The Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat

with Lama Zopa Rinpoche

at

Tushita Meditation Centre

Dharamsala, India

March 3 - 31, 2010

WELCOME!

A very warm welcome from snowy Tushita to all of you prospective retreatants for the Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat! The Tushita team is delighted that you will be able to join us for this very special opportunity, and we will do our best to provide all of you with conducive retreat conditions, a comfortable stay and to serve you as best as we can.

Saying this, please remember that this is India – with all its incredible blessings and challenges!!! India is an amazing place to host such an extraordinary retreat with our precious teacher Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and so many Dharma brothers & sisters from around the world. However, it’s also a great place to practice a lot of patience, to let go of our expectations and the comforts we might be used to in the West. We'd especially like to draw to your attention to the fact that Rinpoche's schedule often changes at the last minute, a reality that Tushita has no involvement in or control over. Therefore we would like to request you all to be ready to work with these challenges and to help us to create a very harmonious experience for everybody.

When we had the great fortune to announce this retreat just 5 month ago, we tried to put all our knowledge into our very extensive & detailed website:

http://tushita.info/hayagriva.html

Since then we have received much fewer inquiries than we had expected, so we hope this indicates that we have actually covered most of your questions in all the different areas. This welcome letter is intended to update you on the latest developments and to highlight to most important topics. To keep this letter as short and concise as possible we will often refer you back to our website, especially when it looks like there are no updates and additions necessary.

Please read through the following information carefully since it will help you to come well prepared to Tushita and the retreat. This way your visit will be much more comfortable and enjoyable!

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A few people asked us: Is there anything we can bring for the centre /retreat?

Yes, there is!

• Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked us during his last visit here 3 months ago, if we have a mandala set for Rinpoche to use. We thought the ones we had were not really appropriate, so we bought a nice new one for our precious guru. However, it’s so big that be have difficulties to fill it! We got already many stones, but we thought it might be a nice idea to let you all know that we need many more!!! So here, dear students of Rinpoche, is your chance to enrich Rinpoche’s manadala set with your personal precious stones and jewels from all over the world!!! The Mandala will be offered to Rinpoche at the beginning of the retreat.

• To decorate our gompa for your retreat as beautiful as possible and have the best offerings for our precious guru Lama Zopa Rinpoche and all the Buddhas of the 10 directions we would request you to bring one flower (or more…. there are no limits!). For Hayagriva nice red ones are especially appropriate. Artificial ones are perfectly okay and will last much longer! Why are we asking? In India it’s really difficult to get beautiful fresh or artificial flowers.

The first “hot topic” of last month:

Will Lama Zopa Rinpoche be able to come on time for the retreat?

Many of you have heard about the new visa regulation for India, which basically says that if you visited India on a tourist visa and leave the country, you have to be out of India for 2 months before you can re-enter again. This new regulation affects all nationalities, and since Rinpoche travels on his American passport and just left India on January 14th (after Rinpoche’s amazing Bodhgaya visit) this new regulation also affects Rinpoche.

 
For updated visa information please check: http://tushita.info/hayagriva.html#Visa_

 
It is also quite clear that there is no option to move the retreat to a later date.

But do not panic! There are many people at work to solve this challenge and to basically get an exception letter so Rinpoche doesn’t have to stay out of India for 2 months.

Tushita has also asked Khandro la for advice about what practices to do to remove the obstacles for Rinpoche and a number of retreatants to come on time for the retreat. Khandro la very kindly suggested following 3 practices:

* 21 Tara Praises/ Cittamani Tara Puja

* Lion Face Dakini

* Drugjuma (extensive Kalarupa Practice)

So there is something all of us can do to dispel the obstacles in order for this very special retreat to be of greatest benefit to all sentient beings! This might be also an opportunity to request your centre (or a centre nearby) to organize a group practice.

Of course we will update you on any new developments, so please be patient and keep practicing! Please refrain from writing to us for news. As you can imagine we are extremely busy at the moment and won’t be able to cope with an additional flood of emails.

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Second hottest topic: The weather!!!

This is actually a rather cold topic, since we just had a big fall of long awaited beautiful snow. Long awaited because this winter has been so far very dry with hardly any rainfall, which means there is already a severe water shortage in this area. We keep on praying for more rain and snow, so all of us will have enough water during the retreat!

