191 Cragsmoor RoadCragsmoor, New York 12566
August 30 - September 4, 2024
About this Retreat
H.E. Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche is the founder and spiritual director of the Dharmakaya Center for Wellbeing. Known as a scholar, teacher and meditation master to thousands of students around the world, Rinpoche is also the first incarnate lama to earn a PhD in the West. He completed his doctoral studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism at Harvard University in 2004.
He is the head of the Trungram lineage, its monasteries, meditation centers, schools, dharma centers and groups around the world. One of the highest tulkus of the Kagyu lineage, he is a Rime master, having received teachings from the great masters of all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Rinpoche offers students a unique blend of Eastern wisdom and Western understanding. A scholar of Sanskrit and Tibetan, Rinpoche roots his teachings in the Skills of Awareness—a path combining profound meditation techniques with essential points of Dharma study.
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Details of this retreat
Discovering the Dharma I
A DHARMAKAYA CENTER RETREAT
In Discovering the Dharma I, H.E. Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche sets the foundation for Buddhist study. He discusses how and why to observe the mind, let go of attachments, and develop compassion, all over five days of engaged learning and guided practice. He also explains the importance of establishing a regular practice—and how to achieve it. You will have full access to the recordings after the program.
ONLINE OPTION: To make the teachings more broadly available, Rinpoche is also offering this program via live-stream. You can register here. Please note that you must attend Discovering the Dharma I, II, and III in person to qualify for Discovering the Dharma IV.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Mind: Cultivate Positive Energy
Observe the mind and how it affects our world. Learn to transform harmful thoughts to create a positive and helpful attitude. This helps you cultivate a positive relationship with all your experiences.
How to Meditate: Enhance Concentration and Calm Your Mind
Learn the purpose of meditation and experience first-hand the various techniques of calming meditation, known as Shamata. You will learn how to deal with obstacles to successful meditation as well as the physical and psychological preparation necessary for meditation.
Compassion and Bodhicitta: Cultivate and Integrate These Essential Qualities
Discover practices that develop your innate qualities of compassion. Learn to apply these techniques to generate the mind of bodhicitta.
Mental Purification: Uncover Attachments and Learn to Let Go
Learn how to let go of the attachments that lead to unhappiness. We all have the potential to cause suffering—for ourselves and others. Engage in a critical assessment of how attachment acts as an obstacle to happiness, and engage in profound meditation practices, such as “exchanging self with others,” that transform the energy of attachment into the root of happiness.
Daily Practice: Establish Consistency and the Skills to be Successful
Assemble the tools you need to develop a successful daily practice and receive the elements necessary to open the mind and develop wisdom through insight. Get some tips for making every action meaningful.
Taking Refuge: Give Yourself the Gift of Commitment to PracticeLearn what it means to take refuge in the Three Jewels and the benefits that flow from this. Understand how taking refuge helps to magnify your personal intention to achieve enlightenment.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Intimate setting with personal access to Rinpoche
Interactive sessions with question and answer periods
Optional Refuge ceremony
Shamatha and guided meditations
Tsa-Tue yoga practice
Delicious all-vegetarian meals with locally sourced ingredients
Option to extend stay on Personal Retreat
Extensive library of dharma books
Expansive wooded grounds with beautiful walking paths, flora and fauna
OPEN TO ALL
There are no prerequisites for this program; it is appropriate for meditators at all levels and those simply interested in exploring the teachings. Although it is part of the Discovering the Dharma series, the first three programs may be taken in any order.
SCHEDULE
(subject to change)
Friday, August 30
3:00 pm
Check in begins (Reception Hall)
6:00 pm
Dinner (Dining Room)
7:30 pm
Welcome (Milarepa Hall)
7:45 pm
Rinpoche: Introduction to Meditation (Milarepa Hall)
10:00 pm
Lights out
Saturday, August 31; Sunday, Sept 1; Monday, Sept 2; Tuesday, Sept 3
6:00 am
Wake up and prepare
6:30 am
Walking Meditation (Courtyard)
7:00 am
Breakfast (Dining Hall)
8:00 am
Rinpoche Teaching and Q & A (Milarepa Hall)
10:00 am
Yoga (Milarepa Hall)
10:30 am
Guided Meditation (Milarepa Hall)
11:15 am
Group Discussion
12:00 pm
Lunch (Dining Hall)
1:00 pm
Free time
2:00 pm
Personal Meditation: Calm-abiding Meditation (Milarepa Hall or Pavilion)
3:00 pm
Walking Meditation (Courtyard)
4:00 pm
Personal Meditation: Analytical Meditation (Milarepa Hall or Pavilion)
6:00 pm
Dinner (Dining Room)
7:00 pm
Rinpoche Teaching and Q & A (Milarepa Hall)
9:00 pm
Yoga (Milarepa Hall)
9:30 pm
Guided Meditation (Milarepa Hall)
10:00 pm
Lights out
Wednesday, September 4
6:00 am
Wake up and prepare
6:30 am
Walking Meditation (Courtyard)
7:00 am
Breakfast (Dining Hall)
8:00 am
Rinpoche Teaching and Q & A (Milarepa Hall)
10:00 am
Refuge, Gratitude Mandala Offering (Milarepa Hall)
12:00 pm
Lunch (Dining Hall)
1:00 pm
Checkout (Reception Hall)
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