Join us for our
Annual Retreat
Monday, June 17 - Sunday, June 23, 2024

Extraordinary Shamatha & Extraordinary Vipashyana taught by Lama Döndrup
&
Extraordinary Mahamudra and Working with Emotions taught by Lama Palden

This is a rare and special opportunity to dive deep into these accessible yet profound practices of the Shangpa lineage within a conducive, contemplative space of retreat.

In Shamatha (calm abiding) practice, one learns to rest undistractedly regardless of what is arising in one’s internal or external experience. This one-pointedness allows one to look directly at one’s mind through the practice of Vipashyana (special insight) to see its true nature. When Shamatha and Vipashyana arise simultaneously, one rests in Mahamudra, free from elaboration and dualistic grasping.

The Shangpa tradition includes a special practice of Extraordinary Shamatha, Extraordinary Vipashyana, and Extraordinary Mahamudra that was transmitted by the first Kalu Rinpoche to his Western students. This is a uniquely potent method that employs accessible yet powerful Vajrayana techniques to achieve the aim of Shamatha, Vipashyana, and Mahamudra.

In Extraordinary Shamatha meditation, we develop calm abiding through a process of transmuting our experience of the 5 elements into the 5 female buddhas. This provides the foundation for Extraordinary Vipashyana meditation in which we develop special insight through a process of transmuting our experience of the 5 aggregates (skandhas) into the 5 male buddhas. Having worked with our psychophysical experience in this way, Extraordinary Mahamudra then works with the transformation of the conflicting emotions into wisdom.

In the morning sessions, Lama Döndrup will introduce and guide retreatants through the practices of Extraordinary Shamatha and Extraordinary Vipashyana, and in the afternoon sessions, Lama Palden will introduce and guide the Extraordinary Mahamudra meditation. The afternoon sessions will also include an exploration of how Mahamudra liberates emotions as presented by the Ninth Karmapa.