Meditation Retreat
Blessings and Good Fortune
Mon 14th July - Sun 20 July
Session times: 9 - 10:30am, 11:30 - 1pm,
4:00 - 5:30pm, 7:30 - 9:00pm
On this retreat we engage in the profound practice of lamrim meditation and mandala offerings in order to train our mind and create lots of good karma. Lamrim means "the stages of the path to enlightenment". It is a special set of instructions that includes all the essential teachings of Buddha - and is the heart of Kadampa Buddhism.
The instructions of Lamrim are easy to understand and practise, and can readily be applied to solving the problems of daily life. By joyfully and patiently doing these meditations we shall gradually experience the fruits of Lamrim practice. Eventually we shall attain freedom from all suffering and the unchanging peace and happiness of enlightenment.
In the course of the week's retreat we will follow the sequence of the 21 Lamrim meditations:
- Our precious human life
- Death and impermanence
- The danger of lower rebirth
- Refuge practice
- Actions and their effects
- Developing renunciation for samsara
- Developing equanimity
- Recognizing that all living beings are our mothers
- Remembering the kindness of living beings
- Equalizing self and others
- The disadvantages of self-cherishing
- The advantages of cherishing others
- Exchanging self with others
- Great compassion
- Taking
- Wishing love
- Giving
- Bodhichitta
- Tranquil abiding
- Superior seeing
- Relying upon a Spiritual Guide
These meditations, along with instructions on how to practise and essential background material can be found in The New Meditation Handbook .
What is a Mandala Offering?
The word mandala in this context means universe. When we offer a mandala to the holy beings we are offering everything - the whole universe and everyone in it. We mentally transform the whole universe into a Pure Land filled with precious objects and inhabited by pure beings. Imagining that we are holding this pure universe in our hands, we offer it to all the enlightened beings. In this way we are offering everything we have or could wish for. Making mandala offerings is very powerful, and if we wish for good fortune and spiritual attainments we should offer a mandala everyday.
You are welcome to attend as many or as few retreat sessions
as you wish. All retreats at the Centre are free.
Please email or telephone (0151) 726 8900 for more information.