Tushita is currently hosting our annual Pre-Ordination Course and although they were “warned” many of the 22 attendees didn’t seem that thrilled by the sudden wet whiteness. Especially a few of our dear guests from Indonesia who walked around in the snow without socks and in flip flops! So please don’t make the same mistake - we Tushita volunteers won’t have enough extra clothes & socks to keep you all warm!

PLEASE come prepared for the worst case scenario: very cold, wet and unpredictable weather and the occasional snow storm!

Also keep in mind that Tushita has NO heating system!!! Something most people from the West (and developed East!) cannot even imagine what it feels like. There is no need to bring your own heater - our delicate Indian wire system won’t be able to cope with everybody plugging in!

Bring a lot of warm clothes which you can wear in layers. Also some shawls/ light blankets come in very handy for sitting in the gompa or for wearing them outside “Indian style”. The occasional rainy day or even week is very likely, so please bring a raincoat and/or an umbrella and waterproof shoes.

A hot water bottle works wonders at night and some swear on it even during meditation sessions. A thermos flask comes handy to keep your drinks hot.

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That leads straight to: What to bring?

At this point we would love to refer you to a very detailed checklist for your complete retreat kit:

http://tushita.info/hayagriva.html#What_to_bring

For your convenience and to lighten your luggage from overseas, we have also noted if items are readily available in McLeod Ganj/ Dharamsala, so you could consider purchasing them when you arrive in the area.

Please note that a good sleeping bag will be absolutely necessary!!!

We can just provide you with TWO blankets each, which definitely won’t keep you warm enough at night. Unfortunately Tushita cannot provide you with more blankets (or a duvet), since we have a very heavy monsoon season (with 3-4 months of almost constant rain) and no space to store all the bedding safely. It’s best to bring your own sleeping bag from the West because there is not much choice in McLeod Ganj and the quality might be poor.

If you don’t have a sleeping bag and won’t have use for one in the future, you could consider renting a duvet from Tushita (a brand new single duvet with cover will be 700 Rupees for the entire retreat - which is approx. 15 US$ or 12 Euros).

Tushita is happy to reserve a duvet for you! Please send us a short email asap if you are interested, so it will be ready for you at your arrival.

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Will Tushita provide the retreat material?

YES! A very kind sponsor made a donation towards the printing of the retreat material (we rejoice!). So all of you will be offered the Retreat Prayer Book and the Most Secret Hayagriva Sadhana in English (with Tibetan phonetics)!

If you have attended one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s retreats in 2009 and already have the Retreat Prayer Book at home then please bring it to the Hayagriva retreat!

This way somebody else can receive a Retreat Prayer Book.

If you want to receive a Retreat Prayer Book in different languages please contact the following people as soon as possible!

Spanish - please contact Tushita at spc@tushita.info – you will have to make a donation for this book, how much that will be depends on printing numbers

French – please contact Ven. Detchen at lobsang.detchen@gmail.com

Chinese – please contact Ven. Sophia at sophitc@gmail.com

Many dedicated volunteers all around the world have been working overtime to provide you with the retreat sadhana in English, Spanish, French, Chinese and Tibetan phonetics. Hopefully all will be done by the beginning of the retreat.

Please note that Tushita provides every retreatant with a couple of cushions, a small table & tablecloth and for your dorje & bell a tablecloth & cover.

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How do I get to Tushita?

All the answers to this question you can find on our very detailed website and there is really nothing we could add. So please check it out!

 http://tushita.info/location.htm

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The Arrival & Departure Date

The retreat is due to begin on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 and to end on Wednesday, March 31st. 

The check-in date for the Hayagriva retreat will be Tuesday March 2nd, 2010.

Since we are hosting our annual Pre-Ordination Course until March 1st, we will be unable to accommodate any Hayagriva retreatants any earlier than March 2nd.

Due to enormous demand, we will have one of our "Introduction to Buddhism" courses shortly after the Hayagriva retreat. The last check out day will be the morning of April 2^nd.

For information on alternative accommodation options in the area before/after the retreat, see:

PLEASE NOTE: His Holiness the Dalai Lama will teach in McLeod Ganj on the morning of the 28th of February – The Day of Miracles!

