KALACHAKRA NGÖNDRO RETREAT – with focus on Mandala Offering
June 18-20th – days and times are in Vienna time (CEST – Central European Summer Time). Please check your own time zone for a correct reference. REGISTER HERE
To support practitioners wishing to accumulate merit and in particular those practicing the Jonang-Kalachakra Ngöndro, we will host this precious Practice Retreat which will put a special focus on the Mandala Offering. This retreat was repeatedly requested by the Dzokden Sangha from Vienna.
“The purpose of the practice of offering mandalas is to accumulate merit by making the most expansive and vast offerings possible with the best possible motivation. We direct these offerings toward the best possible recipients—the sublime Three Jewels. This combination of action, motivation and support make Mandala Offerings an extraordinarily effective method for accumulating vast quantities of merit in a relatively short period of time. Merit is the positive energy that is generated when engaging in virtuous actions. This positive energy habituates your mind to virtue and therefore provides the basis for happiness to arise in the future.” (Khentrul Rinpoche)
Although the retreat will focus on the practice of Mandala Offerings, the participants will also be guided through the other Outer and Inner Preliminaries of the Jonang-Kalachakra tradition. They will be encouraged to learn the traditional ways of practising and to further expand their understanding, so that the practice of accumulating merit can be integrated into different levels of their experience. The participants will be practicing with the main sadhana of the Kalachakra Path, “The Divine Ladder” by Jestun Taranatha, as well as with Khentrul Rinpoche’s own sadhana “Enlightening the Heart”.
BENEFITS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE PRACTICE
Merit is a crucial component in helping us cultivate virtuous qualities. In particular, it increases our ability to understand the Dharma correctly, helps us develop enthusiasm for the practice and gives us the strength to overcome all obstacles along the way.
There are also three advantages to offering a universal mandala: (1) anyone can accumulate merit through offering a mandala, regardless of the resources they have; (2) there is no limit to the size of mental offerings, therefore you can generate vast stores of merit; and (3) the practice is incredibly blessed by countless practitioners who have used it to achieve enlightenment.
PRACTICE AND STUDY MATERIALS
Recommended books for this retreat:
THE PROFOUND PATH OF VAJRA YOGA
THE HIDDEN TREASURE OF THE PROFOUND PATH
UNVEILING YOUR SACRED TRUTH – BOOK 1 and BOOK 2
If you can get a traditional Mandala set for your practice, this is helpful, although not obligatory. You can either make your own mandala set or find a traditional one here.
RECORDINGS
All sessions will be recorded and can be accessed afterwards in our online learning center. We encourage you to take part in as many live sessions as possible, but, if your time zone is not compatible, you can listen to them later.
LANGUAGE
The retreat will be in English. Live translations are possible but still to be determined.
WHO CAN ATTEND
There are no formal prerequisites. No empowerments or transmissions are needed to join this retreat. It is open to anyone who has the sincere wish to accumulate merit for the sake of all beings. Previous Buddhist study and practice are very helpful but not required.
DONATIONS
If you are not able to use PayPal for whatever reason, you can also make a direct debit deposit or wire transfer to our bank account using the following information:
Suchandra Institut – Verein zur Förderung von Frieden und Harmonie
Branch: Raiffeisenbank Zirbenland, Im Dorf 16, 8763 Möderbrugg, Austria
Account: AT76 3836 8000 0201 1344
BIC: RZSTAT2G368
SWIFT: RZBAATWWXXX
In this case, please e-mail to [email protected] informing about your transference, so that we can register your name and your e-mail address at the learning center.
Please email [email protected] to discuss a lower offering amount or a full scholarship. No one is turned away for lack of resources.
SCHEDULE
Days and times are in Vienna time (CEST – Central European Summer Time). Please check your own time zone for a correct reference.
FRIDAY, 18th June
19:00 – 20:30
Outer Preliminaries
SATURDAY, 19th June
07:30 – 09:00
Refuge and Bodhicitta
10:30 – 12:00
Self-practice / self-study
14:00 – 15:30
Vajrasattva Practice
16:30 – 18:00
Self-practice / self-study
19:00 – 20:30
Mandala Offering
SUNDAY, 20th June
07:30 – 09:00
Mandala Offering
10:30 – 12:00
Self-practice / self-study
14:00 – 15:30
Mandala Offering, Guru Yoga and Conclusion
Speaker
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Rafa Lobsang DorjeRafa Lobsang Dorje (Rafael Nassif) started his contact with Buddhism in 2008, after practicing in other systems of spiritual practice in his homeland Brazil. In Europe, India and Tibet he had precious opportunities to receive teachings, transmissions and empowerments from masters from almost all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and from the Theravada Tradition as well, and took part in different group and solitary retreats. He was fortunate to met his precious Guru Jamphel Lodrö (Khentrul Rinpoche) in She Drup Ling-Austria in 2015, from whom he has been receiving a vast and profound wealth of Dharma, since the foundational subjects until the Kalachakra Vajra Yogas. Since 2016 he has been teaching Lu Jong (Tibetan Healing Yoga). In 2018 he received authorisation from Rinpoche to teach the Kalachakra-Ngöndro. Recently he reduced his professional activities as a composer in order to serve the altruistic ideals of his Guru as a full-time volunteer at our Dzokden community. He serves the community a.o. as a translator, editor and coordinator for the translations’ groups for both German and Portuguese languages.
