Date(s) - December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017
All Day
Waking Up
Key Points of Vajrayana Practice
With Senior Tergar Lama Khenpo Kunga
Tergar Winter Retreat
Gaston, Oregon, USA
The hallmark of Vajrayana Buddhism is the use of the natural rhythms of life as gateways to awakening. This profound path gives us the tools to discover the natural presence of timeless awareness in every experience, even in the midst of challenging emotions and the difficulties of everyday life. To uncover this innate wisdom, we use the imagination, the subtle energies of the body, and the movements of awareness to recognize our own awakened nature. In the process, we learn to let go of the impulse to control, alter, or “fix” what is happening within and around us, and instead to see the richness that is already present.
In this weeklong retreat, Senior Tergar Lama Khenpo Kunga will offer practical guidance on the Vajrayana path. His teachings will center on a cherished text by one of the greatest masters of Tibetan Buddhism – Jamgon Kongtrul’s Creation and Completion. Khenpo Kunga will explain the text with his characteristic humor, wisdom, and warmth. His teachings and guided meditations will cover the most important points of Vajrayana practice, and especially how these teachings can be applied in everyday life.
The retreat will take place in a secluded environment with the support of a community of meditators, and will include four sessions of group meditation practice and two teaching sessions per day. Opportunities for individual interviews with Senior Tergar Instructors will also be available. Additionally, the retreat schedule will include an optional refuge ceremony (the formal step to enter the Buddhist path) and the transmissions to begin practicing the Path of Liberation (the path of Buddhist practice offered in the Tergar community). To prepare for this retreat we recommend that you maintain a daily practice. Audio or video recordings of any of Khenpo’s teachings will not be permitted.
Schedule:
Wednesday, December 28
Registration, 3pm–6pm
Teachings, 7pm–9pm
Thursday, December 29 through Monday, January 2
Practice & Teachings, 7am–8:45pm
Tuesday, January 3
Practice & Teachings, 7am–12:30pm, followed by lunch
Requirements:
This retreat is open to anyone who meets at least one of the requirements listed below. If you have attended a Path of Liberation retreat in the Tergar community (such as the annual summer retreats at St. John’s University and winter retreats held in Madison, WI and elsewhere), that qualifies as meeting the requirements.
1) Have attended all three Joy of Living Levels, Calming the Mind (Level I), Opening the Heart (Level II), and Awakening Wisdom (Level III), and completed the associated practice requirements
2) Have attended the Path of Liberation Level I or Mahamudra Level I with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and completed its practice requirements or will complete them prior to the retreat
3) Have completed the full preliminary practices (the 4 x 100,000 ngöndro)
4) Have received pointing out teachings from a qualified Buddhist lineage holder (a tulku or rinpoche)
5) Have had a daily meditation practice for at least five years and attended either group or solitary practice retreats (with 6+ hours of formal meditation practice each day) under the guidance of a Buddhist teacher for a total of at least thirty days
Precepts and Silence:
While attending this retreat all participants are expected to abide by the ethical precepts for lay practitioners. This includes abstinence from sexual activity. We will maintain periods of silence throughout this retreat, the length of which will vary so that there will be less silence in the beginning and end of the retreat and a period of complete silence in the middle.
Location and Meals:
The retreat will be held on the beautiful 55-acre campus of the Ananda Center at Laurelwood located in the Laurelwood Valley southwest of Portland, Oregon. The retreat center offers a secluded and peaceful refuge only 70 minutes from Portland International Airport, and 45 minutes from downtown Portland.
Meals will be vegetarian. The retreat center will do its best, within reason, to accommodate additional dietary restrictions.
The Ananda Laurelwood community grows much of its own organic vegetables on campus. Three delicious meals are served daily. Their menu is strictly vegetarian with vegan and gluten free options.
Room Assignments/Special Accommodations:
The retreat center offers both double rooms and single rooms. Each room has its own sink with bathrooms just down the hall. Some double rooms are being offered for single occupancy at the single room rate.
Please note: The retreat facility has limited accommodations for those with mobility issues or other special needs. If stairs are at all difficult for you, or if you would like more information on the site, please do not hesitate to contact Kezia at [email protected] prior to registration to go over available options.
Cost:
Base Fee – This level covers the actual costs of delivering this program.
Sponsor Fee – This level allows us to provide a reduced fee ticket option for those with limited financial resources.
- Ananda Double Room Base: $835
- Ananda Double Room Sponsor: $1,015
- Ananda Single Room Base (if available): $1,050
- Commuter Base (includes all meals): $570
- Commuter Sponsor (includes all meals): $745
If you are unable to afford the fee for this program, please contact [email protected].
Payment and Cancellation Policy:
In order for us to make a commitment to the retreat center, we are requesting full payment at the time of registration. If paying by check, it should be postmarked within seven days of your registration. If full payment at the time of registration is a difficulty for you, please contact [email protected] to inquire about installment payment options.
A $50 administration fee will apply to any cancellation prior to December 1, 2016. For those between December 1 and December 23, 2016, the fee will go up to $300. We regret that refunds for cancellations after December 23, 2016 will not be possible.
Airport Shuttle
United Taxi Service
Cost: $54/round trip per person to/from PDX/Ananda Laurelwood
Contact: Zach Alani
Phone (503) 998-7151 and ask for Zach; or Email Zach at [email protected] (Note: In order to get the negotiated rate, call or email Zach – please do not use the online reservation form on the United Taxi website.) Identify yourself as from the Tergar Meditation Community, and provide your name, cellphone number, arrival date/time, airline and flight number.
Website: www.taxiportlandor.com/index.html
Accepts all major credit cards
Contact:
Kezia Wineberg
Retreat Manager
Tergar Meditation Community
[email protected]
About Khenpo Kunga:
Khenpo Kunga became a monk at a young age and began his education at Tergar monastery, where he studied the rituals, prayers, and other traditional practices of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. At fifteen, he entered an extended meditation retreat and spent three years mastering the profound contemplative practices of the Kagyü lineage. Following this period of intense meditation practice, he entered the renowned Dzongsar monastic college near Dharamsala in Northwest India. After studying there for eleven years and receiving his Khenpo degree (roughly equivalent to a PhD), he taught at Dzongsar College for three additional years. Khenpo Kunga’s primary teacher is Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, though he has studied with many other revered masters as well. In recent years, Khenpo Kunga has taught in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States as one of the main teachers for the worldwide network of Tergar monasteries, meditation centers, and meditation groups.
Location
Ananda Center at Laurelwood, Gaston Oregon, United States