For more details please visit: www.dalailama.com

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Accommodation

As with all our courses/ retreats we tried not to turn anybody away who fulfilled the requirements and was genuinely interested in attending the Hayagriva retreat. There are 133 people registered for the retreat, most of them will attend the entire 4 weeks. 46 are ordained Sangha, that’s more than a third of the retreatants!

Those of you who are familiar with Tushita are very aware that we cannot accommodate such big numbers and that most of our accommodation is fairly basic. Tushita has just a dozen single rooms and half a dozen small dorms, the rest is large dorms.

We are aiming to accommodate all ordained Sangha on Tushita property (IMI and Tushita will cover the costs of the full retreat of all ordained Sangha staying in a large dormitory). Some of our benefactors will stay in a nearby resort, and we also rented a simple guest house nearby where some of the retreatants will stay in double rooms. All of you have received a group mail asking you for your accommodation preference (if not please have a look in your spam filter).

Please be aware that Tushita has put a lot of effort into finding appropriate additional accommodation in order to provide you all with the most conducive retreat environment. It is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wish to host the retreat in a relatively protected space, so even if you are staying outside of Tushita the basic discipline of keeping silence, not using mobile phones/laptops, attending all sessions etc. still applies.

Please be assured that Tushita will try its best to meet your needs and to make your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. However, please remember that this will be a large, complex and ever-changing retreat to prepare and while we will take your preferences into consideration, we will not be able to guarantee the fulfillment of any special requests. We also advise you not to expect Western room standards (judging from previous retreats with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, you won’t spend much time in your room anyway!).

We will not be able to confirm final room allocation until check-in. Your flexibility and understanding is greatly appreciated!

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The Retreat Schedule

Lama Zopa Rinpoche will give the Most Secret Hayagriva initiation at the beginning of the retreat. The initiation might run over several days. The actual dates and times of the initiation are not set yet and might be available closer to the start of the retreat. 

We would like to emphasize that everybody must attend all days of the initiation, including the preparation day. This means if you don't take the preparation (on the first night) then you can't participate in the second day of the initiation. This way Rinpoche doesn’t have to repeat the preparation for some people while everyone else waits.

Although the specific schedule will not be available until the start of the retreat (and subject to unpredictable variation!), the format of the schedule will be as standard for Tantric retreats, i.e. 4 sessions of practice/ teaching a day. Each session is usually preceded by Prostration to the 35 Confession Buddhas.

A tentative retreat schedule could be as follows:

5:00 – 7:30am             Taking Eight Mahayana Precepts & First Session: Lama Chopa

7:30am                        Breakfast

9:00 – 11:30am           Second Session

11:30am                      Lunch

3:00pm                        Chai Time

3:30 – 6pm                  Third Session

6pm                             Dinner (for those who didn’t take precepts)

7 – 9:30pm                  Fourth Session

NOTE: This schedule should just give you a rough idea and is subject to serious change!

For students who have not yet received teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, we want to make you aware of Rinpoche’s very unique teaching style. Rinpoche is well-known for often unpredictable teaching hours and long teaching sessions into the night, discerning perfectly which teachings are most beneficial to his students. Long-term students of Rinpoche's know to expect surprises! Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches in English, but it may be worth mentioning that those new to Rinpoche’s teachings may have initial difficulties in understanding him. We hope to transcribe Rinpoche's teachings on to a big screen as an aid.

There will be many karma yoga jobs available, like making extensive water bowl offerings, keeping the gompa clean etc. This is a great way to accumulate merit and to help the center and retreat to run smoothly, so we hope you will all join in!

There will be no Western retreat leader, but a Geshe from Sera-Je Monastery will be appointed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to lead sessions/ pujas throughout the retreat. He will be assisted by 2 Lama Gyupas from Kopan monastery.

Usually a Fire Puja is not part of this practice, since it is not from the Gelug tradition. Nonetheless, Lama Zopa Rinpoche does intend to have one. Those who manage to do 100,000 mantra recitations can participate in the fire puja, and usually they will have chance to offer something to the deity.

Tushita also plans to offer a Long Life Puja to Rinpoche, so there will be many merit opportunities! More details will be available soon.

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The Retreat Discipline

To make this retreat most beneficial and rewarding for everybody we would like to emphasize that everybody keeps the retreat discipline! We also encourage the older students to act as role models to the newer ones.

