Buddhist Studies Institute

Finding Rest & Ease in the Nature of Mind: 

Longchenpa’s Guide to Dzogchen with Pema Khandro

September 8-10th 2023

Online

8:00am-12:30pm PST

11:00pm -3:30pm EST

4:00pm-8:30pm BST

Unplug. Disconnect.

Take space for inner silence.

Enjoy the soothing sound of chanting meditation.

Enjoy deep dharma study.

Encounter the profound instructions of the trilogy of comfort and ease, the exposition on the stages of the journey by one of the great Tibetan philosopher, Longchenpa (1308-1364).

These beautiful teachings consider the fundamental ease available in the depths of being, and how to access those states. It is often difficult to access rigorous engagement with Buddhist intellectual traditions. The Buddhist Studies Institute offers groundbreaking efforts to make that study available. The Dzogchen Retreat online will offer the opportunity to study the core writings of one of the most venerated and brilliant Buddhist philosophers of Tibet, Longchenpa (1308-1364). In classes you will read passages in Tibetan and translated English and enjoy the rich commentary and interpretation by Dzogchen scholar, Lama and lineage holder, Dr. Pema Khandro.

This is a continuation of an annual study of this precious text that is central to esoteric Buddhist meditation.

This retreat is led entirely online. Prepare a serene space to watch the classes, and be ready to show up on camera for practice sessions with an international community.

Yoga Classes

Rest your body and mind! Enjoy restorative yoga each morning led by Buddhist Studies Institute faculty, this is an optional class for retreat participants, focused on deep relaxation and support of the body.

Other parts of the retreat include:

• Feeling the support of group practice

• Enjoying dharma conversations, fostering community through small group discussions

• Experiencing Dzogchen guided meditation sessions led by Pema Khandro

• Delving into Buddhist philosophy anchored in rigorous engagement with classical Buddhist texts; enjoying daily lectures given by Dr. Khandro

• Engaging with Buddhist Philosophy

• Remembering the profound teachings that unravel it all at the root

• Exploring reality, enjoying question and answer sessions with Dr. Khandro

• Sign up for one-to-one meetings at the end of the retreat with the Lama

• Bringing the dharma home to you; engaging in in-depth training from your own home, an unprecedented accessibility to traditional Buddhist training

Pema Khandro will lead practices from the 27 Practices for Training for Dzogchen Meditation from the sems nyid ngal gso, Longchenpa’s instructions on Finding Comfort and Ease in the Nature of Mind. A system venerated for its power to awaken the primordial knowing beyond illusions, these practices provide an opening to the authentic nature of innate wakefulness.

Pre-requisites

Recommended prerequisites are: completed Ngondro training, are currently enrolled in Ngondro training or have completed Ngondro in any lineage. Previous meditation experience and a history of meditation practice is necessary to fully appreciate and engage in the practices taught in this retreat, but this class is offered with open enrollment.

“The Great Garuda states:

Abandon desire for bliss, for this harms the mind;
rely on resting naturally,
free of anything needing to be done regarding samsara or nirvana.

As for the magical display of mind and apparent phenomena,

‘This is self,’ ’This is other,” which are the hindrances of mental stirring,

are dispelled along with perceiving, thinking, and fixating,
so there is imperturbable rest
that defies all attempts at verbal expression.

The implications of whatever manifests

as the miraculous display of ordinary, conceptual mind

can be discerned within the ‘interval,’ free of characterization,

between conceptual mind and the objects that constitute its function.

– Longchenpa, Precious Treasury of the Way of Abiding

The Black Wrathful Dakini’s Secret Tantra

With Lama Pema Khandro, Ph.D.

October 6-8th, 2023

Online

9:00am-12:00pm PST

12:00pm -3:00pm EST

5:00pm-8:00pm BST

This is a rare opportunity to study excerpts from the Troma text held within the original Dzogchen tantras known as the seventeen tantras, the Dakini’s Secret Tantra.

About Troma Nagmo
Underlying Tibetan Buddhist Chod meditation is the practice of Troma Nagmo, the black, wrathful dakini. In the Dakini’s Secret Tantra, Troma Nagmo’s meaning and practice is explained in terms of the ultimate view of reality. It explores how to cut through limited concepts to experience expansive freedom, but without spiritual bypassing. Thus it explores the line been the vast views of intrinsic wisdom, and the practicality of working with dualistic experience.

Join Lama Pema Khandro, Ph.D. for three days of deep dharma study, Chod meditation, and dharma conversation.

Pema Khandro on Buddha Nature

“At the core of what we are is Buddha-nature…Buddha-mind… a wakeful presence already complete, pure, good and fully and completely enlightened.” Pema Khandro

Pema Khandro discusses Buddha-nature and the third of the major Buddhist teachings known as the third turning of the wheel of the dharma.

2023 Schedule of Events

ONGOING MONTHLY TRAINING

Daily Meditation Online
Vajrayana Training – 1st & 2nd Wednesday of each month
Ngakpa Training – 3rd Wednesday of each month

SEPTEMBER

Sept 8-10 Finding Rest and Ease in the Nature of Mind: Online Retreat with Pema Khandro

OCTOBER

October 6-8 The Black Wrathful Dakini’s Secret Tantra: Online Retreat with Pema Khandro

2024

February 19 – August 5, 2024 Meditation Instructor Training

Click Here to view the BSI Calendar View
*All Times are noted in Pacific Time (PT) – Check your Timezone