Retreats

Quintessential Trungpa Rinpoche:  Shamatha-Vipashyana Meditation: "Touch and Go"

April 4-16, 2023

There are no prerequisites for this retreat

"A common misunderstanding is that the meditative state of mind has to be captured and then nursed and cherished.  That is definitely the wrong approach.  If you try to domesticate your mind through meditation--try to possess it by holding on to the meditative state-- the clear result  will be regression on the path, with a loss of freshness and  spontaneity.  If you try to hold on without lapse all the time, then maintaining   your awareness will begin to become a domestic hassle  It will  become like painfully going through housework.  There will be an underlying sense of resentment, and the practice of meditation will become confusing.  You will begin to develop a love-hate relationship toward your practice, in which your concept of it seems good but, at the same time, the demand this rigid concept makes  on you is too painful.

So the technique is based on touch and go  You focus your attention on the object of awareness then, in the same moment, you disown that awareness and go on. What is needed here is some sense of confidence--confidence that you do not have to securely own your mind, but that you can tune into its process spontaneously."  Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

The Quintessential Teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche series are a set of weekend retreats suitable for beginners and advanced students which engage the pith oral instructions of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.  In this retreat we will engage the fundamental instructions on Dzogchen and Mahamudra practice given by Trungpa Rinpoche to his direct students.  

As beginners one always comes at practice with a mind conditioned by certain assumptions.  Generally we attempt to sustain a fabricated concentratiion by focusing on a technique.  But in this case one needs to develop a fundamental awareness which knows when you are present directly and then we let go of  any attempt to hold on to a fabricated concentration.  This is both the development and realization of "knowing the one" or "resolving the nature of mind."  It is not about feeling "good" particularly or pushing away thoughts so that we can achieve a "thought-free state."  It is realizing that this moment of knowing when we are present in a way which is not conditioned by our habitual reactions is the ultimate reference point -- the ultimate nature of our awareness.

The weekend will consist of talks by the resident teacher and the Practice of "mixing mind with space" the essential training of Dzogchen practice.  There will be group discussion and individual meditation interviews.

Cost  $195.00

Includes room and Board 

Quintessential Trungpa Rinpoche:The Left-Handed Tantrika-- Understanding the View, Practice and Action of the Transgressive Vajrayana Yogic Disciplines

April 14-16

Prerequisites: "Touch and Go Weekend."

"Since at heart, we are all charnal ground people..."  Osel Tendzin

“Johnny, what are you rebelling against?” 

“Whaddya got? 

Marlon Brando, "The Wild Ones"

The essence of our lineage is the transgressive tantras which arose out of the mahasiddha tradition in India from the 8th to 12th century.  This form of tantra was the main Buddhist practice during the time when Tantric Buddhism was brought to Tibet.  All of the great Mahasiddhas-- realized Masters-- that we revere and consider our lineage practiced the transgressive disciplines in charnal grounds. 

The special yidam in the Surmang Kagyu lineage is Vajrayogini--Queen of Desire.  Tilopa was said to storm the citadel of the dakinis to recieve the transmission of this practice.  And it was passed on from master to disciple to our present day lineage holder -- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche-- who transmitted it to his western students.

"Tantra of the left-hand" refers to the cultural taboo of ancient Inda of using the left hand for anything considered sacred.  The left hand was strictly reserved for wiping your ass and was considered "impure."  The right hand was "pure" and used for eating and for performing consecrations in the  sacred Brahmanical rituals.  In the transgressive tantras the left hand is used for consecration.  What is absolutely necessary to understand is that by breaking these unconscious social taboos one undermines and subverts all habitual reference points.  This is the skillful method in the transgressive disciplines.  Although we may consider ourselves far removed from the caste system and notions of purity coming from the brahmanical traditions of ancient India, actually we are not.  The underlying energy of Vajrayogini is completely subversive to all our hidden hangups-- whether we consider ourselves "woke" or "conservative." The wakeful "pride of the yidam" of Vajrayogini allows us to "loot" our kleshas and all our hidden corners--completely undermining their neurotic power over us. 

At the same time one needs to understand the view, practice and activity of non reference point experience otherwise we might get the wrong idea. 

Needless to say, this is a very different path than what you find at a Thich Nhat Hanh Center or a class on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.  The purpose of this retreat is to allow people who may have a subversive streak to understand the energy of this lineage and how it has brought many, many people to complete realization.  We will not be revealing any "tantric secrets."

Unitarian Universalist Annutara Yogin

A lot of good intentions have gone into

This skull cup— along with piss, shit, semen and mentrual blood.

One might wonder how the conventional view

Of good coffee mixed with social justice might mix

With the guru 

Cutting up the corpse and eating it before his disciple

As was the case of Marpa and Naropa.

As the good guru said,

“It’s more interesting than that.”

So come back into the cave

After retching

Outside

Lick the bloody mass

Stuck to the cave wall

And experience mahasukkha.

You and I are Marpa.

You and I are Naropa.

You and I are the lineage

And the only hope

For sentient beings.

Change your coffee cup of worldly views

Into the skull cup 

Of one taste.

