Foundation retreat program (3 years retreat - men)

Congregation Karma Tharchin Lhundrup and: Association des Hautes Etudes en Tibétain Le Bost, F-63640 Biollet, France 19th January, 2009 Tel. 0033-473-52.24.34 Dear friend,         You have expressed the wish to be informed about the next cycle of three year retreats. The current foundation retreat started on September 15th, 2008 and the next cycle will not begin before 2012. It will probably start with a pre-retreat of 4 months from February to May 2012, and the actual retreat will then start around June 2012 and continue for 3 years and 3 months. Our retreats follow a structure set out by the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinlay Thaye Dorje in 2007. The first 3 year retreat is called the “foundation retreat” which gives a profound introduction into the basic teachings and practices of our Karma Kagyu Lineage. It provides a firm foundation for the life long practice of Bodhicitta and Mahamudra. The second retreat is actually the First Traditional 3 Year Retreat. It focuses on yidam practice and an introduction to the practice of the 6 Doctrines of Naropa. The Second Traditional 3 Year Retreat then deepens the yidam practices and prepares the person to continue in further years with in-depth practice of the 6 Doctrines of Naropa and Mahamudra. In order to help you see whether a Foundation Retreat could be of any interest for you, here is the outline of such a retreat: Daily schedule 5.00     Waking-up practices 5.30    First individual practice session 7.30    Water torma offering, breakfast 8.30    Second individual practice session 10.30    Individual study session 11.30     Short smoke offering, lunch 14.00    Third individual practice session 16.00    Individual or group study session 17.15    Group Mahakala puja 18.00    Short smoke offering, dinner 19.00    Fourth individual practice session 21.00     short practice of Chöd 21.30    Concluding practices 22.00    Silence in the retreat centre FOUR MONTH PRE-RETREAT transmission of the commentary on Avalokiteshvara practice (by 15th Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje) word-by-word study of the Mahamudra preliminaries (by the 9th Karmapa Wangchug Dorje) word-by-word study of the Tara puja essential instructions on basic dharma, bodhicitta, paramitas etc. based on the “Jewel Ornament” (by Jetsun Gampopa) essential instructions on silent meditation explanation of the daily practices in the “Precious Heart” collection (by 15th Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje) word-by-word study of the “Sutra of Remembering the Three Jewels” FIRST YEAR of the Foundation Retreat (3 years, 3 months) Chenrezi practice (1 month) transmission of the Chenrezi commentary (by Lodrö Thaye) explanation of the Chutor practice and commentary (by 5th Shamarpa) Mahamudra preliminaries    (4 x 3 = 12 months) Practice of Refuge/Bodhicitta including Prostrations, Vajrasattva, Mandala offering, Guru Yoga with: complete transmission of the “Torch of True Meaning” (by Jamgön Kongtrul) complete explanations of the “Jewel Ornament” (by Gampopa) condensed explanations on the daily Mahakala practice, 3 sessions exchanges on relevant passages from “The Words of my Perfect Teacher” (by Patrul Rinpoche) during Mandala: transmission of commentary for the Lüdjin Chöd (by Jamgön Kongtrul) during Guru Yoga: transmission of commentary to the Dorje Chang prayer oral explanations of Gendun Rinpoche and Jigme Rinpoche SECOND YEAR Lojong practice (6 months) with transmission of: the Lojong commentary by Lodrö Thaye a few texts from the Lojong “Gyatsa” collection Shine-Lhaktong-Mahamudra practice combined with Guru Yoga (6 months) with transmission of: the meditation manuals of the 9th Karmapa commentary to the Milarepa Guru Yoga commentary to the short Gampopa Guru Yoga commentary to the Mikyö Dorje Guru Yoga The retreat will also include an introduction to Abhidharma and Buddhist philosophy based on the “Gateway to Knowledge” (by the First Mipham Rinpoche) an introduction to the history of Buddhism THIRD YEAR Long Gampopa Guru Yoga    (9 months) Outer, inner, and secret practice: 3 months each With silent meditation and introduction to yidam practice Plus 3 months without an established program as yet. (To be decided by the retreat guides as the situation needs it). Chöd Tsoklé practice (1 month) With transmission of the longer Chöd commentary LAST THREE MONTHS White Tara practice (2 months) Introduction to yidam practice Plus 1 month without an established program as yet. (To be decided by the retreat guides as the