25 April 2020 (Saturday) - 29 April 2020 (Wednesday)
Teachings and Trainings on The Buddha Path
In compliance with the Stay Home, Save Lives physical distancing order issued by Governor Kate Brown, the Dzogchen Retreat Center is closed to non-residents until further notice. Indeed, the Holy Vajra Master, in his nightly teaching, 100% Caution, 0% Fear, is encouraging everyone to practice Dharma now, more than ever.
Please continue to support and love one another, pray for the good health and longevity of the Vara Master and Precious Dzogchen Buddha Path Sangha, and practice the Dzogchen Buddha Path 108 Million Auspicious Mantras Recitation Campaign.
If you have registered for a retreat, you will be contacted by an Event Director with further instructions.
The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation is pleased to announce our annual Dzogchen Buddha Path Spring Retreat, modified as a personal retreat. The Online Spring Retreat will be taught by Venerable Bodhi Lama Orgyen Thabkey Dorje (Erik Drew Jung) under the guidance of His Eminence Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche. This five-day retreat will be held online via Zoom, and presents an ideal opportunity to deepen your understanding and experience of the teachings of the Dzogchen Lineage and practice the Dzogchen Buddha Path.
We are currently reinventing our program in a powerful way in order to harness the accumulation power of group practice and bring us together virtually and remotely in order to practice Dharma together. We are excited for the opportunity to create a model for distance learning, contemplation and meditation that will serve us for decades to come!
The 2020 Spring Retreat will commence on Saturday, April 25, 2020, 1:30PM PDT and conclude on Wednesday, April 29 2020, 1:00PM PDT. This year’s five days of teaching and training will include in-depth and direct teachings on the sacred text The Buddha Path, the Buddhist fundamentals, and will include many practices such as reciting sacred texts, mantra recitations, personal thuns (practice sessions), etc.
Please register here.
Retreat Pricing
The fee for this remote-learning retreat is $250. (updated 2020-04-17)
As always the teachings and ceremonies themselves are offered free of charge, but it is traditional in Buddhism for the student to make an individual offering to the teacher during the retreat. You may voluntarily make an offering to the teacher at anytime during the retreat. It is most auspicious to do this at the beginning of the retreat at the end of the opening ceremony.
About the Teacher
Venerable Bodhi Lama Orgyen Thabkey Dorje (Erik Drew Jung) is a monk and authorized lama under the guidance of his root teacher, Tibetan Meditation Master and thirty-third generation Dzogchen Lineage Holder, H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche. Thabkey Lama met and took refuge with Rinpoche in February of 2004 and has since devoted his life to Dharma and serving the Vajra Master. Bodhi Lama grew up in Portland, Oregon, studying and practicing Mahayana Buddhism with his father, a practitioner in the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. He first took refuge in 1989, monastic vows in 2008, was authorized as Archarya Lama in 2014 and as Illustrious Bodhi Lama in 2018. Thabkey Lama has led many retreats, and conducted several overseas teaching tours, spreading the authentic Dharma in Europe, including Russia, Finland, Estonia, Austria, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Scotland, Iceland and widely across the U.S. He is a passionate and inspiring teacher in the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig Lineage of Mahayana Buddhism.
About the Retreat
What to Expect on a Dzogchen Buddha Path Online Retreat
“Retreat” means withdrawing your body, speech, and mind away from busy, meaningless, and negative activities, freeing yourself to focus on helping all beings. Away from worldly distractions, you can wholeheartedly train your mind in the Way of True Happiness. Retreat takes on even more importance during this time when most of us are already confined to our homes. It is therefore the perfect circumstance for the Five Excellent Gathered Perfections, and to learn the sacred practices of personal retreat. You will practice Dharma with more joy, depth, and intensity than you have likely experienced before and the results may surprise you. By training your mind using the skillful means of the Dzogchen Lineage you will not only take steps toward your own awakening, but be the healing condition for the entire world in this time of crisis.
The Dzogchen Buddha Path Online Spring Retreat is three full days of learning, contemplation, meditation, and prayer, conducted as a personal retreat and guided by Bodhi Lama Erik. It is a unique opportunity to increase your love, compassion, and wisdom, while greatly increasing your merit by practicing Dharma during this challenging time of the pandemic. You will learn how to increase your happiness, causes of happiness, and the happiness of all beings, while decreasing the suffering and causes of suffering of all beings. By committing to spend this time practicing to this end, your mind will be transformed and you will have a more positive effect on your loved ones and all beings.
Please register here.
Attendance
To accumulate group power, students – without exception – will be required to attend all sessions in order to participate in the retreat. In other words, retreatants cannot miss any of the sessions and then continue to participate in the remainder of the retreat without special permission.
Daily Retreat Schedule and Sessions
There will be a published schedule before the start of the retreat, which will include:
- Personal Preliminary Practice
- Morning Teaching by Lama Erik
- Personal Practice Sessions (thuns)
- Afternoon Tutoring and Q&A Sessions
- Evening teachings by H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
- Personal Concluding Practice
Retreatants will be given ample time to cook, eat, exercise and maintain their precious human bodies. As part of your daily practice, from about 10:30 PM to 6:30 AM, you will be required to maintain a vow of silence and not engage in any normal waking activities except using the bathroom. These times may vary from day to day, but the idea is that you will be laying down resting your body for 8 hours every night and not unnecessarily disturbing other people.
Please register here.
About the Lineage
It is extremely precious to study under an authentic master, one whose lineage can be traced all the way back to Buddha Shakyamuni. Our precious Vajra Master, H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche, is a thirty-third generation lineage holder of the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig and the Dzogchen Khadro Nyingthig lineages, selected by previous Dzogchen Lineage Masters in Tibet because of his profound knowledge and realization. With more than seven years of solitary cave meditation experience in the high Tibetan holy mountains, Rinpoche truly embodies the qualities of a realized practitioner and yogi. Also a vibrant and dynamic teacher and scholar, Rinpoche is a lama of the Dzogchen Monastery and professor of the Dzogchen Shri Singha University. He is a published author of numerous books in both Tibetan and English, including The Buddha Path, a practice book that encompasses all of Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha Path is available in English, Chinese, Russian, and German, and is soon to be released in Nepali, Japanese, and Spanish.
Just as great master of the past, Atisha, was revered for always teaching refuge, Khenpo Choga Rinpoche is revered for always training teachers. His heartfelt effort to train knowledgeable, wise and compassionate teachers has reached a critical juncture, and he has authorized authentically trained and certified Dharma Teachers of The Buddha Path to teach under his guidance. Rinpoche has requested thatVenerable Bodhi Lama Orgyen Thabkey Dorje (Erik Drew Jung) lead this retreat.
More about Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche »
Q&A
If you have any questions, or are just wondering if this event is for you, you should contact us in advance to discuss. This page will be updated with some of the answers to questions posed, so questions are very much welcomed.
If you have any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to contact the retreat director or assistant retreat director.
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The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation USA is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
For the peace and happiness of all beings, the Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation USA is asking for your support to ensure the future of the Dzogchen Retreat Center USA, under the spiritual guidance of Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche.
Your help is urgently needed to ensure the preservation, practice, and transmission of the unbroken Dzogchen Lineage tradition for increasing personal happiness and creating lasting world peace. Please visit our Giving Section to learn more and donate online. Join our ongoing giving program, the Circle of Compassion, or make a one-time donation to the Dzogchen Retreat Center USA Project.
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