Love in Action: The Altruistic Spirit of Christ and Buddha

Name: Love in Action: The Altruistic Spirit of Christ and Buddha
Start: 2024-12-19
End: 2024-12-22
Location: Menla
Rating: 4.5

4.502 reviews

December 19 - 22, 2024

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Andrew

Robert

Details of this retreat

Andrew Harvey and Robert Thurman are great old friends who have been sharing their insights and passions for over 30 years and who taught a very galvanizing course on the Shift Network on the Buddha and the Christ. Both of them are aware that humanity has come to its defining evolutionary ordeal manifesting through its narcissism and hubris a ferocious global dark night which threatens its extinction. Both are also aware that this terrible situation, unprecedented in its intensity and scope, offers extraordinary possibilities for radical spiritual growth and for a creative re-visioning of all human structures through the next level of embodied divine consciousness.

In this weekend retreat, Bob will present the vision that he has brilliantly revealed in book after book of how the teachings and practices of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism help us to create a new way of being and doing everything. He will speak of the great transformative ideal at the heart of Mahayana Buddhism—that of the Bodhisattva, an enlightened being who dedicates his or her whole life, in life after life to the liberation of all sentient beings. Drawing on his own inner experience and his long and profound friendship with the Dalai Lama, he will demonstrate how seekers on all paths now need to be inspired by this magnificent vision to rise in joy and focused calm to put love into action to transform society, save democracy, build economic and political structures of sustainability and provide radiant guidance to generations to come.

Drawing on three decades of exploration of Christian mysticism and his own visionary relationship with the greatest Christian mystic of the 20th century—Father Bede Griffiths—Andrew will present his profoundly aligned vision of the message of Jesus as a call to all beings to embody Christ consciousness in its grandeur and passion and put it into dynamic sacred action. He will also explore the great secret at the heart of Christian mysticism, what he calls the transfiguration process that is the divinizing of heart, mind, soul and body lived by Angelus Silesius, Sarafim of Sarov and Father Bede Griffiths himself, among many others. He will relate this secret to the vision of other great evolutionary mystics, such as Aurobindo and the Mother, in order to show how our global dark night is potentially the birth canal of its re-incarnation on a massive scale.

Bob has the highest respect for Christian mysticism and recognizes Jesus as a Bodhisattva. Andrew has been initiated into Mahayana Buddhism and honors the Bodhisattva ideal as a noble interlinked counterpoint to that of the Christed embodied divine. Andrew and Bob will engage in dialogue demonstrating the thrilling parallels between the two visions while also teaching them separately from the depths of their mutual traditions. What they hope to achieve is the clearest possible offering of a way forward, a way that marries profound inner sacred practice with wise urgent sacredly-inspired activism.

In this retreat, you will receive three divine gifts: a vision of engaged enlightenment to aspire to with your whole being, maps towards that enlightenment derived from the deepest Mahayana and Christian traditions, and sacred practices both simple and transformative that you can start using now to inspire yourself in our grim age to be joyful and compassionate agents of transformative change.

Schedule

Thursday, December 19

3 - 6 pm Arrival & Check-in
6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 pm Welcome and Evening Discussion (Andrew & Bob)

Friday, December 20

8 - 9 am Breakfast
10 am - 12 pm Morning Teaching (Andrew)
12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 - 4 pm Free Time for Spa Appointments, Relaxation, or Self-Study
4 - 6 pm Afternoon Teaching (Bob)
6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 pm Evening Discussion (Andrew & Bob)

Saturday, December 21

8 - 9 am Breakfast
10 am - 12 pm Morning Teaching (Andrew)
12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 - 4 pm Free Time for Spa Appointments, Relaxation, or Self-Study
4 - 6 pm Afternoon Teaching (Bob)
6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 pm Evening Discussion (Andrew & Bob)

Sunday, December 22

7 - 11 am Check-out of Rooms
8 - 9 am Breakfast
9:30 - 12:30 pm Closing Discussion (Andrew & Bob)
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch & Departure

*Please note that the schedule is subject to change at any time.

Getting Here

Menla

Accommodation

Deluxe King

Deluxe King Room with King Bed and Private Bathroom Free Phone and Hi-Speed Wifi Internet Access Available Air Conditioning This Space is not ADA compliant. Deluxe King Rooms are Available only in Kathmandu House * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations

Deluxe Queen

Deluxe Queen Room with Queen Bed and Private Bathroom Free Phone and Hi-Speed Wifi Internet Access Available Air Conditioning All Rooms in Lhasa are Handicap-Accessible, Including Four Rooms with Wheelchair Accessible Showers. Deluxe Queen Rooms are Available in Lhasa Inn and Kathmandu House * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations

Deluxe Double (Shared Room)

Deluxe Double Room with Two Full Size Beds and Private Bathroom Free Phone and Hi-Speed Wifi Internet Access Available Air Conditioning All Rooms in Lhasa are Handicap-Accessible, Including Four Rooms with Wheelchair Accessible Showers. Deluxe Double Rooms with Private Bathrooms are Located in the Lhasa Inn * Please note rates include meals and accommodations. This booking is for one bed in a double shared room: We May Assign You a Roommate if You Do Not Register with One.

