About this Retreat
Lama Willa Blythe Baker, Ph.D. is the Founder of Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA and its retreat center Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH. She was authorized as a dharma teacher and lineage holder in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism after twelve years of monastic training and two consecutive three-year retreats. She also has trained in the Nyingma and Shangpa lineages. In 2013, Willa completed a doctorate at Harvard University, and was Visiting Lecturer in Buddhist Ministry from 2013 to 2017.
Willa is author of four books:
The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (2021),
The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (2012),
Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You (2009), and
Essence of Ambrosia (2005). Her articles and translations have appeared in
Tricycle, Lion’s Roar,
Buddhadharma,
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies,
Tibet Journal, and other periodicals and anthologies.
She is a contemplative faculty member with the Mind and Life Institute, Sangha Live, One Earth Sangha, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, the Omega Institute and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She is a member of Clark University’s Council of the Uncertain Human Future and sits on the advisory board for One Earth Sangha.
At present, Willa writes, teaches, guides meditation retreats, and develops curriculum for people interested in cultivating a deep meditation practice in daily life. Her teaching interests include the wisdom of the body, eco-dharma, non-dual awareness and compassion.
Details of this retreat
The energy transmitted by Jigme Lingpa’s songs open the heart to the power of natural spaces to shape who we are as human beings.
During this online weekend retreat, Lama Willa will guide us into deep engagement with the songs of realization composed by Jigme Lingpa, the 18th-century, visionary Dzogchen master and revealer of the Longchen Nyingtik, a precious cycle of teachings in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Please join us to:
Enter into the living poetry of Jigme Lingpa’s songs of realization
Discover how sacred place, devotion, and simplicity support spiritual awakening
Explore how the natural world reveals and reflects awakened mind
Deepen your connection to Dzogchen through contemplative reading, reflection, and dialogue
These songs express the immediacy of meditative experience and the integration of practice in daily life, as well as conveying how the natural world acts as our teacher. Through reading, reflection, and discussion, we will explore how poetic language becomes a vehicle for pointing directly to the nature of the heart-mind.
We will explore themes such as simplicity, freedom from grasping, devotion, and the power of sacred place. The short but in-depth retreat invites both intellectual inquiry and personal reflection on how awakened expression arises from lived experience.
Retreat Schedule
Saturday & Sunday - 12:00 - 4:00 pm ET
An expanded schedule will be provided in pre-retreat information emailed during the week prior to the event.
Zoom Link
The Zoom link will be sent several days before the retreat to all those registered. If you register after that date, you’ll receive the link with your confirmation email shortly after submitting your registration. If you don’t see an email from Natural Dharma Registrar or Wonderwell Mountain Refuge, it may have mistakenly gone to your spam folder or to Promotions or Updates in Gmail.
Important: Please put these this email address in your Contact or Safe-Send list to make sure you receive our emails:
register@naturaldharma.org
Program Cost
Our program fees provide essential support to our non-profit operations and NDF’s mission to spread the Dharma in accessible, relevant, and creative ways. Our goal is that no one misses out on our events due to lack of funds. Thanks to our generous donors, we are able to offer tiered pricing and additional support to fit varied financial situations:
May All Beings Benefit! *– supporting access for all and general support for NDF operations
A Middle Way – covering the base cost
Held in Sangha Loving-kindness – offering ease when financial resources are limiting
If the lowest cost tier creates an obstacle to your attendance, please see our financial support options on the registration page. The process is simple and does not require extensive information. Financial aid is immediately approved using discount code options that allow you to contribute the most you are able while honoring your particular resources.
* The difference between the May All Beings Benefit! tier and the Middle Way tier will be considered a tax-deductible donation and will be acknowledged as such in writing. Contributing at this level helps us offer financial aid to other participants. Thank you!!
Access to Recordings
NDF offers unlimited access to recordings, which are available in your user dashboard (more information about user accounts provided in a pre-retreat letter). If you have a user account, please register with the same email you use to log into your dashboard. If not, an account will be created for you using your registration address.
Availability will vary depending on the type of event and the backlog for our precious resource volunteers. Thank you for your patience.
Natural Dharma Fellowship Full Calendar
Online
Verified
Top Rated
Last Chance