This event will be in English with live Romanian translation, other languages will be available on Zoom only.
Dying is an essential part of life; something that we all will experience. Whether you or a loved one are facing death today or decades from now, it’s important to understand what it means to live and die well. In this day long teaching, Khentrul Rinpoche will take us on a journey through what is known as the ‘bardo of death’, or transitionary period, between one life and the next, and the tremendous opportunity it offer if we view them as an opportunity for spiritual transformation.Khentrul Rinpoche will give teachings and transmission on the Kalachakra Phowa, a special practice to direct our transition to enlightenment at death.If we know how to make the most of this time, we can identify ways to reach liberation to the Sublime tantric realm of Shambhala to realize enlightenment in our next life. If we are exceptional practicers we can realize enlightenment through death. In order to do this we need to properly understand how to prepare and what to do at the right times. If you or a loved one is preparing for death this is a good course to find out what you can do to help them at the moment of death.
INCLUDED IN THIS EVENT
Kalachakra Phowa Oral transmission of the practice, Kalachakra Phowa, a preliminary teaching and practice sessions with a Q&A session.
WHO IS THIS FOR or HOW TO PREPARE MYSELF?
There are no prerequisites at all. It is suitable for all levels of practitioners. Previous Buddhist study and practice are helpful but not mandatory. This is open to anyone who wants to understand how to prepare for your own or someone else’s death.
SCHEDULE BY TIMEZONE:
Romania SUNDAY August 27, 2023 10:00 AM – Session 1 – Die Happy: Liberation through Death, Shambhala and the Kalachakra Phowa
1:00 PM – Session 2 – Online Only Practice Session
3:00 PM – Session 3 – Die Happy: Liberation through Death, Shambhala and the Kalachakra Phowa
HOW THE EVENTS WORK 1) Register for each attendee that will be receiving the empowerment. You will be added to the course on learn.dzokden.org
2) Receive your text and information on how to practice in the learning center.
3) You will receive access to the zoom for each of the sessions. You can rewatch the events later except for the oral transmission. We do not share recordings of empowerments or transmissions.
SUGGESTED OFFERINGS
We have created 3 offering levels to help make this affordable to a range of attendees as we must raise funds to cover the cost. The cost has been adjusted for the cost of living in various countries. Thank you for understanding so that we can make this accessible to our global family. If your ability to pay makes it difficult to attend this program, we will make every effort to make attendance possible. Please email [email protected] to discuss a lower offering amount.
OFFERING DANA TO RINPOCHE
As this is an online event, you can make the offering of Dana to Rinpoche here.
This event will be in English with live Romanian translation, other languages will be available on Zoom only.
Tap into the power of all the Buddhas to open your heart to liberate all sentient beings. The infinite ultimate bodhicitta needed to realize enlightenment and liberate beings as limitless as space, may be simple to understand but can be difficult to cultivate. In our world it can be hard enough to develop worldly compassion and sympathy for friends our family; never mind those with opposing political views or who you perceived to have wronged you. To develop the heart of enlightenment big enough to genuinely care for the whole world selflessly like the great bodhisattvas of Shambhala takes a huge continuous effort.
Khentrul Rinpoche will bestow this empowerment (jenang) to help connect us with the power of Chenrezig and through the Shambhala Kalki King Pundarika, the power of the Kalkis. Through this special connection we can with sustained effort, open our hearts to truly cultivate the capacity of unconditional love and compassion to create a Golden Age of time on earth. Khentrul Rinpoche will guide us in a teaching on how the Shambhala Kings are the ultimate compassionate warriors that we can become as well.
INCLUDED IN THIS EVENT
Chenrezig (Jenang), Oral transmission of the practice, a preliminary teaching and practice sessions with a Q&A session.
