Purification and Fasting Retreat
Tuesday April 14 - Wednesday April 15
With Resident Teacher Gen Kelsang Thekchen
Come celebrate Buddha’s enlightenment day! Nyungne is a beloved practice we engaged in every year to honour and remember Buddha’s enlightenment.
This special purification and fasting practice is performed together with prayers and prostrations to the 1000-Arm Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion. It is very powerful for purifying negativity and strong delusions such as desirous attachment and anger. It is also a special method for receiving blessings and improving our experience of love, compassion, and bodhichitta.
In order to participate in this retreat, you must attend & take the precepts at 6:30 a.m. each morning that you participate. You may engage in either just one day or for two days.
Fasting:
Day 1: No breakfast, only one meal between 12 and 1pm, no food after. You can drink water or clear tea for the remainder of the day.
Day 2: You have a choice to complete a full fast todays, (no food or water) until tomorrow morning at dawn, or complete a partial fast - the same as yesterday (Day 1), until dawn tomorrow.
Schedule:
Tuesday, April 14
Precepts: 6:30 – 7:00am - Must attend to do the retreat
Session 1: 7:15–8:30am (includes a short introduction by Gen Thekchen)
Session 2: 10–11:15am
Lunch: 12:30–1:30pm
Session 3: 3:00-4:15pm
Wednesday, April 15
Precepts: 6:30–7:00am - Must attend in order to do today's retreat
Session 1: 7:15–8:30am
Session 2: 10–11:15am
Session 3: 3:00-4:15pm
Special Offering to the Spiritual Guide ceremony
for Buddha's Enlightenment Day, 7-9pm
Participants require A Pure Life and Drop of Essential Nectar Prayer Booklets. We have copies for you to use during the retreat at our Centre, or you can purchase your own copies from our bookshop. Alternatively, e-copies can be downloaded from tharpa.com .
This retreat will be led by Resident Teacher Gen Kelsang Thekchen, who is a senior Teacher in the New Kadampa Tradition. He has been a Kadampa Buddhist monk and Teacher under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche for more than 30 years. He is well known for his ability to present Buddha's teachings in a simple, profound, practical and often humorous way, making them easy to put into practice in everyday life.
Cost: $25 entire retreat | $15 per day | Free for Gold & Platinum members
Pre-register online or register at the door: Cash, credit or debit. We are unable to accept $100 bills.
Purification Retreat
One of the greatest gifts of Dharma is that it teaches us how to purify our past non-virtues.