November 20th-26th, Karmê Chöling, Barnet Vermont
Scott Wellenbach and I will be leading a Mahamudra Retreat for Vajrayana students at Karmê Chöling in Vermont that will emphasize practical methods for incorporating Mahamudra practice into our daily lives. Please join us!  Many of us start meditating because we feel compulsively driven by thoughts and emotions, hopes and fears. It’s natural to believe that the purpose of meditation must be to unburden ourselves of these mental activities. Unfortunately, the effort to get rid of thoughts and emotions can turn meditation itself into an onerous struggle.
While it’s possible to pacify the mind, we will never get rid of thoughts and emotions. Does this mean that we’ll never overcome the compulsiveness that drives us? It does not. A great irony of the Buddhist path is discovering that the very things that bind us, are ultimately what will set us free. This is the view of Mahamudra which takes the stuff of imprisonment as the very basis for liberation.
Through investigating the nature of thoughts and emotions and learning to recognize them for what they truly are, we can overcome their compulsive power. In the words of the great Kagyu master Gampopa:
A great meditator wanted to be free of thoughts, but it turned out that he could not stop them so he became tired and weary and left. Well now, however much wood there is, so great is the fire; however many thoughts there are, that is the extent of nondual, primordial wisdom. Therefore, no matter how many of the five poisons or thoughts are generated, they are all permitted. This lack of contrivance where there is nothing to stop and nothing to fabricate is itself the primordial wisdom of all the buddhas of the three times. Although we do not recognize the Buddha, our mind is just that. For the Buddha as well, it is nothing other than that.
Note: If you register by November 1st, you will only have to pay for accommodations at Karmê Chöling. There will be no additional program fee.
You can learn more about the retreat and register here. |