CHENREZIG FOR KALACHAKRA STUDENTS
The main commentary, Vimalaprabha” (Skt.) or “Stainless Light” that we have on the Kalachakra Tantra was written by the Shambhala Kalki Pundarika who is a manifestation of Chenrizig. Through Kalki Pundarika’s infinite compassion, he taught the Kalachakra Tantra in a way that was more accessible for sentient beings and helped the teachings flourish in the sublime realm of Shambhala. HH the Great 14th Dalia Lama, and Kalachakra Master, is also seen as a manifestation of Chenrizig and many of the practitioners of Kalachakra globally are connected to him through empowerment.You do not necessarily need to practice Chenrizig separately, we just need to build a connection. Then you can integrate it within your own practice, for example within the Kalachakra Path. You can either practice Chenrizig as your main practice and see it as non-contradictory with the Kalachakra Path, or you can focus on the Kalachakra system without seeing the separation from Chenrizig, as he is even included in the Kalachakra mandala. You can work with the different Deities seeing them all as Kalachakra to cultivate different aspects of your nature that you feel they will help.
WHO IS THIS FOR or HOW TO PREPARE MYSELF?
There are no prerequisites at all. It is suitable for all levels of practitioners. Previous Buddhist study and practice are helpful but not mandatory.
Schedule by Timezone:
Romania SATURDAY August 26, 2023 10:00 AM — Shambhala, Pundarika and the teachings of compassionate warrior also Bodhisattva Vows
1:00 PM — Mantra and Sadhana practice online only
3:00 PM — Chenrezig Empowerment
Central Europe and South Africa SATURDAY August 26, 2023
9:00 AM — Shambhala, Pundarika and the teachings of compassionate warrior also Bodhisattva Vows
12:00 PM — Mantra and Sadhana practice online only
2:00 PM — Chenrezig Empowerment
HOW THE ONLINE EMPOWERMENT WILL WORK
1) Register for each attendee that will be receiving the empowerment. You will be added to the course on learn.dzokden.org
2) You must receive the empowerment online in real-time. We do not record the empowerments. Before the empowerment, you will receive information on some simple supplies you should get to help make the experience as authentic as possible if any are needed for this empowerment. If you don’t have the items it’s ok. They are symbolic.
3) You will receive access to the zoom for each of the sessions in the Dzokden Learning center. We do not give out links more than a week before the event and we ask that you do not share them.
SUGGESTED OFFERINGS
We have created 3 offering levels to help make this affordable to a range of attendees as we must raise funds to cover the cost. The cost has been adjusted for the cost of living in various countries. Thank you for understanding so that we can make this accessible to our global family. If your ability to pay makes it difficult to attend this program, we will make every effort to make attendance possible. Please email [email protected] to discuss a lower offering amount.
OFFERING DANA TO RINPOCHE
As this is an online event, you can make the offering of Dana to Rinpoche here.
This event will be in English with live Romanian translation, other languages will be available on Zoom only.
In our modern times, many people prefer to be spiritual but not religious. Part of this is the desire to connect with the essence of our true nature that is beyond the limitations of any religion. This is exactly what the Kalachakra tantra teaches. Rinpoche will give teachings about why the Kalachakra tantra is a Rimé practice that is inclusive of all the world’s spiritual traditions. Even in the realm of Shambhala when the great Bodhisattvas realized the teachings of the Kalachakra tantra, they did so from backgrounds based on various wisdom traditions. Understanding the true deeper nature of the Kalachakra can help move us out of the limited thinking of lineage or religion and closer to our own sacred truth.
About Khentrul Rinpoche
Khentrul Rinpoché Jamphel Lodrö is the founder and spiritual director of Dzokden. Rinpoche is the author of Unveiling Your Sacred Truth, The Great Middle Way: Clarifying the Jonang View of Other-Emptiness, A Happier Life, and The Hidden Treasure of the Profound Path.
Rinpoche spent the first 20 years of his life herding yak and chanting mantras on the plateaus of Tibet. Inspired by the bodhisattvas, he left his family to study in a variety of monasteries under the guidance of over twenty-five masters in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Due to his non-sectarian approach, he earned himself the title of Rimé (unbiased) Master and was identified as the reincarnation of the famous Kalachakra Master Ngawang Chözin Gyatso. While at the core of his teachings is the recognition that there is great value in the diversity of all spiritual traditions found in this world; he focuses on the Jonang-Shambhala tradition. Kalachakra (wheel of time) teachings contain profound methods to harmonize our external environment with the inner world of body and mind, ultimately bringing about the golden age of peace and harmony (dzokden).
