Summer Ngöndro Retreat & 3-day Extension
Opening our Minds and Hearts through the Practice of the Four Immeasurables
Event onsite & online
This year, the Summer Ngöndro Retreat will especially focus on the Practice of the Four Immeasurables which is the stepping stone for arousing bodhichitta, the heart of the enlightened mind. Practising immeasurable love, compassion, joy and equanimity will deepen our practice no matter where we are in our spiritual development.
This retreat is a first and exciting opportunity to share with a wider group of students everything we have learned during the one-month Bodhichitta Retreat which took place in Lerab Ling in April. Many participants remarked that their understanding and practice of the Four Immeasurable had gained tremendous depth during that period.
Students have remarked again and again that practising together with peers in a supportive retreat environment allowed them to discover the true transformative power of these practices. Having studied and practised these instructions during the past months in The Way of the Great Perfection study programme would of course be a most conducive basis for entering into a retreat such as this.
Participants will also be offered individual guidance from teachers, providing an opportunity to clarify any aspect of their ngöndro practice and its integration in daily life.
There will be time for you to progress in your personal accumulations in different shrine rooms of the Lerab Ling Temple.
These summer ngöndro retreats, led by Rigpa Teachers specialised on the topic of ngöndro, are a place where anybody interested in ngöndro can come together, learn about the ngöndro, deepen their understanding, and meet like-minded practitioners. This retreat is a celebration of the vajrayana preliminary practices, ngöndro, which have the power, when applied, to bring you from wherever you are now all the way to enlightenment in this very lifetime.
If you want to start practising the ngöndro but you don’t know how to start or lacked the courage so far; if you are already an established ngöndro practitioner; then this retreat is for you!
NGÖNDRO RETREAT FAMILY OPTION, 11-14 JULY
This option is reserved for those coming with children (ages 6-12 years old) and enables families to attend the Summer Ngöndro Retreat over the long weekend of 11–14 July.
Parents (or grandparents) can attend the Ngöndro Retreat teachings and practice sessions in the morning, while their children (or grandchildren) are taken care of by the Rigpé Yeshé program in the mornings.
In the afternoon, families can spend time together enjoying the atmosphere and natural beauty of Lérab Ling in summer, exploring activities around Lérab Ling, or joining the afternoon practice with their children.For more information and to register to this option, please visit this page
HOW TO FOLLOW
• The best way to follow the retreat would be to come together in the blessed, beautiful environment of Lerab Ling and enjoy the company of fellow practitioners in person. Those unable to travel to Lerab Ling will have the option to follow the complete retreat from their home via Zoom. The retreat is open to all Rigpa students.
• Students also have the opportunity to continue the momentum of the main retreat with an extension of 3 days (20-22 July) to focus on their accumulations. During this period, students will practise on their own; optional guidance from one of the teachers or practice holders will also be available.
TEACHERS
Rigpa Teachers
Ruth and Javier have been teaching the topic of ngöndro for many years. Naomi and Lily developed “The Way of the Great Perfection”, the recent iteration of “The All-Encompassing Path to Enlightenment”, Rigpa’s study programme for the entire sangha.
PROVISIONAL SCHEDULE
Session 1 (9:00-10:00) : Guided Ngöndro practice
Session 2 (10:30-12:00) : Teaching
Lunch break
Session 3 (15:00-16:00) : Guided practice, group discussion, time for personal interviews with a teacher, or for personal practice
Session 4 (16:30-18:00) : Guided contemplation
Dinner
Session 5 (19:00-20:00) : Time for personal practice
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
START : Saturday 11 July at 10am
END : Sunday 19 July at 1:30pm
EXTENSION : Monday 20 – Wednesday 22 July at 1:30pm
CONTRIBUTION : 396€ (513€ with the 3 days extension)
REGISTRATION AND BADGE/KEY COLLECTION
Friday 10 July: 2pm – 6pm
Saturday 11 July: 9am – 9:45am If arriving after 6pm on Friday, please notify registration@rigpa.org
LANGUAGES : Teachings: French, translation; English, Spanish, German
TRANSPORT
Arrival on Friday 10 July – from Montpellier: departure from airport at 3:15pm
from Sud-de-France train station at 3:45pm
from Saint-Roch train station at 4:15pm
Departure on Monday 20 July at 8h30 from Lerab Ling to Montpellier airport., train station