Escape from the ordinary

Hello everyone,

How can I get you excited about our August retreat in the Rocky Mountains?! Because I know it’s going to be incredibly good fun and meaningful to boot, but some of you have never done retreat with us and may not understand why. So,just to throw out some benefits:

1. Experience more peace of mind – go on a real break
2. Immerse yourself in nature in stunning surroundings
3. Enjoy the combination of genuine relaxation and spiritual growth
4. Reconnect with old friends and make new ones
5. Everyone is happier on meditation retreat!

Who can attend? Although some of the meditations will get quite profound, this retreat will have something for all levels of interest and experience, and you can attend at your own pace and capacity.

By late August, we will all no doubt be eagerly anticipating a welcome respite from the heat of the plains! Venerable Geshe Kelsang calls Festivals and retreats “meaningful vacations”. Some vacations promise much, but deliver little. Not this one!

In a retreat, we have a chance to go deeper, to really be able to let go of our usual busyness, preoccupations, and worries, experiencing a spacious and life-enhancing perspective. We can take our spiritual practice up a notch. Even with poor concentration, we are generally more peaceful, relaxed, and happy on retreat than in our ordinary fast-paced, externalized lives.

I have done several years of solitary meditation retreat, and love guiding retreats like this, helping people become good meditators. So I’m looking forward to it and really hope you will join me.

THE TOPIC ~ The Union of Sutra and Tantra

All Buddha Shakyamuni's 84,000 teachings are included in Sutra and Tantra.Kadampa Buddhism, or modern Buddhism, emphasizes the union of Sutra and Tantra, which provides us with a holistic, complete, and quick path to enlightenment.

I am basing this 4-day retreat on the teachings of the Summer Festival at
Manjushri KMC. The exact content is therefore to be determined, but I do know I will be teaching and guiding sessions on the really essential practice of Lamrim, the stages of the path to enlightenment (the bread and butter of a Buddhist meditation practice), and how to start integrating this into a simple Tantric practice.

Buddha’s Sutra teachings on the wish for lasting mental peace and freedom (renunciation), the good heart of compassion and bodhichitta, and the wisdom realizing the way things are (emptiness) are the foundation of Tantra, giving us the motivation and the wisdom needed to practice it. Buddha’s Tantric teachings give our spiritual practice vision, bringing our Sutra insights alive. Sutra and Tantra are mutually supportive, and both accelerate and perfect each other.

If you have any questions, please hit reply to this email or catch me at a class. Otherwise, you can just go ahead and register! Try to get your deposit down before the July 1st early bird discount.

With love,
Kadam Lucy