Schedule by Timezone:
Melbourne, Australia — SATURDAY August 26, 2023 / 1:00 AM Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mongolia, Singapore and Taiwan — FRIDAY August 25, 2023 / 11:00 PM Hanoi, Vietnam — FRIDAY August 25, 2023 / 10:00 PM Romania — FRIDAY August 25, 2023 / 6:00 PM Central Europe and South Africa — FRIDAY August 25, 2023 / 5:00 PM Sao Paulo, Brazil — FRIDAY August 25, 2023 / 12:00 PM East Coast USA, Toronto — FRIDAY August 25, 2023 / 11:00 AM West Coast USA — FRIDAY August 25, 2023 / 8:00 AM
THE KALACHAKRA PATH
In this time of considerable conflict and strife, the practice of Kalachakra is said to be particularly effective. As these teachings arose from the spiritual realm of Shambhala, they are closely linked to the cultivation of peace and harmony. These teachings are exceedingly rare in this world and therefore it is very difficult to encounter them, let alone in a language that you can understand. While many people have taken Kalachakra Initiations from great masters such as H.H. the Dalai Lama, instructions for how to exactly practice have been very limited.
The instructions for these practices were originally taught by the Buddha Shakyamuni to the Dharma King of Shambhala where they were preserved until eventually being introduced into India around the tenth century and soon afterwards into Tibet. With the extraordinary methods of the Kalachakra completion stage practices, known as the Six Vajra Yogas, it is possible to attain complete enlightenment within a single human lifetime. While the Six Vajra Yogas are the main practice of the Kalachakra Path, to be qualified to engage in these practices, one must first spend time focusing on the Preliminary Practices (Ngöndro).
THE KALACHAKRA NGÖNDRO COURSE Rinpoche plans to approach the Kalachakra Ngöndro this time from a quite different approach, focusing on the Shambhala lineage. Short overview:
What does one mean by different karmic propensities and manifestations?
How to change perspective and not experience the Kaliyuga?
How can Kalachakra help us to transform our human birth into something very precious?
How to avoid falling back into six realms of suffering.
Eliminating karmic propensities through the lens of tantric methods.
The meaning of Dharma Kings and Kalkis.
How do the compassionate Kalki Kings transform the world?
Understanding how the Kalkis and other enlightened beings manifest as Dharma teachers.
Learning how to form the perfect relationship with Dharma teachers and the incredible benefits of it.
The connection between Guru and student: the key of the tantric practice.
Schedule by Timezone
Boulder, Colorado
MONDAY-TUESDAY
September 25-26, 2023
10:00 AM — 7:00 PM
Melbourne, Australia
TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY
September 26-27, 2023
2:00 AM — 11:00 AM
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mongolia, Singapore and Taiwan
TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY
September 26-27, 2023
12:00 AM — 9:00 AM
Hanoi, Vietnam
MONDAY
September 25, 2023
11:00 PM — 1:00 AM (TUE Sept. 26th)
TUESDAY
September 26, 2023
2:00 AM — 1:00 AM (WED Sept. 27)
WEDNESDAY
September 27, 2023
2:00 AM — 8:00 AM
Romania
MONDAY
September 25, 2023
7:00 PM — 11:30 PM
TUESDAY
September 26, 2023
12:00 AM — 4:00 AM
7:00 PM — 11:30 PM
WEDNESDAY
September 27, 2023
12:00 AM — 4:00 AM
Central Europe and South Africa
MONDAY
September 25, 2023
6:00 PM — 12:30 AM (TUE Sept. 26th)
TUESDAY
September 26, 2023
1:00 AM — 3:00 AM
6:00 PM — 12:30 AM (WED Sept. 27)
WEDNESDAY
September 27, 2023
1:00 AM — 3:00 AM
Sao Paulo, Brazil
MONDAY-TUESDAY
September 25-26, 2023
1:00 PM — 10:00 PM
East Coast USA, Toronto, Puerto Rico
MONDAY-TUESDAY
September 25-26, 2023
12:00 PM — 9:00 PM
West Coast USA
MONDAY-TUESDAY
September 25-26, 2023
9:00 AM — 6:00 PM
In-person offered in English and Tibetan only. We do encourage international students to attend. We can supply the empowerment booklet in some languages. This event is possible thanks to our partnership with Shambhala International.