Basic retreat discipline includes:

-          settling all your travel arrangements, emails, calls, photocopying etc. BEFORE arriving at Tushita

-          deposit your mobile, laptop etc. in our safe for the duration of the retreat

-          not leaving Tushita property, except for going on quiet walks

-          observing the the 5 lay vows

-          attending all sessions

-          keeping silence

All retreatants are encouraged to take the Eight Mahayana Precepts, provided their health permits it. If you won’t be able to take the precepts, please let us know when you register, so we get an idea how many people will be eating dinner.

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Communication / Internet

Internet at Tushita will be available for emergencies only! We do not have a telephone line for long distance calls.

Our contact information, where a message can be taken for you in case of emergencies only:

+91-1892-221866

spc@tushita.info

Please be very aware that there won’t be any internet available during the retreat! So even if you are a busy Centre Director etc. please make prior arrangements so that all your centre business is taken care of and you can truly do and enjoy your retreat. That’s what you all come here for after all.

To create a conducive retreat environment, please settle all travel arrangements, emails, calls, photocopying etc. BEFORE arriving at Tushita. There are many internet shops in McLeod Ganj where you can make long distance calls and use the internet (some have generators in case of power cuts).

In order to help you and everybody else to focus on the retreat we will ask you at arrival to put your mobile and laptop (and any other electrical device that could distract you) into our safe for the entire duration of the retreat. Even if you decide to keep your mobile, please be aware that up here in the mountains it’s most likely that you won’t have any reception anyway.

Please do respect our emergency only policy and do not put our volunteers in an awkward position by asking them to use our office computers for your travel arrangements, centre business etc. We face the daily challenge of power cuts, non-existing internet connections and broken computers and do have to run a busy centre.

• For other practical matters, like library, meals, laundry, toilets & showers please visit our website: http://tushita.info/hayagriva.html

Retreat Costs

With our aim to enable everybody to join the retreat, the retreat costs listed below are the minimum which will cover accommodation, 2 meals a day, utilities, basic administrative and retreat materials. Still, an event of this magnitude involves considerable additional expenses (eg. travel and other expenses for hosting Rinpoche and entourage) so we are relying on your generous support to make this happen, and to help us to break even!

We have 46 ordained Sangha registered for the retreat. That’s more than a third of all the retreatants!

http://tushita.info/hayagriva.html#Sponsorship

The retreat costs, depending on accommodation options, are as follows:

• big dorm (7-14 beds) at Tushita

Entire retreat – 30 000 IR (approx. 660 US$, 500 Euros)

Per week – 10 000 IR (approx. 220 US$, 165 Euros)

• small dorm (3-4 beds) at Tushita – very limited number

Entire retreat – 35 000 IR (approx. 770 US$, 580 Euros)

For Sangha – 5 000 IR

No part-time available!

• double room in simple guest house

Entire retreat – 35 000 IR (approx. 770 US$, 580 Euros)

For Sangha – 5000 IR

No part-time available!

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IMPORTANT REQUEST CONCERNING PAYMENT: 

It’s just another 2 weeks until the retreat starts and we have many bills to pay, so we would like to request all of you to pay the outstanding balance of your payment in Indian Rupees cash on check in day in our Tushita office.

Please be very aware that we CANNOT accept any payment by credit cards, in foreign currency or traveller's cheques in our office at Tushita.

Tushita doesn’t have a permit for receiving foreign currency, so all your earlier credit card transfers have gone into our account at International Office in the USA and has often been quite complicated to transfer money into our account in India.

Please keep also in mind that all retreat costs are stated in Indian Rupees and that we will apply the exchange rate of the day on March 2^nd (currently 1 US $ is approx. 45 Indian Rupees and 1 Euro approx. 60 Indian Rupees).

That means even if you have already paid 600 US$ by credit card, this would currently only be 27000 IR. So we would request you to please pay the difference at check in on March 2nd.

If you want to change money, in McLeod Ganj there are many moneychangers and there is one ATM at the State Bank of India on Temple Road. There are also 2 ATMs in Dharamsala (20 mins by bus/taxi).

Please be aware that the ATM often does not function for days at a time, so it is wise to not wait until the last minute to use it.

We hope this letter answers most of your questions. If you need any further help please write to spc@tushita.info or call +91-1892-221866.

Tushita wishes you safe & happy travels!

We are looking forward to seeing you very soon,

Kunphen 

(on behalf of the Tushita Team)

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