situation needs it). The details of the retreat program will be adjusted as the retreat goes on by the drupöns (guides) together with the Gyalwa Karmapa – who is the vajra master of this retreat – and Jigme Tsewang Rinpoche, his representative. In order to prepare for such a retreat we encourage you to study and practice the dharma as much as possible. It is also necessary to establish as soon as possible a personal, direct contact with the retreat guides so that one gets to now each other and establishes the necessary basis of mutual confidence. Right now, what you can do is to write a ‘letter of first contact’ to them with some basic information about yourself. A retreat needs deep renunciation, clear ethics, stable mindfulness, strong compassion, sincere trust and devotion and – of course – a lot of perseverance. To strengthen these qualities in your stream of being it is very advisable to establish a firm grounding in silent meditation practice, Avalokiteshvara and the Mahamudra preliminaries. One also needs to clarify all areas of one’s life in order to be free of obligations to one’s family (children, siblings and parents) as well as to one’s spouse. It is not possible to enter retreat if other people depend on us. Also we need to have a sufficiently stable physical and mental health. When the retreat draws closer you will need to spend some time with the retreat guides in preparation courses and perhaps through living here in Dhagpo Kundrol Ling. This will allow your motivation to ripen. About half a year before the preparation retreat you will be requested to write a formal letter of application to the lamas responsible for retreat. This letter should arrive here before the announced deadline. You should write only if you are ready to commit yourself to doing the retreat and if you are sure to be capable of doing it. This means that you have asked yourself the following questions: Health Am I in good health? Am I free of any dependency on drugs, alcohol or tobacco? Anyone contemplating retreat must avoid drugs and tobacco completely since they block the circulation of the subtle energies. Family Are there people who depend on me (husband/wife/children/parents) and if so, how will they cope emotionally and financially when I am in retreat? In general: Will my family be supportive or resentful? State of mind Am I emotionally stable? Am I prepared for the necessary self-sacrifice that has to be made when living in a group? Do I have confidence in the value and relevance of the practices I will be doing during the three years? Finances Will I have enough money to pay my retreat? The exact price is not fixed yet; it will however be around 400 Euros per month for a period of about 40 months, plus a sum of 15 – 30 Euros monthly for photocopies and individual expenses. In general: Do I really know what I am asking to do? Have I talked with someone who has already done the retreat to get a clear idea of the retreat program, the daily structure of activities, the retreat environment as a whole? Am I aware of how much time and energy I have to invest starting right now in all the studies and preparation that have to be done before the beginning of the retreat? Am I really willing to learn rituals in Tibetan language, to read Tibetan, and to learn complicated visualisations? Do I understand either English or French? The teachings will be given in one of these two languages. If you can give a satisfactory reply to all these questions, you can – when the time has come – write your letter of application. It should include: an outline of the reasons for wanting to do the retreat a description of your experience in dharma practice up to the present day the basic facts about your life (birth date, profession/job, married or not, children, vows, any family difficulties or military service obligations?) a passport size photo of yourself (with your name on the back) information about your physical and mental health (previous important treatments or ongoing treatments) financial situation The pre-retreat will start after the coming out of the present retreat and continue up to the actual start of retreat. There will be only a little time to see your family in between before actually entering closed retreat. The dates and contents of the preparation courses and the pre-retreat program will be communicated later. Please keep in touch! With best wishes for your time of reflection and for your continued dharma practice, the lamas responsible for the men’s retreat Lama Tendzin and Lama Lhundrup

 

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