Om 

Ah 

Hum  

Cost $195.00 includes room and board

Quintessential Trungpa Rinpoche:  Shamatha-Vipashyana Meditation: "Touch and Go"

May 5-7,2023

There are no prerequisites for this retreat

"A common misunderstanding is that the meditative state of mind has to be captured and then nursed and cherished.  That is definitely the wrong approach.  If you try to domesticate your mind through meditation--try to possess it by holding on to the meditative state-- the clear result  will be regression on the path, with a loss of freshness and  spontaneity.  If you try to hold on without lapse all the time, then maintaining   your awareness will begin to become a domestic hassle  It will  become like painfully going through housework.  There will be an underlying sense of resentment, and the practice of meditation will become confusing.  You will begin to develop a love-hate relationship toward your practice, in which your concept of it seems good but, at the same time, the demand this rigid concept makes  on you is too painful.

So the technique is based on touch and go  You focus your attention on the object of awareness then, in the same moment, you disown that awareness and go on. What is needed here is some sense of confidence--confidence that you do not have to securely own your mind, but that you can tune into its process spontaneously."  Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

The Quintessential Teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche series are a set of weekend retreats suitable for beginners and advanced students which engage the pith oral instructions of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.  In this retreat we will engage the fundamental instructions on Dzogchen and Mahamudra practice given by Trungpa Rinpoche to his direct students.  

As beginners one always comes at practice with a mind conditioned by certain assumptions.  Generally we attempt to sustain a fabricated concentratiion by focusing on a technique.  But in this case one needs to develop a fundamental awareness which knows when you are present directly and then we let go of  any attempt to hold on to a fabricated concentration.  This is both the development and realization of "knowing the one" or "resolving the nature of mind."  It is not about feeling "good" particularly or pushing away thoughts so that we can achieve a "thought-free state."  It is realizing that this moment of knowing when we are present in a way which is not conditioned by our habitual reactions is the ultimate reference point -- the ultimate nature of our awareness.

The weekend will consist of talks by the resident teacher and the Practice of "mixing mind with space" the essential training of Dzogchen practice.  There will be group discussion and individual meditation interviews.

Cost  $195.00

Includes room and Board 

Dzogchen Kyudo Retreat: "First Shot Best Shot"

 "With every shot see your true nature"    Awa Kenzo

“All together, these three principles—heaven, earth, and man—deal with how we can integrate our state of mind into a work of art. A fourth principle, though not exactly the same kind of principle, is that of the universal monarch. It is what joins heaven and earth together. This principle is singlefold: that is, it says that body and mind are able to work together harmoniously. Therefore, the mind develops a sense of openness and peacefulness, and the body develops an absence of speed and aggression. In that way, a work of art becomes gentle rather than contrived or extraordinary. It becomes a good work of art, very genuine, and it becomes worthwhile, really good, to be an artist. You can take a lot of pride in being an artist, in the positive sense. You will be so happy and feel so good to be an artist. You can work according to the principles of heaven, earth, and man, and you can expose yourself by means of those principles. It could be extraordinary, quite fabulous.”

Trungpa Rinpoche "Dharma Art"

 This retreat will explore kyudo training as the technique for realizing the nature of mind.  During this retreat we will explore the traditional  teachings of isshin and zanshin from the Japanese contemplative and martial arts and how they correlate with our training in Dzogchen and Mahamudra.  In particular we will be looking at Trungpa's pith instructions on Dharma Art and Shambhala Warriorship and applying these instructions in our Kyudo training.

Isshin means "one mind".  This is the training of shamatha meditation for Dzogchen Practitioners and, in particular constitutes cutting through the habitual  tendency of following one thought after another.  For the Kyudo practitioner we use the  7 steps of shooting the bow to synchronize mind and body in the activity of shooting the bow.   Zanshin, "remaining mind", is the Kyudo term for vipashyana. This is resting awareness beyond the reference point of habitual mind. This expands into "Kyudo mind" which is the atmosphere of wakefulness.

$795.00 Includes Room and Board

Vaishakha Day

The "Rain of Wisdom" or Kagyu Gyurtso is a compilation of the spontaneous songs of realization of the Kagyu gurus.  During Vaishaka Day practice centers in the mandala of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche recite the entire book over the course of one day.  It is a profound method for experiencing the blessings , Tibetan ,"jinlap", Sanskrit ,"adhistana."  It is often said that Vajrayana is the path of blessings.

Trungpa Rinpoche was not simply a great teacher he was also a great translator.  In our tradition there are translators and there are lotsawas.  "Lotsawas" are great masters who are able to imbue their translations with the blessings of the lineage.  This text was translated by Trungpa Rinpoche and the Nalanda Translation Commitee.  Reading this text is a profound method of realizing and manifesting these blessings directly for the benefit of all beings.  Because this is the dark age we do three days of recitation not just one!

cost $195.00 includes room and board

"In particular, these vajra realization songs of the precious Kagyu, on merely being heard, restore awareness of faith and arouse certaintly of trust.  Experience is tempered, and the confidence of realization is aroused.  In short, they are the essence of the ocean of orders of tantra, the ultimate knowledge of ten million learned and accomplished ones, the heart's blood of a hundred thousand dakinis, the torch illumining the path of liberation,  The very moment fortunate and perceptive disciples hear them, they are completely liberated from all bonds, and only then can become enlightened."