04-06 June 2010
]]> Come for a few hours or for the entire work program
Volunteers are promised hearty meals, good companionship, healthy outdoor exercise, and an opportunity to join the residents of Sea to Sky Retreat Centre in the practice of bringing meditative awareness and aspiration to everyday activities. Following is a typical daily schedule during the work program:
The work activities of this weekend will be focused on the grounds of SSRC and the surrounding forest.
If you may be able to join us, please advise... We request to know in advance the hours/days that you can help. In that way we can be prepared with meals, rooms, and tools to support your participation. Visiting volunteers who would like to offer a longer term of service may apply for a longer stay (Click here for details on work program participation).
]]>This retreat is not required for Dharma Gar. Rather, it's meant to enhance and augment Dharma Gar. This is a good opportunity to catch up on your practice hours or accumulate hours for busier periods in your life. It will also help you get into the habit of practicing over longer periods of time.
This retreat will be during the Bodhicitta section of our retreat and you can also get guidance on the upcoming Vajrasattva section.
Space is limited to 25 people. To register and reserve a space for this retreat (shared accommodations), please mail a check for $300 Canadian or US dollars, made payable to Siddhartha's Intent, to Sea to Sky Retreat Centre, Eastside Daisy Lake, Whistler, BC, V0N 1B1, Canada. Please make sure to write on the memo of the check "Dharma Gar Retreat 1 (June 17-21 2010)".
Please also send an email to the Retreat Manager (ssrc@siddharthasintent.org) so that further details and instructions can be sent to you.
"The essence of retreat is setting up a boundary - and we are not actually talking about a physical boundary, but we are talking about a boundary of time, setting up a boundary between past and future, which ideally means we remain in presentness."
--- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche ---
]]>
"The essence of retreat is setting up a boundary - and we are not actually talking about a physical boundary, but we are talking about a boundary of time, setting up a boundary between past and future, which ideally means we remain in presentness."
--- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
On Mind Training:
"Mind training is powerful.... because of mind training, the mind's normal habits are jeopardized.... that means things that used to be a big deal may not be a big deal anymore."
--- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
By the merit of this heartfelt aspiration
To practice the Seven Point Mind Training
Essence of the minds of the peerless Lords and his disciples
May all beings accomplish enlightenment
--- Nectar of the Mind Training, a prayer of the
Seven Point Mind Training,
by Jamyang Kheyntse Wangpo
translated by Padmakara Translation Group
To contact us please send an email to the Retreat Manager ssrc@siddharthasintent.org so further details and instructions can be sent to you. To register for this retreat for sharing accommodation, please mail a cheque for $ 225 Canadian or US Dollars made payable to Siddhartha's Intent to Sea To Sky Retreat Centre,
]]>
30 July to 01 August 2010
07-11 October 2010
29-31 October 2010
Foes are as unlimited as space,
They cannot possibly all be overcome;
Yet if you just overcome the thought of hatred
That will be equal to overcoming all foes.- Shantideva
The Way of the Bodhisattva (in Sanskrit, Bodhicaryavatara) is universally regarded as a quintessential instruction on the practice of the Mahayana path. Its poetic beauty and provocative thought makes for a most expansive presentation of the very heart of Buddhism: the possibility of removing fundamental confusion and uncovering the basic brilliance common to all life.
The extraordinary dimension of this work is reflected in its origin: in the early 8th century the author, Shantideva, was studying at the prestigious Buddhist university of Nalanda. Giving everyone the impression he was a thoroughly unmotivated and lazy student, he was challenged to give a public lecture, to justify his expulsion after presumably proving his lack of learning. To the surprise of all he confidently delivered this original and supremely profound teaching, 'The Way of the Bodhisattva', which immediately all recognized as sublime. As Shantideva proceeded to the final sections of the teaching, he is said to gradually have risen into the air, until finally only his voice was heard.
As Buddhism was brought to Tibet, the lineage of practice and realization of 'The Way of the Bodhisattva' was continued, and is with us until the present day. H.H. the Dalai Lama frequently quotes this text in his teachings.
]]>