Retreat Schedule for Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche

April 10 through 15, 2008

Click here to register for this retreat online.

Thursday, April 10 – 12:55 PM – Greeting the Lama
Please arrive early and bring flowers, a katag and incense.

Friday, April 11 – 7:30 PM –YUMKA EMPOWERMENT
All are welcome to this empowerment. Empowerments bestow great blessings on all beings.

Yumka: "The Queen of Great Bliss"
is a Dakini practice of the three roots of Longchen Nyingthik, the terma cycle reveled by Omniscient Jigme Lingpa.

Yumka is practiced on Dakini Day (25th day of the Tibetan calendar) in Namdroling and many other Nyingma monasteries and centers around the world. The central meditation visualization of the practice is on the wisdom Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal, a consort of Guru Rinpoche and the Founding Mother of Tibetan Buddhism.

Her dharmakaya is primordial Buddha Samantabadhri, her sambhogakaya is Vajravarahi and her nirmanakaya is Tara. All female buddhas are manifestations of Wisdom Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal.

The sadhana (practice) is one of the most profound practices in Longchen Nyingthik tradition. Beginning from refuge, it is the ground in the Dzogchen teachings. Because of this, Jigme Lingpa himself, and other great lineage holders wrote commentaries and practice guides on Yumka.

Please consider bringing dana to offer Khenchen after the empowerment. See below for more info on this.

Saturday, April 12 Three Sessions
9:30 am til Noon Teachings on 4 Seals
2:30 pm til 4:00 pm Teachings on 4 Seals

The Four Seals or "Buddhism in a Nutshell" :
Everything is impermanent
All emotions cause suffering
All phenomena are illusory
Enlightenment is beyond concepts - a release from delusions

4:30 pm til 5:30 pm – Small group interview for retreatants

Sunday, April 13 Three Sessions
9:30 am til Noon – EMPOWERMENT, Rigdzin Dupa

The Assemblage of Vidhyadharas

The Assemblage of Vidhyadharas, Rigdzin Dupa, is a sadhana, a practice, on Guru Padmasambhava. It is one of the three root-practices of the Longchen Nyingthig tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This text was mystically discovered by Kunkhyen Jigmed Lingpa (1729-1791) as a Terma, a hidden treasure.

2:30 pm til 4:00 pm – Teachings, Rigdzin Dupa
4:30 pm til 5:30 pm – Small group interview for retreatants

Monday, April 14, Three Sessions
Teachings on Nyam Nyid Randrol, Self liberation of equalness
Khenchen Rinpoche has chosen this first text of a Longchenpa trilogy as the next text for ongoing teachings to our sangha.

9:30 am til Noon – Teachings on Nyam Nyid Randrol
2:30 pm til 4:00 pm – Teachings on Nyam Nyid Randrol
7:30 pm til 9:00 pm – Teachings on Nyam Nyid Randrol

Tuesday, April 15, One Session
9:30 am til Noon – Teachings on Nyam Nyid Randrol
6:30 pm til 8:00 pm Sangha will do our regular Shower of Blessings Tsog – Please bring your text, flowers, and finger foods. (This is part of our regular practice schedule and is open to all who are interested. There is no fee requested, but donations are welcomed. For information on this practice, please see http://www.namdrolingmt.org/practices.html)

All events are subject to spontaneous changes as directed by the Lama.
Please try to keep your schedule open and flexible, and check the website for updates.

Retreat Fees
$260 for entire retreat

$25 per empowerment

$40 per session

Sponsors $1000 (Sponsors for this retreat are welcome and needed!)
You are welcome to attend any part of the retreat. Please note that no one will be turned away for inability to pay. You may register online at our website www.namdrolingmt.org. To pay at the door, please print off the registration form from our website and bring it and your fee to the retreat. We can only accept credit cards on line, so please go to our website before the retreat to register online and submit credit card payment through PayPal.

Children: Namdroling currently has no childcare facilities. Children are warmly welcome if attended by an adult at all times.

Teenagers: Teenagers may attend the sessions for a donation of their choice.
College students can contact the email address below to find out about work study.

Dana: Buddhist teachings are traditionally offered on dana, or generosity, basis. Our Teachers do not request or set any fee. The teachings are considered priceless, and teachers offer their services freely. Namdroling will make a dana offering to the teacher from the group, but you will also have an opportunity at the end of the weekend to give from the heart to the teacher in gratitude for his kindness and to aid him in his activities.

Empowerment (Wang) All who are interested in the Wangs are invited. Please bring your katag if you have one, and you may want to bring dana if you are not attending the whole retreat. An Empowerment is the initiation into a certain tantric practice in Tibetan Buddhism. There are three parts to it, the wang, the initiation; the lung, a reading of the text; and the tri, the guidance on how to use it. The empowerment plants the seed of accomplishment in and showers blessings on the practitioner. Empowerments are auspicious events for all beings, whether Buddhist practitioners or not.

For further information or directions,
please email news@namdrolingmt.org or phone 587-2907.

Register online