Program Group Retreats Kalachakra Six Session Guru Yoga Retreat

Kalachakra Six Session Guru Yoga Retreat

Approximation Retreat

August 2 – 18, 2014

A 17-day Group Retreat – Open only to those who have received the Kalachakra initiation. Led by Andy Wistreich.

About this Retreat

This retreat will include instruction in the practice of The Guru Yoga of Kalachakra in connection with the Six Sessions in completely facilitating form and recitation of 100,000 mantras of the main deity, plus 10,000 mantras of each of the ten Shaktis, plus 10,000 wisdom-showering mantras. It will be completed by a fire puja to purify all one’s practice in the retreat. This sadhana, which many practitioners recite every day, is an excellent starting point for the practice of Kalachakra. It was composed with inspiring poetry by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s senior tutor, based on specific suggestions by the Dalai Lama, and is thus a specially blessed contemporary practice for our time. The retreat will be an excellent opportunity to establish the practice in one’s mindstream, enabling one to continue to integrate it in daily life. There will not only be instruction in the practice, but also opportunities for supplementary meditations to improve one’s practice, and discussion sessions to facilitate knowledge of the whole Kalachakra system. This system is extremely powerful in effecting personal transformation at the very deepest level.

This retreat will conclude with a fire puja and a 2-day program to prepare participants for practising Kalachakra in daily life.

This Kalachakra Six Session Guru Yoga Approximation retreat follows the teachings and detailed instructions of Jhado Rinpoche, and is to fulfil the wishes of Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche that following an empowerment into Kalachakra by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the FPMT would offer an approximation retreat and fire puja. The merit from this retreat will be offered to Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche and Jhado Rinpoche.

Training for future Kalachakra leaders

On August 18 – 19 there will be a one-day training program for those who are interested to lead or co-lead a Kalachakra Retreat in the future. Pre-requisites for attending this short training program are the completion of the retreat and the acceptance by the retreat leader.

Recommended Reading

Transcending Time by Gen Lamrimpa

Guidelines for Behaviour

Rules of Discipline

It is only possible to stay at Tushita if you are taking one of our residential courses/retreats or are an established Buddhist practitioner doing your own formal Buddhist retreat of a minimum of 10 days duration.

Since Tushita is a semi-monastic meditation centre and not a guesthouse, we ask all of our retreatants and visitors to observe the following rules of discipline in order to maintain an atmosphere conducive to inner reflection and meditation:

  • Be considerate of the monks and nuns: dress respectfully (please no shorts above the knee, tank-top shirts or tight and revealing clothing).
  • Respect all life: do not intentionally kill any living being, even small insects.
  • Respect others’ property: do not steal or take anything not freely given.
  • Be honest and straightforward: do not lie or intentionally deceive others. This is easy when observing silence!
  • Be celibate: no sexual activity. This also includes no holding hands, hugging, massages and other physical displays of affection.
  • Be alert and mindful: avoid intoxicants such as alcohol, drugs and cigarettes (we encourage you to stop smoking while here, but if this is impossible, one can smoke at a designated place at the centre boundary).
  • Be considerate of others’ silence: keep silence in the appropriate areas and at all times during residential courses, especially in the Gompa and the dormitories. No singing or playing music and in general, maintain a quiet demeanor while on the property.
Basic Course Discipline

In order to keep the atmosphere conducive to inner reflection and spiritual pursuit and to minimise distractions during the course, students on our residential courses and retreats are asked to abide by our basic code of discipline listed below.

  • Please be gentle in your behaviour and sensitive to fellow group members.
  • Please settle all outside communication before the course begins. Telling friends and family that you will be out of contact for the duration of the course and sticking by that decision significantly reduces distraction from investigation into the workings of your own mind! Likewise, please settle your travel arrangements etc before you come to Tushita!
  • You are expected to observe silence (no talking at all) from the evening of the first day until the end of the course.
  • Do not leave Tushita property for the entire course.
  • Participants must attend all sessions of the course and come to sessions on time.
  • Please put all communication / entertainment devices (laptop / mobile phones /cameras / MP3/CD players) etc into our safe at check-in.
Gompa Etiquette

“Gompa” is a Tibetan word which we use for Meditation Hall. Because a Gompa is the location of study, meditation and devotional practices, Buddhists consider them to be holy places. In this tradition, the following modes of behaviour are considered respectful in a Gompa and we ask you to follow them while here:

  • No idle chit-chat in the Gompa (ie. You can ask the teacher questions during class, but do not talk with other students).
  • Do not point your feet towards the teachers, the altar or any holy object.
  • Do not put Dharma materials – prayer books, texts, Dharma books or notebooks with Dharma in them – on the floor, or sit or step over them.
  • Do not lie down or do any yoga exercises in the Gompa at any time.

Registration

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