Standard Single - Shared Bath

Menla Private Queen Room with Queen Bed and Shared Bathroom Public Phone and Hi-Speed Wifi Internet Access Available This lodging type is not ADA Compliant Private Queen Rooms with Shared Bathroom are Available in Thimpu House, Panther Cottage and Potala House * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations

Standard Double Full - Shared bath (Shared Room)

Deluxe Double Room with Two Full Beds and Shared Bathroom Free Phone and Hi-Speed Wifi Internet Access Available Air Conditioning This lodging type is not ADA Compliant. Please note that due to the stairs we recommend that guests with mobility issues book other accommodations. Deluxe Double Rooms with Shared Bathrooms are Located in Thimphu * Please note rates include meals and accommodations. This booking is for one bed in a double shared room: We May Assign You a Roommate if You Do Not Register with One.

Standard Double Twin - Shared bath (Shared Room)

Economy Single - Shared Bath

Standard Single Room with a Twin Bed and Shared Bathroom Bathroom is Shared with One to Six Other Guests on Your Floor. A phone is not available but high-speed WiFi is available in the room Phone Access Available in Nearby Conference Center and also Lhasa in Business Center. All calls are free of charge. This Lodging Type is not ADA Compliant. * Please note rates include meals and accommodations.

Economy Double - Shared Bath (Shared Room)

Standard Double with Twin Beds and Shared Bathroom The bathroom is Shared with other rooms on the same floor. High-speed Wi-Fi is available in the room. Phone Access Available in Nearby Conference Center and also Lhasa in Business Center. All calls are free of charge. This Lodging Type is not ADA Compliant. * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations * Please note: this is an open door policy room, meaning there are no keys to lock the door (we have lockers you can use at Lhasa if needed) * This booking is for one bed in a double shared room: We May Assign You Roommates if You Do Not Register with others

Economy Triple - Shared Bath (Shared Room)

Standard Triple Room with Three Twin Beds and Shared Bathroom Accommodations Fee Includes All Meals. High speed Wi-Fi is available in the room. Phone Access Available in Nearby Conference Center and also Lhasa in Business Center. All calls are free of charge. This Lodging Type is not ADA Compliant. * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations * Please note: this is an open door policy room, meaning there are no keys to lock the door (we have lockers you can use at Lhasa if needed) * This booking is for one bed in a triple shared room: We May Assign You Roommates if You Do Not Register with others.

Economy Quad - Shared Bath (Shared Room)

Standard Quad Room with Quad Twin Beds and Shared Bathroom Accommodations Fee Includes All Meals. High speed Wi-Fi is available in the room. Phone Access Available in Nearby Conference Center and also Lhasa in Business Center. All calls are free of charge. This Lodging Type is not ADA Compliant. * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations * Please note: this is an open door policy room, meaning there are no keys to lock the door (we have lockers you can use at Lhasa if needed) * This booking is for one bed in a quad shared room: We May Assign You Roommates if You Do Not Register with others.

Commuter

Commuters Menla Encourages Members of the Community to Participate in Our Wonderful Programs! Includes Meals, Public Phone, Public Computer, and Wi-Fi Internet Available in Lhasa Inn. Accommodations Fee Includes All Meals.

Customer Reviews

4.50 out of 5.0 average rating

Anonymous • Oct 03, 2023

4.0

Verified

Weekend retreat stay

The property is on a beautiful, peaceful location.
Nature is all around and sometimes a little too close but you are literally surrounded by woods.

The food was really good and I liked the buffet style and fruit basket.

The gift shop although small had a nice selection of items and I purchased a few fun items.

Since the dining area was on the opposite side of the site from the convention center, a lot of students drove back and forth on the property. I chose the walking paths to get around.

Marie • Apr 18, 2022

5.0

Verified

Lovely

I had a fascinating and enlightening experience during an “Energy squared Reiki,” class at Menlo this past week. The grounds, rooms, facilities amenities and spa at Menla were all beautiful, clean, and peaceful. The food was delicious and nourishing. I can say only good things about both Menla and the program I attended, and would wholeheartedly recommend both.

Love in Action: The Altruistic Spirit of Christ and Buddha

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Andrew Harvey, Ph.D.

Robert A.F. Thurman

Details of this retreat

Getting Here