September 25-26th (2 days) This is for registration for the Kalachakra Four Higher Empowerments and mini-retreat. This will take place directly following the Kalachakra Empowerment in Boulder. If you have been previously approved or received the Higher Empowerment you can register without request. If you receive the Higher Empowerment you are able to register for any of the Dark Room retreats in the future. If you would like to go to Kalapa in Austria to do the Dark Room (3 isolations) practice retreat, you can do so for weeks 2-4 because you have received the empowerment previously. Register for the August Dark Room retreats in Austria
Rinpoche has kindly accepted a request to bestow the Four Higher Empowerments of Kalachakra in the USA for the first time since 2018. After receiving these empowerments, you will have all the qualifications to prepare yourself to enter the profound completion stage of Kalachakra in the future. To ensure that students succeed in their paths, Rinpoche bestows these Higher Empowerments only to pre-approved students who genuinely wish to deepen their practice of the Kalachakra path. This is an important step to reinforce the bond between the vajra master and student in working together towards enlightenment. You are more than welcome to present yourself as a candidate to receive these empowerments by sending your application here. To make sure that we can evaluate your application in time, please send it in as soon as possible. However, if you have already been approved, you can simply register for this event directly.
(Note: the Kalachakra Four Higher Empowerments are not the same Kalachakra Empowerments that Rinpoche given in Hong Kong in 2020 and in other places such as in Vienna in 2019, which are called “The Seven Empowerments of a Growing Child”.)
About the Empowerments and Retreat “Up to this point, our use of conceptual methods has been instrumental in removing our many layers of misconception, but as they are embedded in the dualistic mind, these methods function as a subtle barrier to experiencing our definitive nature. For this reason, we need to abandon them in favor of a direct approach that works without conceptual fabrications. We can achieve this transformation from conceptual to non-conceptual in two steps. Firstly we are introduced to the Kalachakra view by receiving the Four Higher Empowerments. Secondly, with the establishment of this view, we use the unique meditation technique of the Three Isolations (Wensum) to cut the proliferation of thoughts and abide in the nature of the mind.” (Khentrul Rinpoche, “Unveiling Your Sacred Truth 3”)
The program fee for the retreat encompasses 1) Secret Dakini Oral Transmission, 2) The Kalachakra Four Higher Empowerments, 3) Teaching-Transmission of the Wensum (Three Isolations) Practice, 4) a printed booklet about the Empowerments and Practice. Accommodations and food are not provided.
SCHEDULE: September 25-26th
9:00 am — 9 pm Monday and Tuesday. The last session is optional for those who need to leave earlier to return to their accommodation.
How to prepare for this retreat If this will be your first time taking part, we strongly encourage you to prepare yourself as much as you can with the Kalachakra Preliminary Practices. In addition to the longer sadhanas “Divine Ladder” and “Enlightening the Heart”, you will need to know the sadhana “Secret Dakini Treasure”. For the latter, you must register here for the oral commentary Rinpoche gave recently if you have not already done so. We encourage you to study all the sadhanas as much as you can, including the transliterations and chantings, because there will be some sessions of chanting in Tibetan without a recording during the retreat.
Materials Bring your practice book “The Profound Path of Vajra Yoga”. You can also bring Rinpoche’s commentary “The Hidden Treasure” as a reference for your practice. Other reading materials not directly related to the Wensum practice are not allowed during the retreat period. You will also need the Secret Dakini Treasure eBook.
Retreat Information and Guidelines Practice sessions will be conducted in English and Tibetan. If you absolutely prefer, you can bring copies of the texts in your own language as well and read them silently while the group recites in English.
Payment Options Once you have been approved for the empowerment and the 2-day retreat (accommodations not included), please choose the program fee that fits your financial circumstances. Rinpoche always reminds people to pay attention to what they prioritize and put their money on as the number 1 reason people ask for Financial aid is that they prioritized everything else in their life much higher than Dharma.
Accommodations
The location is central in Boulder. There are many cafes and places to eat around the location. For those trying to save money, we encourage airbnb and cafe. If you are on a limited budget we can try to find a community member for you to stay with. Please email [email protected] if you need further recommendations for accommodations.
