one of the Vaipulya texts, the crème de la crème of Mahayana Buddhist Canon, and foundational to Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese Buddhism.

This retreat was a balance of meditation, lectures, and discussions.

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The Yogacara School

The Yogacara School
Ven. Tenzin Priyadarshi
Edwards Colorado.
January 31-February 1, 2009.

Public Talk Topic: Ethics, Religion and Society: Integration and Interaction.  In the wake of socio-political and economic crisis of recent times, we are forced to re-consider our models for a sustainable workings of a globalized world order. How can we explore and develop the ethical dimensions of human behavior in a meaningful manner to give rise to a new generation of leaders? Are there aspects of the religious worldview that may inform the secular society to help formulate an integrative system of integrity? What does it mean to be a compassionate human and a responsible citizen?   Visit the Vail Symposium website for information on the Symposium.

Retreat Topic: In this weekend retreat, Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi provided an introduction to the basic ideas of the Yogacara School and its relevance to modern-day practicioners. The Yogacara School, commonly referred to as the “mind only” school, is an outgrowth of Buddhism that began in India with great panditas such as Asanga and Vasubandhu as it proponents. Yogacara was transmitted to Tibet by Dharmaraksita who initiated Atisha into the Yogacara lineage, whereby Yogacara became integral to Tibetan Buddhism.

Yogacara discourse is founded on the existential truth of the human condition: there is nothing that humans experience that is not mediated by mind. Yogacara introduces the concept of eight layers of consciousness to understand the delusions of the mind and to explain the phenomena of cyclic existence, including how rebirth occurs and how karma functions on an individual basis. Related concepts include store consciousness and habit energies.

Yogacara is not a specific meditative practice, but is meant to be applied as a descriptive tool to understand situations of action and intention. The goal of the Yogacara School is the complete clarification of consciousness into wisdom, and ultimately, the attainment of enlightenment.

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The Four Noble Truths and The Eight Fold Path

Saturday & Sunday
December 6 & 7, 2008
Miller Ranch Community Center

Free Public Talk for Teenages and Young Adults
Friday, December 5, 2008 – 7:00PM – 8:30PM
Miller Ranch Community Center

Public Talk Topic:
Many of us are slaves to our minds. Random thoughts and emotions rob us of our freedom and our happiness. But what if you don’t have to believe everything you think and feel? Learn how meditation can help you find the happiness and success you really want. Taught by M.I.T. chaplain, Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, this basic introduction to meditation is intended for teenagers and young adults of any or no religious affiliation.

Retreat Topic:
The fundamental core of Buddhist teachings rests upon the Four Noble Truths–no matter what Buddhist practice one is engaged in. As Ven. Sariputta once said, they encompass the entire teaching, just as the footprint of an elephant can encompass the footprints of all other footed beings on earth. The Four Noble Truths were the first teachings given by the Buddha and are viewed as Buddhism’s fundamental doctrine.

The answers to all your questions are found within the framework of the Four Noble Truths because the Four Noble Truths explain causation, or, “Why does my life look like it looks right now?”

Often misunderstood by the uninitiated as “dwelling in the negative,” the Four Noble Truths are actually the way out of pain through first recognizing which factors are causing the pain and then giving nuts and bolts, nitty-gritty ways to rid oneself of troublesome dilemmas. The Forth Noble Truth–The Eight Fold Path–is a bit like a maintenance manual on how to repair current problems, as well as prevent future mistakes. Providing clear, concrete instructions on how to fill your life with joy, peace and insight, the Eight Fold Path precisely states what will work and what will not.

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